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The
second level of kids that I could help would be those
who are beginning down the road of chronic obesity…alright,
fat kids. These kids need to be treated with respect
and compassion but in this case respect and compassion
may take the form of "tough love."
If
I could do anything anything ANYTHING in my coaching
business it would be to inspire and have a profound
impact on inactive kids like this. If this is you, I
would work hard to build trust and convince you that
a commitment to a fit life
is something that is worthwhile, necessary and within
reach - if you act NOW! Fitness for you may
conjure up embarrassing moments in gym class or getting
picked last on the playground - I will break all those
mental hindrances!
I
work out at a big fitness-factory type health club and
occasionally I see a chubby boy and girl, probably 12
or 13, in there with who appears to be their dad. God
bless 'em! However … while I applaud their courage for
showing up at a huge gym with hardbodied adults, I've
got to say these kids are wasting their time. I'm sorry
to say that, but that's how I feel. First off, their
dad(?) is no paragon of fitness. And secondly, the kids
get on the aerobic machines and … I don't know quite
what they're doing … but they certainly aren't going
to get any benefits by hanging on the treadmill rails
or meandering from machine to machine for a minute or
two. I really care about these kids because they have
made such a courageous first step - identifying the
need to get fit. (However at this point I don't feel
its my position to confront the dad much less try to
coach the kids - it might only feed gym insecurities.)
Parents!
Don't let these be your kids! Kids! If your parents
won't step up to the plate, either demand that they
go to bat for you or else
asap!
Finally
one more story. My best friend growing up was Joey Zalavary.
All through grade school Joey was the chubby kid picked
last in gym class. It broke his heart when he got cut
from the 9th grade basketball team and had to be the
team "manager." But then that summer, (between 9th and
10th grade) Joey took action. Joey was sick of being
the fat kid and so he started running. I don't think
he had any coaching and his parents didn't help, but
he ran and ran and ran. All this was done in isolation
as we all had summer jobs and rarely saw each other.
But let me tell you, when 10th grade started, Joey was
a lean 145 pounds (he was 5'8") and had dropped 50+
pounds! Not only that, but he went out for the cross-country
team and became the number ONE runner! He literally
went from being the slowest kid in school to the fastest!
The
moral of this story is that anything is possible for
teenagers. Few, very few, have the self-startedness
that Joey had. And this is the deficiency I wish to
address. I will be the positive inspiration in your
life, if you are seeking inspiration.
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