By Cory Tischbein
Get out, be active and work up a sweat was the message New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck and New York Jets wide receiver Brad Smith sent to Queens children last Thursday at their one-day sports camp at Jamaica's Roy Wilkins Park.
“Put down the PlayStation and go outside, play real games,” Tuck urged the crowd of 50 enthusiastic children chanting “Jets, Jets, Jets!”
Under a hot July afternoon sun, the football stars taught children how to perform a “Jets workout” — which consists of toe-touching, various stretches, jumping rope, kicking, passing and jumping jacks — and emphasized the importance of regular exercise.
The 50 children, aged 4 to 10, were separated into groups of about 20. In pairs, they ran an exercise-filled obstacle course that their “Jets workout” thoroughly prepared them for.
After they completed the course, Tuck and Smith greeted the young athletes with quick football passes, praise and smiles.
“If you guys stay active and work hard like you did today, you can get really far in life,” Smith told the first group that finished the course.
After all the groups finished the exercises, Tuck and Smith rewarded them with dozens of autographed footballs and NFL draft caps.
Volunteers from RCN, a corporation that provides phone, cable and Internet service to thousands of New Yorkers, and United Way, an organization that manages and heads community events, joined the NFL players at the sports camp, helping to supervise and manage the activities.
“This camp speaks a lot on behalf of volunteerism and community activism. Anyone can get involved and make a difference,” said Toni Goehring, 28, a United Way volunteer associate.
Goehring said she loves working for United Way because it allows her to get involved with “community activities that work toward the common good, educate children and are a blast to be part of.”
“It's great that this event is teaching kids an important lesson: that exercise is both healthy and fun,” said Goehring.
