Not long ago, a group of kids traveling from the Bronx to an after-school soccer tournament in Manhattan got stuck on a stalled train. Their trip took two hours. They walked on to the enormous green after all the other kids had arrived, to witness a panorama of kids dashing up and down playing fields, kicking and scrimmaging, while others lined up to get new soccer jerseys. One of the girls from the Bronx after-school program took in the scene and declared, "This is the greatest day of my life."
Kids love sports. For many, after-school programs offer their only opportunities to participate in organized sports or to get vigorous workouts. After-school sports build kids' teamwork and leadership skills along with their fitness and dexterity. Neuroscientists have proven that aerobic exercise stimulates kids to higher levels of thinking.
Soccer League:
TASC partners with Metro Soccer Inc., a New York nonprofit organization which organizes soccer leagues for all ages. Kids in TASC programs receive uniforms and equipment from Metro Soccer, and their after-school instructors are trained and certified to coach them. Kids spend three hours a week practicing basic soccer skills and learning the rules of the game. After completing five weeks of practice, kids compete in scrimmages against other after-school teams.
Sports for All and TASC Team Fitness Challenge
Many schools have no gyms and limited access to playing fields. After-school programs often have to compete with one another for play spaces. Many face the challenge of providing kids with engaging ways to exercise when it's rainy or cold outside, or when the only spaces available are classrooms, hallways and cafeterias.
The Sports for All curriculum and the TASC Team Fitness Challenge both supply after-school staff with activities good for every kind of space, and for kids of all ages.
Sports for All is an athletic skill-building program that can be taught by staff members who have no experience or formal training in sports. Programs are supplied with jump-ropes, balls, hula hoops and other sports equipment that kids can use in large or confined spaces. Staff members are trained to work from a vast resource of lesson plans and clever ideas for helping kids sharpen life-long athletic skills, such as throwing and catching and properly warming up for workouts. Sports for All is popular because it works for every age, every kid can succeed at it, and programs have great flexibility in tailoring lessons to the needs of kids and the goals of their schools and communities. TASC Team Fitness Challenge is designed especially for middle school-aged youth. It offers an easy-to-implement turn-key physical education program consisting of a ten-station circuit of activities. It introduces the concept of fitness to middle-school aged youth and gets them moving.
