Part of our internship program involves each intern writing a blog about a particular topic they’ve learned or discovered. For this one, Emily Wilbur, a Kinesiology and Exercise Science major at IUPUI, wrote:
My time at Nine13sports has been extremely unique and fun so far. I think it’s a very remarkable opportunity for the children and even for myself. One day we are setting up at an elementary school and the next day, we are at a trade school for high school students, all performing the same routines on our bikes.
We recently finished our time at Martinsville West Middle School and it shocked me to see the transformation in the kids’ attitudes. Our first week or two, the students wanted nothing to do with riding the bikes. Come Thursday, we announced it was their last time riding and every group we saw was sad because they were having fun.
I cannot really describe to you the feeling of getting off of the bikes and your legs giving out because you were racing the kids next to you. You would think that a quarter of a mile or one lap around a track isn’t that hard. But it definitely is! You are in a full out sprint riding up and down hills trying not to get beat too badly by a 13 year old. It’s really awesome when you’re done and you are completely out of breath while the rest of the children are running around like it was so easy!
Getting kids excited about health and fitness is one of Emily’s favorite parts of her internship with Nine13.
It is truly amazing to see the look of joy and pride when a child finishes in “first” or beats one of their friends in the class because they did not know they could pedal that quickly. I love the fact that Nine13 does not promote winning, but the children seem to be pretty competitive and take it upon themselves to encourage one another.
I look forward to the new set of schools and children I will be working with in the next few weeks. It is always something new at Nine13 and you can never predict what is going to happen next. I am excited to continue my journey here even though it makes me feel out of shape every time I ride the bikes!