Got an awesome interview with my big sis', Saree, today! Saree runs
Girls on Target, a youth girls fitness program with major emphasis on empowerment, creating positive social/peer relationships, building confidence, and learning the positive benefits of fitness.
She does a hell of a job, and has such a huge impact on all her girls! Saree is definitely someone I look up to and a major role model for how to attack life and her job! She run Girls of Target with a great passion and enthusiasm, and it evident in the results she gets. So let's learn a little bit more about Girls on Target!
1.
Give us a background of Girls on Target (GOT) and what the your
underlying philosophy?
Girls
On Target started very organically. As a middle school teacher, I
noticed a number of things with girls in the middle school age range.
First, I noticed that when girls were not playing a sport, or didn't
"make the team", they did nothing at all physically. Where
boys would run around during lunch and play football or shoot hoops,
girls tend not to "play" this way. I felt it would be
hugely beneficial to provide an opportunity for girls to come
together and learn how to make fitness a lifestyle choice, not just
something that goes with a sports season.
Secondly, I found that
girls in this age range start to engage in the act of cutting one
another down instead of building one another up and so a
noncompetitive environment in which I could mentor girls through
supportive behaviors seemed to be a natural fit with a fitness
program. I also noticed when I was coaching high school track and
field that girls didn't keep up with their fitness levels in their
off season because there wasn't really a way to do so unless they
independently trained during their summers, and sometimes that
specific sport training is too much in the life of a young person.
Finally, I had young girls in my classroom asking me questions about
health and fitness all the time…there was a clear interest in
becoming healthy and fit, but not a lot of people out there mentoring
girls in this aspect outside of a sports team. All of this lead me
to start a running club at the school for which I worked and to begin
summer fitness programs for girls focused on circuit training,
Pilates, and yoga. That was really the birth of GOT, even though it
was not called Girls On Target at that point. The philosophy of GOT
is to provide a nurturing environment, using the outdoors, where
girls can come together and get fit and learn about all sorts of
exercise without the pressure of competition. Additionally, GOT's
philosophy is to make our classes like a family where we cheer each
other on and support one another through fitness tasks is an effort
to be more confident and empowered.
2.
What special Considerations need to be taken when training young
athletes, especially young girls?
For
starters, when it comes to circuit training and strength training,
young girls should not and cannot being doing the same kind of
strength training that adults do. Young girls may not be quite as
body aware, and they're still growing into themselves. I find it
beneficial to show girls how to use their own body weight to complete
strength exercises. Their own bodies are the perfect way to start to
teach them about alignment and proper form. When you add weights and
other tools into the mix, this can throw off the focus of proper form
which can lead to injury. I do use weights and bands with young
girls, but only after they have been instructed on what their bodies
should look like and feel like, and only when I'm there to observe
them safely completing the exercises.
It's also important to
consider how differently young girls develop and grow. Every girl
needs to be told that what is her very best may look totally
different than someone else's. For example, if one of the stops in
our circuit is step ups on a bench, one girls may be able to do 10 on
each leg in a 45 second burst while another may do 6 on each leg. I
like girls to know that as long as they feel like they are putting
forth their very best, it doesn't matter how the numbers compare.
It's also VERY important to consider the stage of life for
young athletes and
girls. Kids these days have school, social lives, homework,
extracurricular clubs, sports, and families all playing a very
central role in their lives. That's a lot going on! Fitness
programs need to be a place where they come and feel supported and
successful, so the goal shouldn't be to grind them to the ground, it
should be to get them moving in a fun way; and always focus on the
praise you can give along with any adjustments you need to give. I
also think a great thing to consider for young athletes and girls is
choice. Have a couple of different options for completing a workout.
Empower kids to make choices that benefit them on that particular
day. Maybe one day the sprint drill at a circuit stop is too much
for a girl after she played a huge soccer game the day before. Can't
she switch it up and do Karaokes or bounds…of course she can, and
she'll appreciate the power of choosing.
3.
With any kind of fitness or sporting program we often just think
about the physical aspect of things. Touch on the importance of
social, emotional, and cognitive aspects and way GOT helps develop
these qualities
I
think the emotional and cognitive side of fitness is the absolute
most important aspect. As a former athlete myself, most every elite
athlete I've ever met has been so because of their emotional and
cognitive strength.
In GOT, we set goals and have mantras. A mantra
is something you tell yourself, so much so, that you believe in your
mantra. For example, before a yoga session I may have the girls
close their eyes and repeat after me as we say, "I have the
power to conquer my dreams. I am meaningful to this world."
During the whole yoga session, I would then make sure to point out
how amazing it is that they had the power to hold their balance for
one more second or sit one inch lower in their lunge.
During hill workouts, I run behind the girls telling them how strong
they are, encouraging them the whole way, and when other girls finish
first, they wrap around and begin to mimic that encouragement while
running up with the others that are still finishing. Right there in
that instant, the girls have become a social family; they have
completed a goal together; they've had others believing in them; and
they believe and feel good about themselves when they're done.
