For the last 12 weeks I have been a volunteer coach for an after-school girls' running program called Girls on the Run. Last year they had roughly about 10 girls participate and this year there was 47 girls total. GOTR ranges from 3rd-5th grade while Girls on Track is 6-8th grade. I was assigned to GOTR and since there were so many girls in that age group they broke them up into 3 teams...butterflies, dragonflies and ladybugs. Melissa DiQuatro and I were over the butterflies, 13 girls total. It was a challenging, but fun 12 weeks where we met for 2 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays and taught self building lessons while incorporating running. The lessons ranged from positive attitudes to teamwork, to self-worth to many more valuable discussions. We had a few girls that were extremely difficult but in the end I think everyone grew, learned and will hopefully apply the things they learned to their daily lives. Last weekend we had our big 5k run/celebration and I was amazed at how well the girls did. They really pushed through and did their best. I was so proud of all they had accomplished. Yesterday was our final practice together where we celebrated the season and all they had done. It was a fun time and I hope to continue to be apart of this awesome program. I most definitely want Raylee to do it when she is in 3rd grade. It's a program that all young girls should be a part of so they can learn ways to stand up for themselves, be strong both physically, mentally and emotionally and prepare themselves for the ups and downs of life. I am a huge believer in it and feel so blessed to have been a small part in changing these girl's lives for the better.
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