A new sports initiative invites young athletes to trade screentime for playtime.
Tuesday through Friday Rexburg kids ages 5 to 11 are invited to participate in the “A Sport a Day” initiative through Nov. 22.
BYU-Idaho nursing student Hannah Dodds created the initiative as an effort to help kids get more physical activity.
“Kids in general these days aren't moving as much as they should,” Dodds said. “Kids should be getting an hour of exercise a day, but they're just not and so my initiative, each day, Tuesday through Friday, we play a different sport, and we come as a group and all play together for an hour.”
The free initiative lasts one hour and starts at 5 p.m. Kids will learn soccer, futsal, volleyball, basketball and football.
“There's a whole lot of different sports that kids can play, and I wanted them to understand that there's a lot that they can do and there's a lot of different options,” Dodds said. “Hopefully the kids can find a sport that they like and come all the time, or they can just come for that one specific sport and look forward to that time during the week.”
The initiative is located at the church building south of campus at 289 West 7th South.
“I think that sports is just such a great way, especially for kids, to get involved in physical activity,” Dodds said. “Being able to get engaged in a sport early on in one's life and be able to stick with it just establishes healthy habits and a desire to want to exercise in general.”
For more information about the sports initiative, you can email Dodds at wra19001@byui.edu.