At
the end of every session, I like to recap what we all completed and
remind them of how amazing it is that at such a young age, they've
made fitness a priority. That confidence transfers over to how they
feel about themselves in their everyday lives outside of GOT. I try
and teach girls that it's not about being the first, or the best,
it's about finding your personal strength and believing you can do
it. When girls get through a workout that is challenging, their
belief in themselves grows and that's way larger in the grand scheme
of things than the fitness. When girls get through a fitness session
together and with the support of one another, that support transfers
to how they treat each other as females outside of GOT…that's huge.
Women have to be one another's biggest supporters vs. enemies and
competitors.
4.
Take us through a typical session or workout. What components or
guidelines do you like to follow? What equipment, tools, or other
aspects do you like to include to enhance your session?
A
typical session starts with a goal, mantra, or positive conversation.
We talk for the first 5 minutes about the above or about what's new
in their lives. I set the tone of a community to begin.
We then
engage in 20-30 minutes of consistent movement be it through a hike,
a run/jog/fartlek, or a circuit. A typical circuit contains
exercises for all the major muscle groups. One station on core/torso, one on
leg strength, one on arms, and one on cardio.
We almost always
finish with a 20-30 minute yoga session. I believe in the guideline
of a balanced body, so if the circuit, for example, was heavy in
working the quads, I try and work in yoga poses that focus on
the hamstrings. I use the great outdoors as my major tool. All of
my classes are in parks or canyons so we use what's right at our
fingertips to enhance our fitness.
Benches in the park are great
places for push ups and tricep dips, stubs of logs are great places
for toe taps and to jump over for plyometric drills…as are cracks
in sidewalks, hills are great places for bounds and lunges, trees are
great places for seated squat holds, playground equipment is awesome
for reverse chin-ups and abs…you get the point :-).
I want girls to
start to see the world around them as a place they can be fit; I
think that in the long run, this is more likely to make fitness a
lifestyle. I also use rubber bands, 3-5 lb dumbbells, cones, and
flat ladders. We always end with a workout recap, hugs and high
fives. I sometimes like to send them home with a printed out mantra
to hang on their bulletin board, post in their school planners, or
whoever they'll feel inspired when they see it.
5. We live in a male dominated - professional sports world. This can make it tougher for girls to find athletic/fitness based role models compared to boys. How important is for young girls to have these role models and are there ways you help your girls or parents to find positive fitness role models?
It is hard for girls, especially outside of the sports world. I think girls who are really into a sport, have another girl they look to as an inspiration in that sport, but I'm not sure that always transfers over into a role model to see yourself in, in terms of everyday life. I encourage girls and parents to check out my camps because I get friends together to work with me. Right there in that aspect, I'm giving the girls role models and modeling how friends can get together and be fit just for fun.
I think it's huge for girls to have an older girl mentor. I had them growing up, and they inspired me down the path I've taken to this day. One of my high school hurdle coaches was my biggest mentor and role model. What I loved best about her was how she gave me advice in areas outside of track and field. She talked to me about respecting myself, treating other with kindness, and how to respond to those that were not kind to me. Not only that, but I saw her model all those behaviors too. I want to be that kind of role model for other girls because then they too will pay it forward when they become women.
Many of my classes are for 4-8th grade girls. I'm always encouraging the older girls to be positive examples for the younger ones…it's a domino affect! Those younger girls will then strive to be role models as well. I believe in leading girls because I want them to grow up and pay it forward. I think parents should consider programs like GOT for that aspect alone. Positivity breeds positivity, and with a much greater impact on this world than negativity; I truly believe that.
6. Tough question time! What are 3 things you want your girls to take away from the GOT program?
- A belief and love for themselves, for exactly who they are
- A love for fitness and movement
- The knowledge that they have the power within themselves to go after their dreams
7. What are 3 things you want parents or just the general population to learn from GOT?
- That in today's day and age, it is crucial that we build young girls up for the future success of our society and world
-That fitness is fun, especially when done with friends!
- That I genuinely love and believe in this program and will do all I can to be the absolute biggest fan and supporter of every girl who walks into my program.
8. Ideally what is your goal/vision for GOT in the future?
My vision for GOT is to grow in the community of San Diego in which I live, but I also want to one day grow it to be all over. I'd love to set up training programs for other female fitness enthusiasts who believe in the utmost importance of leading young girls so that they too could start their own GOT programs in communities all over America. I'd love to GOT centers close to great outdoor spaces. The centers would have homework help, cooking classes, hip hop fitness, circuits, yoga, meditation, etc. Basically, a place where girls can come together in a supportive community and do healthy and fun girl stuff together! This is a big dream, but I believe in big dreams, and I believe in empowering girls to be the best versions of themselves possible.
Go to
Girls on Targets' website to learn more about this program as well as details on how to get involved, GOT's blog, and other great information!
