The primary school kids of St. Rochus School will certainly remember this training session for a long time because the friendly coach who led the training was Hendrik Beyer, a former Olympics participant and a multiple German champion in high jump. But before the session started, Beyer, a Düsseldorf native who competed for the club LG Bayer Leverkusen, gave the children the opportunity to ask questions. They asked him what his favorite football club was and about his greatest successes. After a joint warm-up program, Beyer gave the enthusiastic children basic instruction in track & field. At the end of the session each child received the desired autograph. “I am very glad to support the SMS initiative because regular exercise and a balanced diet are important prerequisites for a child’s healthy development,” said Beyer, explaining his commitment. Project leader Professor Karsten Müssig added: “We want to inspire the participating children to be physically active and to exercise more, and training with a prominent athlete provides an important motivation for this.”
“SMS. Be smart. Join in. Be fit.", an initiative led by Professor Müssig in Düsseldorf and Cologne primary schools, seeks to counteract obesity and other lifestyle-related diseases in childhood and adolescence. The participating children receive extra lessons on nutrition in cooperation with the Educational Center for Dietary Assistants of the Kaiserswerther Diakonie and take part in the exercise program for primary schools “Fitness for Kids” developed by sports scientist Prof. Dr. Kerstin Ketelhut. The two health insurance companies IKK classic and KKH, the organization diabetesDE - German Diabetes Aid, the Sports Department of Düsseldorf and other renowned partners and prominent people support the project and provide the participating school children with additional attractive venues for learning outside of school. The patron of the initiative is Thomas Geisel, mayor of the state capital Düsseldorf.
More information about the initiative can be found at: www.sms-mach-mit.de (German only)
Primary school children and class teacher of the St. Rochus School with the SMS volunteer coach Hendrik Beyer and project leader Prof. Dr. Karsten Müssig. Source: SMS