Fitness program serves local kids

Karate and dance may sound like a peculiar combination, but for the participants of… Karate and dance may sound like a peculiar combination, but for the participants of Saturday’s Kids, the two forms of physical activity blend two important ingredients: exercise and fun.

Since the fall of 2004, the free Saturday’s Kids program has provided physical education and physical fitness for children in the Pittsburgh area. Children from 6 to 12 years old are eligible.

Every Saturday morning, the University closes Trees Hall to students and instead, opens the facility to the program’s children and their parents.

Starting the session as a large group, the kids and their instructors warm up and stretch before being divided into two groups.

While one group goes to the dance studio to learn the day’s dance lesson, the other group practices their karate techniques in the multi-purpose room. Eventually, the groups rotate so that all the participants have an equal share of both activities.

In the dance studio the children learn a range of dance styles over the course of the program including jazz, tap, hip-hop and line dancing. The dance instructors, who are primarily Pitt students, demonstrate the dance techniques before practicing them with the kids.

Some of the young dancers succeed at imitating the moves of their instructors while others dance to a beat of their own.

Anne Pavlick, a Pitt senior and dance instructor in the program, believes Saturday’s Kids is highly beneficial.

“The best thing is the variety and the personal attention that the kids get,” Pavlick said. “This is a good way to keep them occupied in a safe and educational environment.”

Veteran martial artist and Pitt police officer Curtis Smith teaches the children fundamentals of karate such as basic punching and kicking techniques, using a variety of heavy bags.

Donning boxing gloves and protective headgear, the kids pair up for sparring matches. Their list of martial arts-related activities is long and diverse.

Twelve-year-old Thomas Davis of Oak Hill especially enjoys the karate activities and talked about the value of learning this sport.

“It’s fun,” he said. “We get to learn stuff, how to fight and how to protect ourselves.”

To train not only the bodies of the participants but their minds as well, the karate instructors demand focus from the children.

Similarly, the instructors adopt stricter attitudes, as well. In spite of the discipline, the kids enjoy meeting their instructors’ expectations and listen attentively.

Pitt’s Department of Health and Physical Activity and its Community Leisure-Learn Program formed Saturday’s Kids to keep a strong relationship between Pitt and its surrounding communities.

The program is funded through Pitt’s school of education and by charitable donations.

Seventy-five children from numerous area neighborhoods take part in the program, which runs for nine weeks each fall and spring semester.

“We wanted to keep the relationship with our neighbors positive. We wanted to offer the programs in the facility to the community,” Martha Pristas, director of the Community Leisure-Learn Program, said.

Kia Stone, of McKeesport, a parent of one of the program’s participants, said she likes the program because if offers basic instruction, “but the kids still have a chance to have fun.”

While the kids are busy with dance and karate, parents can sit on the bleachers or take part in the Parents Fitness 101 program, which allows the parents of children in the Saturday’s Kids program to use the weight room in Trees Hall.

Parents are provided with fitness assessments and are taught how to use the different equipment.

“It used to be the kids were dragging the parents in. Now, it’s many times that the parents are as enthusiastic as the kids,” Pristas said.