President Trump has set his sights on getting America’s kids off the couch and onto the field. He hopes to reverse a lower participation trend, which prompted the White House to host a fun and field day on the South Lawn. The President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, now co-chaired by Trump’s good pal, Patriot’s coach Bill Belichick, is focusing efforts on assisting economically disadvantaged children gain access to youth sports, both individual and team.
An executive order was penned and signed earlier in the year to refocus the Council’s energies away from Obama’s ‘fitness only’ regime and seek out effective ways to engage more youth in a variety of athletic disciplines.
And as usual, Trump pulled out all the stops for the day with a few heavy hitters, actor and body-builder Lou Ferrigno, beach volleyball gold medalist Misty May-Treanor, professional golfer Natalie Gulbis, former football star Herschel Walker, and a couple of former New York Yankees – Johnny Damon and Mariano Rivera.
The grounds were tricked out with stations for volleyball, track and field, baseball, flag football, soccer and of course, golf.
Ivanka, who was also a major player in the proceedings, cited the non-physical benefits of participating in team sports:
“Studies have shown that children who participate in sports have greater self-discipline, higher self-esteem, and are better at working with others. Individuals who acquire these skills have proven that they can excel in the workplace and earn higher wages than their peers who did not engage in athletics according to a recent study.”
Do as I Say?
In his youth, President Trump was an accomplished athlete in baseball, basketball, and football, and his prowess on the links as an adult is well known. Before his election in 2016, his personal physician publicly stated that candidate Trump was “astonishingly healthy,” but his presidential physician remarked earlier this year that Trump was in fact, on a program to lose 15 pounds with diet and exercise.
According to White House leakers, Trump’s only aerobic routine is a round of golf, with a cart. While appearing on the Dr. Oz show, the President offered this bit of interesting information about the benefits of a vigorous campaign:
“When I'm up there speaking in front of 15,000, 25,000 people up there, using a lot of motion, I guess, in its own way it's a really healthy act. I really enjoy doing it. A lot of times these rooms are really hot, like saunas. I guess that's a form of exercise."
I can hear millions of people exclaiming Hallelujah and filing papers to run for office.
What’s the Plan?
The next steps for Trump’s sports and fitness blueprint are simple: identify barriers, promote public and private sector participation in crafting a feasible plan, create success standards, and develop a local and national volunteer strategy. A community focused, staffed, and implemented strategy supported by the White House and President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.
As our president stated in his proclamation that May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, “Setting time aside each day to exercise improves both mental health and overall quality of life.”
Okay, couch potatoes, now is the time to get involved and help Make America’s Kids Great Again.
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