Rossville Elementary awarded $1,500 for gym equipment through NFL initiative

INDIANAPOLIS — Students at Rossville Elementary move every day for their health, and their physical activity has now been rewarded in a big way.

Tammy Mohler, a physical education teacher at Rossville Elementary, said she keeps her kids moving every single day whether it’s for a quick brain break or an entire gym class.

“We start in kindergarten about the importance of your heart,” Mohler said. "The whole goal is to try to get 60 minutes a day of physical activity. You can sprinkle that out throughout the day. It doesn't have to be all at one time."

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That goal comes from the NFL Play 60 Initiative, an initiative that just awarded the school $1,500 to buy more gym equipment.

“Our budget usually for equipment is very low and so when I found out we won, it was exciting,” Mohler said.

The competition was to re-create a workout from the NFL Play 60 List and beef it up with school spirit, something the hornets had no problem doing.

Mohler said on top of the excitement this money brings, she’s hoping this gets her students closer to the goal.

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“An active child usually will equal active adults later on in life; at least that's the goal,” Mohler said.

That grant money comes from a partnership between the National Football League and the American Heart Association.

The American Heart Association has been in schools for more than 40 years to help young kids develop healthy habits early on in their lives.

Because as we now know, heart disease can affect anyone at any age.

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“Developing a foundation of good heart health starts at a young age. We form those habits of what we're going to eat and how we are going to move at a young age. Then those become ingrained in our mind, so it is critical to do that at a young age,” said Tim Harms with the American Heart Association.

The American Heart Association has these recommendations for kids:

• Children 3-5 years old should be physically active and have plenty of opportunities to move throughout the day.
• Kids 6-17 years old should get at least 60 minutes per day of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity, mostly aerobic.
• Include vigorous-intensity activity on at least 3 days per week.
• Include muscle- and bone-strengthening (weight-bearing) activities on at least 3 days per week.
• Increase amount and intensity gradually over time.

You can learn more about the NFL Play 60 initiative here.