The Spring 2011 season has started this week and we have almost 400 girls participating! Check out site locations here:
http://gotrshr.org/registrationlocations.html
Have a great season girls...we look forward to seeing you conquer Mount Trashmore on June 4th!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
We love our coaches!
We have some amazing coaches that dedicate HUGE amounts of time to make this program a success. We want to take the opportunity to thank them and highlight them here...
Martha Cuevas is the head coach at Coventry Elementary School in Yorktown, where she currently coaches a team of 15 girls on Mondays and Wednesdays. This is her third year volunteering with Girls on the Run.
Martha Cuevas is the head coach at Coventry Elementary School in Yorktown, where she currently coaches a team of 15 girls on Mondays and Wednesdays. This is her third year volunteering with Girls on the Run. How and why did you start coaching for GoTR?
I had been a volunteer at the Victory YMCA for many years. I wanted a new volunteer opportunity and Errold Cobbins introduced me to the program. Once I started coaching, I was hooked!!!
What's your favorite part of being a coach?
I love being able to spend time with just the girls. They always have sometime to say and are anxious to tell you all their thoughts. The lessons and the running components are just the right mix. I can really see the girls becoming stronger runners and more outspoken!!! They might start out being shy but by the end of the season, they have made many new friends and are comfortable telling you what's on their minds.
What is your funniest GoTR moment?
This one is hard. We have lots of funny moments. I would probably say that some of the warm up games have been hilarious. Skin the snake had to be the funniest? The girls were giggling and falling all over the place. They were complaining that someone's butt was in their face or falling on each other. Of course, once we finished, they wanted to do it again. Hotchamama was also very funny. It's really funning to watch!!!
Do you have a favorite place to run in Hampton Roads?
I run in my neighborhood a lot but I would say my favorite place would be Noland's Trail. It's a tough course but very beautiful and challenging!
Do you have a tip for staying healthy/fit when it's cold outside?
I'm not much of a cold weather person!!! I keep with my routine and make sure I go to the gym early in the AM before work. I play tennis 3 or 4 times a week indoors!!! If I skip the gym, I have lots of exercise equipment at home and I make sure I use it!!! Since I teach PE, I'm always trying to change the kids exercise routine so they don't get bored. By doing this, I constantly have to exercise along with them!
What the girls have to say about their coach...
"When you need someone to talk to, she's always there for you." - Florence
"She's really nice. Like today she gave me a t-shirt so that I didn't have to run in a dress."
- Amy
"She helps me stay healthy." - Carly
I had been a volunteer at the Victory YMCA for many years. I wanted a new volunteer opportunity and Errold Cobbins introduced me to the program. Once I started coaching, I was hooked!!!
What's your favorite part of being a coach?
I love being able to spend time with just the girls. They always have sometime to say and are anxious to tell you all their thoughts. The lessons and the running components are just the right mix. I can really see the girls becoming stronger runners and more outspoken!!! They might start out being shy but by the end of the season, they have made many new friends and are comfortable telling you what's on their minds.
What is your funniest GoTR moment?
This one is hard. We have lots of funny moments. I would probably say that some of the warm up games have been hilarious. Skin the snake had to be the funniest? The girls were giggling and falling all over the place. They were complaining that someone's butt was in their face or falling on each other. Of course, once we finished, they wanted to do it again. Hotchamama was also very funny. It's really funning to watch!!!
Do you have a favorite place to run in Hampton Roads?
I run in my neighborhood a lot but I would say my favorite place would be Noland's Trail. It's a tough course but very beautiful and challenging!
Do you have a tip for staying healthy/fit when it's cold outside?
I'm not much of a cold weather person!!! I keep with my routine and make sure I go to the gym early in the AM before work. I play tennis 3 or 4 times a week indoors!!! If I skip the gym, I have lots of exercise equipment at home and I make sure I use it!!! Since I teach PE, I'm always trying to change the kids exercise routine so they don't get bored. By doing this, I constantly have to exercise along with them!
What the girls have to say about their coach...
"When you need someone to talk to, she's always there for you." - Florence
"She's really nice. Like today she gave me a t-shirt so that I didn't have to run in a dress."
- Amy
"She helps me stay healthy." - Carly
Monday, January 31, 2011
A Day in the Life: Coventry
Last October, I visited Coach Cuevas and her girls at Coventry Elementary School in Yorktown to see what a day of practice looks like for GoTR. Wow, these girls are like Energizer bunnies! Here's what we did:
Classroom
Snack time/socializing: The girls enjoy a delicious spread of fresh fruit, animal crackers, pretzels, graham crackers, peanut butter, and Goldfish. We wait on a few girls to arrive from other schools.
Coach introduces the topic of the day: Gossip. They discuss what gossip is and the girls are eager to share their own encounters with gossip at school and home. We try to figure out what constitutes gossip. For example: If your friend tells you that she likes a boy and she wants you to tell him, is that gossip?
