Category Archives: Youth Sports

Great Story: 'Dumb Jock' Just a Myth

This is a great story from Reuters:

‘Dumb Jock’ Just a Myth: Physically Fit Students Do Better Academically

Friday , February 26, 2010

NEW YORK —

Getting students to exercise more might not just address obesity issues but also improve their grades with a U.S. study finding physically fit students tend to score higher in tests than their less fit peers.

Test scores dropped more than one point for each extra minute it took middle and high school students to complete a one mile run/walk fitness test, according to Dr. William J. McCarthy and colleagues at the University of California in Los Angeles.

Schools and parents seeking to optimize their students’ academic performance should take heed, McCarthy noted in an email to Reuters Health.

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Officer Cruz is Way Cool!

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This is a write up from the old blog originally posted on July 14, 2009:

Yesterday evening I went out to Lynbrook Elementary School.  I was asked to go see a soccer program run by Fairfax Police Officer Al Cruz and some other officers from the Springfield substation.

I am not sure what I expected, but I can tell you this:  It was awesome.

Kids from about six years old to nineteen were out there playing.  There are four different sets of kids playing pickup games and running drills.  In all, there were more than 100 kids out playing and there are some Monday afternoons that there are more than 200 playing.

On a field and in a community where kids weren’t able to play safely just a few years ago, the police have created a safe haven free of gangs and drugs.  It’s not often you see a police 4×4 in the middle of a playground or uniformed and plain clothes officers walking around with their side arms clearly visible – but it works.

Here’s a link to a Washington Post article about the program.