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 Helping to Bring Valuable Sports Programs to Inner-City Schools 

Every week, Liz Hover, one of our highly valued Gymtime coaches, brings her NYC gymnastics experience and know-how to P.S/I.S. 171. It is there that she works with children in the sports program setup by fastnyc.

fastnyc, a 501(c)3 based in Brooklyn, works within NYC communities to organize school programs such as recess, sports training, teacher coaching training and school food advisory at under-served schools in many of our at-risk communities. fastnyc also helps to provide after-school youth sports leagues, arts and tutoring programs, giving students an opportunity to learn about and benefit from an active, academic-focused lifestyle. The organization works to make it possible for more children to become educated about the benefits of healthy living.

Through the Gymtime Foundation, we are able to support organization’s like fastnyc that work to promote children’s health and wellness. We were initially introduced to fastnyc a couple of years ago by Foundation board members, and partnering with the organization has since become a part of our ongoing commitment to giving back. fastnyc embodies the same fundamentals that we work to instill in our young athletes at Gymtime, which is that physical activity is an essential element in living a healthy life.

The gymnastics skills Coach Liz helps to offer through fastnyc teach basics that benefit every child. Practicing basic sports skills, like dribbling a soccer ball or basketball or learning to control a puck with a hockey stick, provides a platform for children to take into any sports path they choose. Pairing that with gymnastics skills, such as handstands, cartwheels, jumping and balancing, will only enhance children’s gross motor skills and coordination while also strengthening their muscles and core strength.

As part of our mission at Gymtime, we try to teach our students good habits like eating well and being active, which help to put children on a path to healthy living. Through our work with fastnyc, Coach Liz helps to instill these values to another group of young people through the teachings of our gymnastics curriculum, including warm-up routines such as cart wheels, handstands, forward rolls, straight/tuck jumps, floor exercise work.

fastnyc is another way in which Gymtime is able to get out in the community and share what we love and believe in with even more children, hopefully having a positive impact on the way they choose to live. We are rewarded in seeing that the students are eager to learn new things, willing to participate and happy to be a part of something fun.

For more information, visit fastnyc.org

SHARED By: Chris Vollaro, Director of Gymnastics and Sports Programs, Gymtime