News: Weller Students Tackle Fitness with Redskins

Special to VivaLoudoun.com
Via Loudoun County Public Schools

(Nov. 3, 2010) - Even big guys skip…

That was proven on Oct. 19th when Redskins guard Kory Lichtensteiger – all 6-2, 292 pounds of him – exercised with students at Steuart W. Weller Elementary.

Lichtensteiger and safety Chris Horton exercised with a group of Weller students as part of the NFL's Play 60 program and the United Way of the Capital Area's Fun, Fly and Fit and Hometown Huddle programs.


The mission of all three of these programs is to combat childhood obesity by teaching children simple games they can play that will keep them active and fit.

Under the supervision of a trained physical education instructor, the students and Redskins took part in some relay races of varying types and intensity; including one that involved skipping. (Note: you really wanted to have a Redskin on your team for a relay race since Horton and Lichtensteiger move a lot more quickly than your average fifth-grader, even when skipping.)

Then the balloons came out…

Students were instructed to go to a huge pile of balloons at one side of the multi-purpose room to pick out a blue or red balloon to tie to one of their feet. Students then were separated on opposite sides of the room and, on a signal, raced to the center to stomp on the balloon of the opposite color. (Score was kept to determine the winning team, but scoring soon became secondary.)

The results were loud and fun. (While the Redskins couldn't participate in the balloon popping because of their obvious size advantage; they did tie many a balloon to a little foot and were enthusiastic in offering strategy.)

The last relay race of the day involved students racing to a chair where they sat on a balloon until it popped. Unfortunately, some of the participants were so small that they didn't have the body mass to accomplish this task. Lichtensteiger came to the rescue, picking these students up and (gently) bouncing them up and down until the object of the game was accomplished.

After the workout, Horton and Lichtensteiger stuck around to sign autographs for, and take pictures with, any student who asked.