MOVRS

Ron Whitcomb is the former Athletic Director of Victor Central Schools in New York.  During his 27 year tenure, Victor accumulated 232 league titles, 185 Section V titles, and 16 state championships.  Ron's instrumental leadership helped Victor to gain the reputation of being one of the greatest schools in New York for Physical Education and Athletics.  Ron let's us in on some secrets to...

This episode features a returning guest, Joonas Niemi, the program coordinator of Schools on the Move in Finland.  Joonas focuses on active transportation, trying to encourage kids  to walk and bike back and forth to school, and shares examples on how Finnish students actively commute to school and the infrastructure set in place to allow for it.  This is a great way to promote physical activity w...

Debbie McCoy is the Assistant Vice President of Education at the Strong Museum of Play.  The Woodbury School is run out of the museum, and offers programs for Pre-K and Early Kindergarten.  Their curriculum is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, which is play-based and neither teacher led or student led, but a collaboration between the two.  I believe The Woodbury School is the hidden gem of t...

Episode Timeline: 1:45 - Play with your kids 6:30 - Is it teachable and is it learnable? 9:00 - Injuries during training 12:00 - When should kids start weight training? 15:30 - The ADD Olympics 20:15 - How do you make weight training fun? 26:00 - How can Physical Education class in school improve? 34:10 - Early sports specialization 41:30 - "Exercise is a very bad weight loss tool" 48:20...

Angela Cannon-Crothers is the Environmental Education Coordinator at the Cumming Nature Center in Naples, NY, about an hour South of Rochester.  Angie explains what a Forest School is, why learning in and about nature is so important, and how Forest School and outdoor education may be a great option for learning while maintaining social distance. For more information about their Forest School and...

Ben Landers is a K-12 certified Physical Education teacher and has been teaching K-5th PE since 2007.  Ben started the website ThePEspecialist.com in 2014 in an effort to provide an amazing resource for teachers.  He has a passion for kids and teaching quality physical education lessons that will empower students to be the best they can be.  Being a PE teacher is such a great opportunity to have a...

Looking for some family friendly places to take your kids around the Rochester area?  Joanna Whitbeck is the founder of Tots In Roc, an online platform dedicated to highlighting all of the amazing places in Greater Rochester to spend time with your kids.  She does an excellent job providing you with the essential information and photos for each destination, making it really easy to know what to ex...

Iben Sandahl is an internationally renowned public speaker, psychotherapist, and educator.  She's also the best-selling author of the books "The Danish Way of Parenting", "Play the Danish Way", and "Hold My Hand".  You can find more of her writings featured in Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal and many more. I had an amazing conversation w...

Jon Schnaufer is the General Manager of RocVentures indoor climbing gym in Rochester, NY.  They have been in business since 1995, and offer a wide range of climbing opportunities to people of all ages.  Jon also runs the adaptive climbing program which offers individuals with mental and physical disabilities unique and rewarding challenges they won't experience anywhere else! Jon and I talk a...

The Brand X Method™ has been in the business of doing what's best for kids and teens for over 20 years.  I have been an avid follower of them for much of that time, using their methodology in my PE classes and while coaching.  Their approach to youth fitness is refreshing; when others are trying to get their kids to specialize and increase movement intensity, they are doing the opposite.  Thi...

Want to know what college recruiters are looking for in their athletes?  Should you specialize in a sport at a young each to reach that level? The State University of New York College at Brockport has been a powerhouse in the Division III Men's Basketball scene for years.  Their fast-paced style of play has produced 9 conference championship teams and several appearances in the NCAA Division...

Carl Paoli has been at the forefront of the movement scene for decades.  His career started as an accomplished gymnast in Spain, then transitioned to California where he started GymnasticsWod, and finally moved to Freestyle Connection and Lifestyle Design.  I've been a big fan of Carl's for years, ever since I started trying to figure out how to do a handstand pushup without killing myse...

I had such an awesome conversation with Takaharu and Yui, and you can easily get a feel for the passion they have for what they do and trying to create the best environment possible for kids.  They give us the 'why' behind many of the design elements of Fuji Kindergarten that I hadn't heard before, and I believe we can use many of those same principles in schools around the world, n...

Nate VanKouwenberg is the owner/founder of Next Level Strength and Conditioning in Fairport, NY.  He is also the strength and conditioning coach for the RIT Men's Hockey team, and a physical education teacher at Victor Central Schools.  Since its opening in 2004, Next Level has become one of the premier sports performance facilities in Western New York.  Listen in as Nate shares how he manage...

Joonas Niemi is the Project Manager for the Schools on the Move project in Finland.  The objective of the program is to increase physical activity in schools across the country, and it is now being implemented in more than 90% of Finnish schools.  Finland is widely regarded as having one of the best education systems in the world, and I believe the way they prioritize movement and play is a key fa...

In this episode we talk with Guy Thorne of FuturPointe dance, and a former member of Garth Fagan dance.  FuturPointe is a reggae-ballet dance company based out of Rochester, NY that blends a ton of different disciplines and styles into one dynamic show.  Guy is the co-founder of the company along with his wife N'Jelle, and together with their dancers have performed all around the world includ...

Dr. Debbie Rhea is a full professor in Kinesiology and Associate Dean of Research and Health Sciences in HCNHS at Texas Christian University. She prepares K-12 physical education teachers and is fully invested in her newest research called LiiNK (Let’s inspire innovation ‘N kids) which examines whole child development through the addition of unstructured, outdoor play breaks and character developm...