By Brian Hill
Jasmine, 15, a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs
of Nash/Edgecombe Counties in Rocky Mount,
N.C., dreamed of making her school’s volleyball
team. Cut after only the first round of tryouts, she was
down on herself. Seeing Jasmine’s disappointment, her
friend William, a fellow member of the Club and
president of its Keystone organization, wanted to help.
Jasmine needed to build her self-confidence and get in
shape for the next season’s volleyball tryouts. So
William and other Keystoners – they know how to get
a special project going – approached Shonda Johnson,
director of the Rocky Mount Club’s Brewer Unit.
Their idea – implement a great program from Boys &
Girls Clubs of America called Triple Play: A Game
Plan for the Mind, Body and Soul.
As a result, kids in Rocky Mount are not only
healthier, they’re having fun along the way.
A Weighty Issue
Jasmine’s fitness struggles are common among today’s
youth. According to the Centers for Disease Control’s
National Center for Health Statistics, the percentage of
young people who are overweight has more than
tripled since 1980. Among children and teens, 16
percent – nearly 9 million young people – are
considered overweight. These children often continue
this condition when they become adults, with
increased risk of medical complications such as high
blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and
psychological problems.
In response to the growing number of young
Americans who are not leading active, healthy
lifestyles, BGCA developed Triple Play with support
from The Coca-Cola Company and Kraft Foods. The
program teaches young people about eating right,
keeping fit and engaging in positive relationships.
“Triple Play is a holistic approach to improving the
health of children,” says Judith J. Pickens, BGCA’s
senior vice president of Program & Youth
Development Services. “Although many young people
participate in some sports and fitness activities, they
are not always physically fit. They often lack the basic
knowledge needed to make positive food choices.
Triple Play demonstrates how eating right, keeping fit
2 SPRING 2007
Engaging the Mind, Body and Soul
Triple Play Helps Club Members Get Fit
and forming positive relationships add up to a healthy,
positive and productive lifestyle for Club members.”
During development of the program, BGCA looked to
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) for guidance and resources. “Childhood obesity
is a serious issue in this nation – one that HHS cannot
tackle alone,” says Rear Admiral Penelope Slade Royall,
deputy assistant secretary for health. “We’re pleased to
be working with our partners to help our children
move off the sofa and onto the playground.”
It Takes Three
Triple Play’s first component, Mind, focuses on making
smart food choices. The heart of this element is
Healthy Habits, a 10-session curriculum covering such
topics as calories, vitamins and minerals; the food
pyramid; and appropriate portion size. BGCA worked
with leading nutritionists to develop Healthy Habits.
The program’s second component, Body, takes a
systematic approach to boosting traditional physical
activities in Boys & Girls Clubs to a higher level by
engaging all youth in sports and fitness activities. The
Body component also includes the newly-revised Daily
Challenges, six activities – such as jumping rope and
playing basketball – that give youth of every age the
chance to play longer and harder at different games.
Soul, the final component of Triple Play, is designed
to improve young people’s healthy social development.
Through games, contests and other activities,
youth can enhance motor skills, boost their creativity,
increase social skills, and lift their confidence and
self-esteem.
To support this area, The Smart Guide to Social
Recreation: Effective Gamesroom Management and
Leadership provides strategies and tools to run a topnotch
social recreation program. This how-to resource
offers Clubs guidance on various drop-in activities, onthe-
spot fun, structured activities and special events.
Program Goals
All Boys & Girls Clubs are encouraged to implement
the three aspects of Triple Play to meet four goals
established for the program, which are to increase:
1. Club members’ knowledge of healthy habits, good
nutrition and physical fitness;
2. The number of hours per day members participate
in physical activities;
3. Club members’ ability to interact positively with
all youth and engage in healthy relationships; and
4. The number of youth joining Boys & Girls Clubs
and the frequency of attendance among existing
members.
A pre-/post-survey is available to help Clubs evaluate
the Healthy Habits curriculum. BGCA is also
conducting a two-year study to record the progress of
Triple Play.
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