At The New Century School, students show heart every day by being kind to one another and the greater community and showing respect. February is a chance to emphasize kindness and compassion with Valentine’s Day looming, and, across the school, initiatives are coalescing into a big service push (more on that next week). But February is “❤️” month in another sense of the word as well in that it presents an opportunity to focus on heart health, the cardiovascular kind.

Meet Coach Jake!

Jake Hayden’s main gig is with Coppermine Fieldhouse, with whom TNCS has had a long and fruitful partnership. For Coppermine Fieldhouse, in addition to teaching physical education (PE) at TNCS, he has run recess at area schools like Hampstead Hill Academy and Ohr Chadash and taught “Lil’ Kickers” soccer classes on Saturdays. He is currently coaching more lacrosse classes, including player development classes for club lacrosse and “laxaroo” classes at Coppermine, which is lacrosse for 4- and 5-year-olds. “I just love those,” he says. “At that age, they are just learning how to pick up a stick. I love teaching kids the basics because I get to see if they really like it or not.” He also runs lacrosse scrimmage at Coppermine as well as refereeing flag football on Saturdays.

Sounds like a lot of sports! He comes by his athleticism honestly. Originally from Calvert County, he grew up with with three older brothers and an older sister, and family life, he says, revolved around sports and athletics. In high school and on, his sports foci were lacrosse, soccer, and basketball. After high school, he attended division III Ferrum College for lacrosse (go Panthers!), then transferred to Salisbury University for mathematics. So, it all adds up, right?

Coach Jake at TNCS

Back to what Coach Jake does at TNCS, he teaches four PE classes each Friday on campus: 5th- /6th-graders, 7th- /8th-graders, K/1st, and 2nd- through 4th-graders in that order. Clearly differentiation is necessary, but the overall theme is developing age-appropriate gross physical skills. “For the older classes,” explains Coach Jake:

I like to focus more on the individual skills involved in playing whatever game or sport we are playing that particular day. For the little ones, I usually have them focus on basic hand-eye coordination and balance while running. Most of their games (tag, relay race games, and obstacle courses) involve mostly running. Of course, my main emphasis for all classes is that we play the games the right way, the safe way, and have fun in the process.

Coach Jake also has to be ready to adapt each class, depending on what’s going on at school. “With specific units/sports in mind I encounter every class with the same diagnosis. How many kids are in the class that day, are we inside or outside, questions like that. From there I decide if my original game plan will work or if I have to switch it up and wing it.”

During the past wet Friday, for example, PE class had to be held indoors, but half of the gym was occupied by the Scholastic Book Fair. Thinking on his feet, Coach Jake salvaged the day, and students played games (with cleverly built in skills cultivation) in the back half of the gym. They were moving almost nonstop, getting that cardio workout in, but they were so into the game that they probably never noticed their increased heart rate!

One popular indoor game they play is “Body Guard Dodgeball,” in which ball throwers attempt to (gently—and no aiming for faces) hit a “celebrity” who is being blocked by a body guard (who ends up taking most of the hits). Everyone got a turn, and the action intensified as the rounds progressed.

Next up was a spin on relay races in which the object was to create the highest non-toppling stack of Imagination Playground foam pieces. It quickly became clear that the 5th- and 6th-graders had aged out (or up, as the case may be) of this one!

In Obstacle Course Tag (a game without an official name because TNCS students made it up), obstacles (again made of Imagination Playground foam) are stacked around the gym, and players have to avoid both being tagged by who’s “it” as well as avoid knocking over any obstacles. Either infraction gets you out!

“I particularly love teaching at TNCS,” said Coach Jake, “because I enjoy each and every student from all classes. The kids respond to instruction and are also fun kids to be around. Sometimes it does not feel like work. Compared to past job settings, TNCS is an all around pleasure to work at.”

What’s Coach Jake’s Game Plan?

For the future, Coach Jake says, “I plan on coaching for as long as I can, whether it grows to be my career or slowly becomes a hobby. My big dream is to become a college lacrosse coach, although it is a rather difficult job to get.”

Although he is not currently on a sports team, he would like to join a men’s lacrosse league. “In the hotbed area of Baltimore,” he says, “the passion for lacrosse is abundant.” Lax to the max, Coach Jake!

Team TNCS: The Race Is On!

While we are still on the subject of cardiovascular health, let’s look at some other ways TNCS is embracing heart month. TNCS students get PE twice weekly, and only one of those classes is led by Coach Jake. The other PE class is teacher led, and Upper Elementary and Middle School ELA and Global Studies teacher Daphnée Hope has taken this opportunity and run with it! You may have heard that since the fall, Ms. Hope has been getting the older students out on weekly jogs—and they love it! “I was so excited to introduce running into our PE curriculum because I believe that it provides multiple benefits to both our students and staff,” she explained. “Running instills discipline, creates endorphins, and builds camaraderie between students and their teachers.”

I also believe in the power of leading by example for my students—when I am running right alongside them and pushing myself mentally and physically as well, I think they are more likely to buy into the conversations that we have about positive physical, mental, and social-emotional health.

Well said. And off they go for a mile or so run around the Fell’s Point neighborhood. They are building up stamina to eventually run the Sole of the City 10K this April (participation is optional).

The bottom line is, during the month of February, TNCS students are showing their hearts some love.

#HealthyHearts