Tuesday, September 21st was Family Fitness Night at Hendricks Avenue Elementary School. Three Jaguars players attended this function to demonstrate and promote the importance of physical fitness for the whole family.
"I thought it was a nice setup with the parents and the kids," said wide receiver Matt Cherry. "When I was younger no players came to my school to speak to my class about physical fitness and the importance of healthy living and nutrition; it was nice to go out there."
Defensive end Lionel Barnes and Kicker Josh Scobee also joined Matt to speak to the kids about physical fitness and the importance of enjoying it together as a family.
"My family was definitely into eating healthy and eating meals as a family," said Scobee. "My mom was into cooking healthy foods and it has really helped out my family a lot; everyone in my family is pretty much in good shape and in good health…"
Family Fitness Night started approximately three years ago at the school. The idea was presented by a previous coach as a means to help increase the attendance at PTA meetings. Marty Succi, current PTA member and coordinator of Family Fitness Night had good things to say about the event.
"With so many kids in America that are obese and have diabetes, I thought it would mean a lot to the kids to have a Jaguars player come out and talk to the kids about fitness," Succi said. "Last year's event was well received, the kids and their parents were surprised and excited to see the players…I thought the Jaguars did an excellent job!"
The players participated in various physical activities with the children, ranging from sit-ups to jump rope to stretching exercises.
"The event definitely helped get the message out to the kids about physical fitness and good nutrition," said Cherry.
"It's good to get out there and hang out there with the kids and teach them about fitness and things they might not know about that we do to stay in shape," Scobee added.