Coach reminds the girls to try their best and encourage each other during practice. She reminds the girl what they're training for (the 5K in December) and suddenly excitement fills the air. Then we realize that the race is the same day as the Christmas Town Dash, a race through Busch Gardens. Slight bummer. One girl proudly shows me a scar on her leg from the last 5K she ran. She's still super excited about the next race...what a tough cookie!
Soccer Field
First activity of the day: relay race, telephone style. We divide into two teams and soon realize that this game isn't so easy. Somehow "if you need help making a choice, listen to a trusted voice" turns into "if you're lonely, listen to your dog."
After four laps or five laps, we gather at the bleachers to talk about why gossip, unlike the telephone game, isn't funny. We also talk about why people may enjoy gossiping, how to remove ourselves from the gossip chain, and how to turn negative situations into positive ones. I loved this example: if someone tells you that your friend is fat, tell her that she's awesome instead!
One volunteer demonstrated the lasting impact of gossip by squeezing toothpaste on her finger and trying to get it all back in the tube. Although she could fit most of it back in, there was a little bit remaining thgat refused to go back in. We see how toothpaste, like gossip, is very hard to take back.
The girls randomly start singing- loud. I discover it's a Hannah Montana song.
Second activity of the day: scavenger hunt. The girls break up into pairs and get a list of tasks and a Ziploc bag. Among their tasks: find something blue, find something prickly, scream across the field, skip laps, jump rope 10 times without messing up.
I thought that the girls would have difficulty with one particular task: find someone under 25, not affiliated with GoTR, to sign the back of your paper. They quickly proved me wrong when they (politely) interrupted a football game and got the signatures from a group of high school boys. Wow- I wish I was that gutsy!
We hear thunder... Coach gets us off the bleachers pronto! Rain starts to fall.
Gym
We finish the scavenger hunt inside. I soon discover that a lot of these girls love cheerleading. When they came to the task of doing a cheer for their coaches, the girls were strategizing and performing like pros.
They finished the day off with a quick game of Hotchamamma. I'm not 100% sure what this game entails, but the girls cover their eyes, say Hotchamammaa lot, and join a blob.
Yeah, I'm definitely going to need the girls to explain that one to me next time...
Classroom
Snack time/socializing: The girls enjoy a delicious spread of fresh fruit, animal crackers, pretzels, graham crackers, peanut butter, and Goldfish. We wait on a few girls to arrive from other schools.
Coach introduces the topic of the day: Gossip. They discuss what gossip is and the girls are eager to share their own encounters with gossip at school and home. We try to figure out what constitutes gossip. For example: If your friend tells you that she likes a boy and she wants you to tell him, is that gossip?
Coach reminds the girls to try their best and encourage each other during practice. She reminds the girl what they're training for (the 5K in December) and suddenly excitement fills the air. Then we realize that the race is the same day as the Christmas Town Dash, a race through Busch Gardens. Slight bummer. One girl proudly shows me a scar on her leg from the last 5K she ran. She's still super excited about the next race...what a tough cookie!
Soccer Field
First activity of the day: relay race, telephone style. We divide into two teams and soon realize that this game isn't so easy. Somehow "if you need help making a choice, listen to a trusted voice" turns into "if you're lonely, listen to your dog."
After four laps or five laps, we gather at the bleachers to talk about why gossip, unlike the telephone game, isn't funny. We also talk about why people may enjoy gossiping, how to remove ourselves from the gossip chain, and how to turn negative situations into positive ones. I loved this example: if someone tells you that your friend is fat, tell her that she's awesome instead!
One volunteer demonstrated the lasting impact of gossip by squeezing toothpaste on her finger and trying to get it all back in the tube. Although she could fit most of it back in, there was a little bit remaining thgat refused to go back in. We see how toothpaste, like gossip, is very hard to take back.
The girls randomly start singing- loud. I discover it's a Hannah Montana song.
Second activity of the day: scavenger hunt. The girls break up into pairs and get a list of tasks and a Ziploc bag. Among their tasks: find something blue, find something prickly, scream across the field, skip laps, jump rope 10 times without messing up.
I thought that the girls would have difficulty with one particular task: find someone under 25, not affiliated with GoTR, to sign the back of your paper. They quickly proved me wrong when they (politely) interrupted a football game and got the signatures from a group of high school boys. Wow- I wish I was that gutsy!
We hear thunder... Coach gets us off the bleachers pronto! Rain starts to fall.
Gym
We finish the scavenger hunt inside. I soon discover that a lot of these girls love cheerleading. When they came to the task of doing a cheer for their coaches, the girls were strategizing and performing like pros.
They finished the day off with a quick game of Hotchamamma. I'm not 100% sure what this game entails, but the girls cover their eyes, say Hotchamammaa lot, and join a blob.
Yeah, I'm definitely going to need the girls to explain that one to me next time...
Welcome to our new blog!
Hello! My name is Sally and I am going to start blogging for Girls on the Run of South Hampton Roads. Hope you enjoy it...please feel free to leave a comment!
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