During after-school play at the Larosa Boys and Girls Club in McKeesport, Jeff (as we'll call him) was shy and awkward.
While the neighborhood stars, ages 5–12, came out to play football and basketball, Jeff stood all by himself. But that was not acceptable to coordinator Mandy Haines. That's not the way to a healthy lifestyle — and healthy self-esteem — for Jeff and many other kids who may not be top athletes.
So, for the past 15 months, Haines has been trying a new approach: The Highmark Healthy High 5 SPARK Active Recreation program.
"The best part of the SPARK program," she says, "is that everyone can succeed."
SPARK helps kids of all skill levels discover what's inherent in all of them — their built-in energy and their innate enjoyment of fun and fitness.
At the Larosa Boys and Girls Club in McKeesport, everyone succeeds in the SPARK after-school recreation program. SPARK is used at more than 140 sites across Pennsylvania.
A nationally recognized physical activity program, SPARK is designed for children ages 5–14, promoting moderate to vigorous activities for up to one hour daily and establishing lifelong healthy behaviors.
At Larosa, every day at 4 p.m. about 50 kids play tag, kickball or flag grab; toss bean bags at cones; or shoot Frisbees into hula hoops.
"They can succeed with these types of activities," Haines says. "Once they succeed, they have more self-esteem. Every kid can feel confident about some activity. That's the great thing about SPARK."
So, if basketball isn't for Jeff, crazy cones are. "At first, the kids didn't warm up to crazy cones," Haines says. "Then, when they improved their throwing, they liked it a lot. Because crazy cones are not about who's the best or fastest or strongest. They're about accuracy. Everybody encourages each other. Everybody has a really good time. So, kids like Jeff who are shy at the beginning of the year aren't shy at the end."
Learn how to help kids improve their self-esteem by reading our Self-esteem pages.
Learn more about the SPARK program in Pennsylvania.
This story was originally published in an April 5, 2009, advertising supplement for Highmark Healthy High 5.