A Visit From The Boys

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of working out with some of the young men from Joseph's Home for Boys, located here in Statesboro. (Joseph's Home for Boys is a group home that provides a long-term supportive environment for children ages 6-21) This class, like one I did last year with the boys, was set up months ago by a member of the Statesboro Service League.

The class was set up for Saturday at 1:00 pm at our Academy. Members of the Service League arrived first - the boys arrived shortly after. Since the class like this that I did last year, I've been able to work with the boys through a Taekwondo program that we started at the Home, so I knew most of them. But there were three new faces, three boys that I hadn't met yet. I introduced myself to them, talked with them for just a minute, and then got everybody out on the floor to start. It was a great mix of people for the class: members of the Service League, some of their children that had come with them, and of course the boys - in all about twenty.

The class started with group warm up exercises. Then everyone paired-up for partner drills . . . situps, pushups and target kicking. Punching drills came next, followed by self defense practice drills. The class finished with some fun conditioning drills and a game of dodgeball. During all of these activities, we talked about the development and use of Leadership Skills - perseverance, hard work, respect, discipline and focus. Everyone did a great job and seemed to have a great time - I know I did. (I'll try to get some pics of the class posted soon)

Earlier I mentioned a Taekwondo Program at the Home. This program has allowed me to go out to Joseph's once a week to teach Taekwondo and leadership skills. The program has definately been a success. Earlier this year, five of the boys earned their orange belt and had their belts presented to them at our belt ceremony at the Statesboro Mall - they even did a demo at the Mall! Since then, we've changed the program to allow the boys to come to our facility for their classes. Here, they're able to fully participate in the program, with the right equipment and environment. They continue to do well and are looking forward to their next belt promotion.