Fit for the future
Donya Qendah is an aspiring physical therapist. She absorbs all she can in class and works as a physical therapy aid, too. On Wednesday mornings, Qendah exercises her skills with third- and fifth-grade students from Holy Angels Catholic School.
As the grade school students jump around and run drills, squealing with delight, Qendah and her peers in UD’s essentials of youth fitness course are getting hands-on experience in the Frericks Center gym.
“This class has really given me perspective on how different it is for children to be physically active than adults,” said Qendah, a junior health and sport science major.
Qendah mostly interacts with adult patients at her job. She said learning how to cue, motivate and teach children is different — it requires more motivation and thoughtful direction, but is surprisingly beneficial. “It’s helped me be more effective with adults, too,” she said.
UD students learn material in lectures, follow up in a lab-based session to practice coaching cues and skills, and then implement what they’ve learned in the fitness, friendship and fun program with Holy Angels students. The UD students also assess the students’ fitness before and after the program to gauge improvements.
Gerry Gallo and Matthew Beerse teach the course, with Gallo focusing on program development and Beerse on motor development.
“We tell students all the time, children are not miniature adults and you have to work with them differently, whether on the programming or coaching side of it,” Gallo said. “Students not only have to deliver the program, but also respond to the children’s motivations and challenges with the things they’re doing in the moment.”
Beerse said the UD students consistently have enjoyed building rapport with the Holy Angels students. Working with children helps them forget their stress and get them into the moment. Qendah agreed, and shared, with her responsibilities at home, school and work; those Wednesday mornings bring her as much joy as they do to Holy Angels students.
“This program has given me the opportunity to make an impact in a positive way — not just playing games, but furthering their physical fitness,” Qendah said.
“It has helped clarify that I want to work with young people as a physical therapist.”
Ben Saunders, a senior health and wellness major, found something unexpected when he took the class as a junior. Initially interested in learning techniques for guiding youth in personal training, the activities felt strangely familiar. It turns out he was one of the Holy Angels students in the program from 13 years prior.
“As a kid, I just thought we were in Frericks, having fun, getting to do a bunch of fun activities,” Saunders said. “But then, as I took the course last year, I saw how valuable components of the program were to my future goals, and the overall fitness of the students involved.”