Summer sports instructions

The City Parks Foundation will once again hold its free summer sports instruction programs for New York City children throughout the five boroughs.
David Rivel, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation, Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr., 30 fourth graders from P.S. 122 in Astoria, as well as others, were on hand in Astoria on Wednesday for the June 13 announcement.
Kids ages 5-16 can register for beginner, intermediate, or advanced golf, track and field, or tennis. The programs, that address health issues like childhood obesity, usually serve 10,000 children a summer of which 3,000 are from Queens.
“While we know that changes in diet are imperative, the fact is that eating healthier foods must go hand-in-hand with assuming a more active lifestyle,” said Dr. William Gibbs, Director of Rehabilitation Medicine for Queens Hospital Center and Co-Founder of Healthy Lifestyles, a program that focuses on pediatric obesity.
CityParks Tennis presented by JPMorgan Chase will be offered at 37 parks around the city and will end with a beginners’ tournament at Central Park and intermediate tournament at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Intermediate and advanced participants can join in a tournament series and a tennis academy.
CityParks Track & Field sponsored by ING offers instruction in the basic rules of the sports of long jump, shot put, javelin throw, and hurdles. This instruction will take place at 13 parks in the five boroughs. The session will end with an organized track meet at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island.
CityParks Golf runs for two, four-week sessions and will be at 19 sites around the city. The first beginner session goes from July 2 through August 1 and the second program begins on July 30 and ends on August 29. Advanced instruction can be found through CityParks Golf intermediate program and their Junior Golf Academy.
“Running, jumping, swinging and sweating, that’s what kids should be doing during the summer, and this citywide sports program gives them a free and accessible way to do it,” said Councilmember Vallone.
To register for CityParks Track & Field and CityParks Tennis, children have to wait to register on-site. CityParks Track and Field begins on July 9 and ends August 14. CityParks Tennis begins on July 2 and ends August 14. Registration usually fills up quickly so a good suggestion is to arrive early to the sessions to register. To find the closest site, you can visit www.CityParksFoundation.org.
You can visit the same site to pre-register for CityParks Golf or you can call 718-760-6999. Over 200 Queens kids have already registered for CityParks Golf.