Natomas Charter Teacher Offers Summer Fun & Fitness

BY ANTHONY BARNES, INTERN
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

Summer break may mean a vacation from the pressures of school, but the extra free time could also lead to bad health habits.

Teacher Rich Farwig leads summer workouts for Natomas Charter students. / Photo Jeremiah McWright

Natomas Charter School P.E. teacher Rich Farwig was determined to not let that happen. That’s why, for the past three years, Farwig has been running a summer sports and fitness camp at the school.

“(The kids) love sports, so it was an opportunity for the kids who are leaving 8th grade to continue being active and be involved in some sort of fitness,” said Farwig.

There are no high school P.E. classes offered for Natomas Charter School students after 8th grade, Farwig said. The summer program is meant to serve as an outlet for physical activity during the summer.

The camp is held 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Natomas Charter School. Currently the summer sports and fitness camp is only offered to students grades 8-12 who attend the Performing and Fine Arts Academy at Natomas Charter School during the school year.

A typical day at the camp consists of a warm-up and cardio exercise during the first hour, followed by strength exercises and weightlifting for the second hour. The final hour involves a team sport such as ultimate Frisbee, flag football and basketball.

The teens who participate in the program said it helps with sports they play outside of school.

Junior Orlando Cano, age 16, plays volleyball and said the summer program has improved his skills as a player.

“It builds strength and endurance,” he said. “We play a lot (of sports), but it prepares me to do volleyball as well.”

Sophomore Tanner Bluemel, 15, who plays football in a local league in the Natomas area, says the program has helped his conditioning.

“All this running prepares me for practices, it builds my stamina up for all those games that we have to do, it helps a lot,” Bluemel said.

Sophomore Mercy Mattsson-Bozé, 15, has family members who work in the fitness industry. She hopes to develop her weight lifting skills during the summer program.

“We do a series of workouts,” said Mattsson-Bozé. “We do bicep hold-downs, bicep curls, triceps extensions; we do whatever we can with whatever equipment we have.”

“Overall, what I’m trying to do is give them exposure to a lot of different exercises,” said Farwig. “I want to have them enjoy the fitness aspect of it and how the fitness carries over into their sport.”

For more information on the program, Rich Farwig can be reached by email at [email protected].