SAN DIEGO — Physical education teachers and sport coaches are getting creative by moving their workouts and gym classes online.
“Here we go! Hope everyone stretched,” said coach Kenny Nears of Madison High School.
Starting out with jumping jacks, Nears got the football team warmed up during their workout done three times a week on Zoom. From push ups to squats, the virtual workout serves as workaround that Madison Football head coach Rick Jackson works with now that school is closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The hardest part for me is not seeing my kids everyday. That’s a struggle. That’s why I became a teacher. We’re used to being hands on, face-to-face, and having that type of interaction,” Jackson said.
The workouts on zoom can have close to 70 student athletes working out together, and if the players don't have dumbbells, coach Nears tells them to improvise by using water jugs or a heavy backpack full of books.
It's that kind of ingenuity that San Diego Unified School District physical education resource teacher Lynn Barnes-Wallace said every P.E. teacher has to now have.
“We have to do activities inside. They don’t have equipment, so what kind of equipment can we have them find in their own houses?” Barnes-Wallace said.
Barnes-Wallace said educators are implementing new activities including juggling for kids and finding more family activities, where students can find balance.
“We’re all teachers. Physical Education teachers have to fly by the seat of their pants most of the time. What if it rains? What if there’s an assembly? We’re constantly having to adapt to our environment,” Barnes-Wallace said.
Gage Elementary School P.E. Teacher, Marylou Baranowski created a weekly schedule for her young minds.
“On Fridays, I’ll do, we call it Zoom-ba fitness where the kids join in and dance with me and work out,” Baranowski said.
Baranowski said she’s learned to adapt while leading close to 90 students at a time online.
“I make up Jeopardy games and have tournaments on Zoom, I have also learned really quick to not let kids share the screen and to not let them go upside down,” she said.
From a warm-up exercise to a fitness quiz, instructors are doing anything to make sure students get their required P.E. minutes in.
“To have the kids not be outside is not in their nature. They need to move. They need to get out, and that’s the best way to fight this is with a strong immune system,” Baranowski said.
As for the upcoming high school football season, Madison High coach Rick Jackson said, “It is a giant question mark. I think all of us are on edge in regards to it. I do fully believe that there’s going to be a season however that might look.”