03 Oct Field Day at the NFL YET
On an August day, kids aged 5-14 who were enrolled in the summer camp at the NFL Youth Education Town (YET) Center, participated in Field Day. This summer’s event was the brainchild of Bobbie McKenney, a coach at the camp, who planned the various activities, donated food for the participants, and arranged beverage donations from parents.
The outside area of the property was sectioned off for a three -legged race, sack race, tug- of- war, spoon race, water bucket relay, and balloon race. According to Coach McKenney, groups of children rotated to each section in order to allow for everyone to compete in all of the activities.
Armani Smith, 10, excitedly said, “It was awesome! We got wet… busting the balloons.”
Zariya Logue, 13, stated, “It was fun. We had a water bucket contest. The bucket had holes in it, so we got wet.’’ At the end of the contest, “We could throw the water balloons at the other kids. I was soaked. I had so much fun!” Indeed, on a 90 degree plus day, getting wet was a relief from the heat. Upon completion of Field Day activities, winners were able to redeem their red tickets at the center’s Score Store for prizes, such as various games and dolls.
When questioned about the day’s activities, Ruth Tisdoll, a Park Service Aid (PSA), stated, “It’s a time for the kids to come together and compete. They’ve met a lot of new friends, played a lot of new games, and learned how to swim, bowl, skate, and [compete in] track and field.” Ms. Tisdoll believes that summer camp is very beneficial to the community because it is a place where kids can “have that classroom experience, interact with their peers instead of sitting home doing completely nothing.” She emphasized that it allowed many youth to stay off the streets, and avoid “getting into trouble.’’
Ms. Tisdoll’s favorite field day event was the spoon race. The objective of this activity was to balance an egg on a spoon and walk in a straight line. It was important for kids to maintain eye and hand coordination as they headed toward the finish line. Ms. Tisdoll said, “To see them trying to keep an egg on a spoon was hilarious!’’
Eve McKinsey, Community in Schools (CIS) coordinator at the Center, commented that the event “was very well planned and organized.’’
Coach McKenney concluded, stating that she feels “today was a success. It’s all about the kids, nothing else. If the kids are happy, I’m happy.’’ Indeed, the kids were very happy as they showed off their prizes, and enjoyed playing with friends during indoor free play following field day events.
Written by Darlene Gay