A 10-week, after school exercise program designed for teenagers is just under a month away for Town of Crawford residents.

The Town of Crawford is excited to announce their brand new fitness program exclusively meant for high school students to exercise, engage with peers and form leadership skills. After receiving a $6,200 grant from the Orange County Youth Bureau that provided new equipment and some apparel, Community Services Director Joan Miller and the Crawford Community Services got to work on creating an after school 10-week program for local students beginning April 10 and ending on June 19. The free classes are part of a fitness program that will include cardio training, resistance training, and yoga and meditation.

Miller, a lifelong fitness instructor, is excited for the process to begin. “It’s [the program] twice a week. I go get the kids from the school and I walk them back across the street. During that 35-minute class, we focus on some aspect of physical fitness,” Miller stated, mentioning that the classes will take place in the expanded fitness center at town hall.

Some classes could involve weights while others could be a boot camp type workout, but alternatively, it could also be a combination.

Miller mentioned that she’ll be assessing the classes. “What I’m going to assess in the course of the program is how kids feel about themselves and how they feel about others around them. There are a lot of student athletes, but a lot of students don’t feel like they have the athletic prowess or desire to even be on a team,” said Miller.

The classes will be competition free with the opportunity for the students to set their own fitness goals. Miller also mentions three periodic fitness tests, one in the beginning, middle and end of the program that she will conduct to see progress. There will also be leadership exercises which include potentially designating students to lead a group, and team bonding exercises.

With Miller’s background in fitness instructing, she feels hopeful to carry over feelings and ideas from her other classes. “That’s always been the focal point of all my classes, that when people come in, they feel welcome. Then, they feel good when they leave,” Miller stated.
Further, she wants to teach the students that exercise can be an uplifting and even fun hobby.

“My goal is to have them come have fun exercising and realize exercise can feel good, it doesn’t have to be drudgery. They might find something they really enjoy, especially yoga which I think it’s particularly important for kids,” mentioned Miller, who references the stress of the high school workload.

After the classes, students will receive healthy snacks and be walked back to the school to catch the late bus home.

Students can be registered for the program on FamilyID, by emailing communityservices@townofcrawford.org, or by calling 845-744-8230.

The program is specifically intended for Town of Crawford residents grades nine through 12 and is free of cost. The program was also made with the help of the Town Board and Town Supervisor Charles E. Carnes.