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Yasir Harris desires a professional basketball career, but based on his May 30 performance at Lincoln Financial Field, 1020 Pattison Ave., the seventh-grader at Edwin M. Stanton School, 1700 Christian St., might want to ponder pursuing a gridiron vocation.
He and peers from the South-of-South institution, along with learners from George W. Nebinger School, 601 Carpenter St., flocked to the stadium to cap their involvement in the Play 60 Challenge, the NFL’s six-year-old youth health and fitness campaign.
“I’ve always been active but this program has made me even more so,” 13-year-old Yasir said of the initiative, which unites the American Heart Association and the league to encourage children to devote a daily hour to their physical well-being. “I’ve even been able to convince my mom to get more exercise.”
To earn the opportunity to engage in endeavors such as dummy tackling, field goal kicking and football tossing, the resident of the 1500 block of Ellsworth Street and schoolmates committed to six-weeks’ worth of in-school and out-of-school stamina and character builders, with the 25 most successful participants garnering an invitation to the field. For Yasir, nothing proved more alluring than basketball, which occupied him at the Christian Street YMCA, 1724 Christian St., though he also found football appealing, making last week’s gathering even more special.
“I’m definitely going to take what I learned during the challenge and make the summer a really fun time,” he said.
Physical education teacher Jennifer Hastings loved hearing of that receptivity and ambition. Her school’s principal, Stacey Burnley, had learned of the campaign last year through Dr. Ralph Burnley, her husband and the head of Bella Vista-based Nebinger, so when the instructor heard she would need to offer more support for the youngsters’ health goals, she found herself as enthused as her charges.
“They’ve just been so excited,” Hastings said of the fourth- through eighth-graders, who tracked their progress through NFL-provided materials. “They’ve been talking about it all the time, and today is bringing out a whole new level of excitement.”
In addition to the time with her, the pupils engrossed themselves in numerous tasks, including YMCA duties; alignment with Center City-situated Students Run Philly Style, which guaranteed their presence in last month’s Broad Street Run; various sports at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center, 744 S. 17th St.; and tennis at Barry Playground, 1800 Johnston St. Their dedication to recreation cemented their inclusion in the afternoon of revelry, which with eight schools from the Philadelphia region gave the pigskin franchise its most populous set of attendees since the challenge’s 2007 inception.
“I’m always looking to improve our options for our kids,” Ralph Burnley said of his site’s role in the day as 24 of his registrants competently handled their chores despite facing oppressive heat. “With childhood obesity on the rise, we have to do whatever we can to stress the importance of getting them more accustomed to caring for their bodies.”
The third-year principal received word of the challenge through the American Heart Association, the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building lives devoid of heart disease and stroke. The Friends of Nebinger’s grantwriting team placed him in contact with the 89-year-old organization to discuss creating a Teaching Garden, which came to fruition May 17. Upon meeting with community health director Charmie Cuthbert, he welcomed the chance to give his students additional confidence boosters and suggested the figure meet his spouse, whose advocacy led to Stanton’s designation as an entrant.
“We knew all along that participating would give us an occasion to come here and meet some players, so since it involved football, which is something I watch with my sons anyway, I felt this would be a great way to reward them for their diligence,” he said.
Health and physical education teacher Nick Michalski oversaw the two dozen Nebinger honorees as they maximized their prize. Like the Stanton constituents, they moved between stations with gusto and encouraged one another to give their all.
“The overall response has been really good,” Michalski said as the fourth- through sixth-graders made their way through an agility ladder. “I’ve enjoyed their allegiance to their programs and am hopeful for their physical maintenance beyond the challenge, which has brought to light what they’d already been doing and has inspired them to do a little more.”
The instructor noted students could count all activities toward their tallies, with bicycling and walking to and from school in place of taking the bus as chief choices. Amira Nicholson, 10, enjoyed riding her bike yet made other endeavors her preferred picks.
“I did baseball and basketball and went to a dance party,” the fourth-grader, a resident of the 1900 block of South Woodstock Street, said adding that football also compelled her, which assisted her when she heaved balls across the field into cans. “I really liked everything about the program, so I’m going to tell other people to get outside more.”
Amira and every other commended student received nutrition tips from the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and swapped high-fives with the beloved mascot Swoop, whose arrival preceded that of cornerback Brandon Boykin and defensive end Fletcher Cox, second-year players looking to make their mark under rookie head coach Chip Kelly, and long snapper and outside linebacker Jon Dorenbos, an ’09 Pro Bowl selection set to begin his eighth year with the Eagles. The players gave the children more memories through a 30-minute session complete with additional activities, including spirited races. As Kelly has been engaging the athletes and their teammates in intense workouts and has offered dietary suggestions, Hastings sensed her students felt a connection with the professionals, a suspicion that Yasir confirmed.
“I want to play basketball for a living,” he said, “but no matter what I do, I’ll need to take care of myself like the Eagles do.”
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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