A recent study from the University of Washington showed that more and more 2-year olds are regularly watching tv. This sets the stage for a sedentary life with increased risk for childhood obesity and heart disease. That last statement wasn't from the study - that was my own prediction.

But really, the statistics don't lie - a study done at Johns Hopkins concluded that a child's weight increased with the number of hours they spend in front of the television each day. Are you cringing yet? What parent hasn't popped in a dvd to buy some time to do some work or straighten up the house.

My daughter did great on Tuesday and now enjoys playing soccer all the time. What's funny to watch are the practices. A group of kindergarten and first graders running all over while a first time coach is trying to set up fun drills and teach them about the fundamentals of the sport. Any coach would have a hard time when your players are hiding the balls from you up their shirts and picking flowers to give to each other. But those are the moments we as parents must recognize as part of development and I beleive are priceless.

This Tuesday will be my oldest daughters first soccer practice. At age 5, she wants to try some new activities with her friends and see which ones she really enjoys. She has already been in four dance recitals and if you put her on the stage at the PAC center in front of a hundred people she would spin and dance until you pulled her off the stage, why? Because she loves it, she has fun, receives positive feedback and she participates with her friends.

We know that we should keep our children active because childhood obesity as at an all time high.

We know that the potential for injury to an athlete is real and that proper teaching and coaching is essential to help prevent it.

Our kids should eat breakfast…
Our kids should drink plenty of water…
They should get plenty of sleep…
They should have fun in sports…

They should be empowered to be confident about what they CAN do…

We know all of these things.

Hello, my name is Nick Elisano, and I am passionate about youth fitness, conditioning and athletic performance. As a resident of Cape May County, I feel that I have a defined purpose and responsibility to empower our children to stay active. Being a certifed Youth Fitness Specialist and having been involved in fitness training for over ten years, I am glad to be part of a growing community that can be positively impacted by teaching our kids to play for LIFE!