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Speech to Jaguars by Carol Goodrow
Spring is finally here, and with the milder weather comes outdoor practice for teams and clubsBelow are my notes that I used to prepare for a speech for Coach Ed's track club. For years, I have taken photos of the kids and asked all about them. I decided to start with a little about me, but make sure to keep reading because the really important parts of this piece include 10 things you can do on this site and 10 ways you can help others through running. TEN THINGS ABOUT ME
1. I'm a late bloomer.
2. I was not athletic. I couldn't catch a ball. I didn't have confidence in art class.
3. I started running at the age of 46 and fell in love with it.
4. I am proud that I am a teacher. I work with children who have learning disabilities, and I never get tired of it. I find each day a challenge.
5. My classroom ceiling is lined with running bib numbers. They form a big square. 1-25, 26-50, 51-75, 76-100. My kids are good at counting money. The room is actually a mnemonic for learning about counting money. The corner numbers are the value of quarters (25, 50, 75, and 100)
6. I edit KidsRunning.Com in my spare time (after school, after supper, in the middle of the night and before I go to my "Ultimate Cycling Class" class and after my run).
7. I am cycling in the Pan-Mass Challenge this year. The PMC is a 192 mile two-day bike ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown. It's a cancer fundraiser and I'm riding in honor of a running buddy who is battling Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.
8. I did the Boston Marathon once, only to find out that running marathons isn't for me. Now, I go to the marathon but I stay in the press room, which is a lot more fun, but I love the Manchester Road Race and when I just to take photos, I wish I were running.
9. I'm going to the Runner's World Half-Marathon to cover their first kids' event. Then the next day I'm going to run the 5-K. That's how I like to do things: cover the kids' event, then run an adult race.
10. I'm into healthy eating, totally, completely. I love cooking lowfat gourmet meals from a cookbook.
TEN THINGS KIDS CAN DO ON KR
1. You can send in artwork and have it published on the KR site.
2. You can write stories for the site.
3. You can write poems for the site.
Coach Ed4. You can post on the Guest Book.
5. You can earn a blue ribbon for running 100 miles.
6. You can earn a red ribbon for participating in 12 running/literature activities of your choice.
7. You can earn a green ribbon for running 100 days and sketching things from nature across the seasons.
8. You can write a letter to the editor (me).
9. You can write a question to a coach (Ed) or (Mick).
10. You can find lots of information about running, fitness, and nutrition.
TEN WAYS YOU CAN HELP OTHERS THROUGH RUNNING
1. You can help your preschool sister or brother earn their first running ribbon and learn to read and color at the same time. Visit our Rainbow Cave Kiddie Mile program and read all about it.
Bill Estey Shot Put Coach and Jaguar's Assistant Running Coach2. You can write an article for the Web site to help spread the message of health and fitness.
3. Your running club can put on our Becky and Billy old fashioned running skits for local senior citizens to bring some sunshine to their lives.
4. You can enter a charity event and fundraise for a good cause.
5. You can offer to create a bulletin board for your classroom with the theme of running. You can print our bulletin board footprint outline to help create the board.
6. You can volunteer at an event. Hand out water at a water stop. Help with measuring or timing.
7. You can take someone for an easy run and chat with them the whole time you are running.8. You can start a healthy snack newsletter, with recipes, ideas, and nutrition information. You can find info on the KR site.
9. You can pace a friend in a race.
10. You can encourage your teacher to have a classroom fun run and make sure that all kids are rewarded for finishing.
FIVE THINGS MY KIDS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ME
1. She is a polite teacher (all teachers are polite). (Taylor)
2. She can spell. (Adam)
3. She is a beautiful teacher (all teachers are beautiful). (Taylor)
4. She got us cubbies (to keep our papers). (Adam)
5. She taught me how to read. (Tim)
Editor's note: The above is an outline, of sorts, for a talk I prepared and delivered at Coach Ed's youth running club's winter pizza 'banquet'. The club is full of great runners, from the coaches to the kids, so I geared my speech toward something a little different: ten things about me, ten ways to use the Web site, ten ways to help others through athletics, and five things my schoolchildren wanted to tell them about me. It was fun for me to visit the club. I haven't gotten too much feedback yet, but I did notice the kids were very quiet while I talked, and I know that's a good sign that they were really listening. If I could do the evening over, I'd have the kids all write journal entries about which part of the talk affected them the most and if any part made them think. If you were at the pizza party, it's not too late for feedback.
