GAINESVILLE, Ga. -- Workers at the Positive Place Boys and Girls Club have some creative ways to beat the heat. But mid-90s in June force some less-innovative solutions. Besides, there's something fun about spraying friends with a hose or just dumping a cup of water on an unsuspecting soul on the playground.
Especially when the victim is a professional football player.
More than a dozen Falcons players and cheerleaders made the trip to Positive Place Wednesday afternoon for a very special event -- the 100th Falcons Fitness Zones visit. You can find players at fitness zones almost every week of the year, but never have so many gathered in one afternoon to inspire.
Terrance Pennington, Antoine Harris, Von Hutchins, D.J. Shockley, Travis Williams, Martrez Milner, Michael Koenen, Kevin Lovell, D'Anthony Batiste, Kurt Quarterman, Daren Stone, Roddy White, Doug Datish, Chris Houston and Brian Finneran were among the players that joined more than 200 club members.
"Most of these kids don't see athletes in their lives," Houston said. "They think it's hard to reach out and touch us. I want to show them that we're real people."
To take advantage of that approachability, players spent more than an hour at the club running outdoor games and dancing through the gym with help from HOPSports -- a key interactive opponent in some Fitness Zones. The technology features interactive instruction projected on a large screen.
Koenen and Lovell went low-tech, avoiding -- and sometimes dishing out -- some splashes of water on a hot afternoon. Finneran, Stone, Quarterman, Datish, Williams and Harris manned various relay races.
In Fall 2005, the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation launched fitness zones as its signature program. Through a partnership with the YMCA of Metro Atlanta, Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, the YWCA of Metro Atlanta and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hall County, the program fights youth obesity by promoting physical fitness and healthy eating.
The foundation donates $1 million in grants to Fitness Zones annual bringing year-round programming to more than 4,700 kids per day.
"When the kids see professional athletes it excites them," says Steven Mickens, vice president of operations for the Boys and Girls Club of Hall County. "They don't get a lot of opportunities to go down to Atlanta and watch the Falcons play."
Mickens said the club served more than 3,600 youth last year. Falcons players help by adding a fresh outlook to exercise and encouraging every child to reach his or her full potential.
"The guys talk about living a healthy lifestyle," he said. "It doesn't matter if you're playing sports or not."
John Bare, vice president over the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, said Fitness Zones will continue to expand, particularly when it comes to activities other than football, baseball and basketball.
"The kids are our customers and we're always listening to them," he said. "What we find is kids want a variety of opportunities. A lot of kids like to participate in traditional sports but we also find lots of young people that are interested in other kind of activities -- dance, gymnastics, judo, swimming. We're (also) seeing increased interest in lacrosse."
Of course, there will always be players around to help in the process.
"What makes it so special is the players keep coming back and the kids realize pretty quickly how much the players and The Falcons care about their development, particularly when it comes to being fit and active," Bare said . "It's a powerful way to show the kids in Atlanta and Gainesville how much they care about them."
