Staying fit and healthy is important, not just for professional athletes like the Indianapolis Colts — it’s important for children, too.
That’s why the Colts have teamed up to create Colts Fitness Camps, which take place in middle school gyms all around Indiana. These camps take middle school students through a full-body workout, and teach them to have fun through physical activity and refuel afterward with the right foods.
“Through these camps, we focus on the NFL Play 60 message of promoting 60 minutes of physical activity each day,” says Andy Matis, youth football manager for the Indianapolis Colts. Some of the fitness activities include using dumbbells to improve strength and jump ropes to work on cardiovascular health.
Elementary students can get active with the Big Blue Football Camp, which is offered to students in 2nd through 5th grade. Colts Youth Football brings interactive football fun to elementary schools all across the state, where students work on non-contact football drills and learn about the sport. The Big Blue Football Camp has proven to be so popular with Indiana schools that in 2018, more than 7,800 students participated in the program.
The Colts Fitness Camp and the Big Blue Football Camp are offered free of cost to schools, and each student leaves with a camp giveaway item. Students also receive a character talk from Colts alum and youth football commissioner, Mike Prior.
“This is a great opportunity for young kids to learn the importance of health and discipline from a former NFL player,” Matis says.
Learn more about the Colts Fitness Camp and the Big Blue Football Camp by visiting www.colts.com/community/youthfootball/colts-fitness-camps.
Blue’s School Shows
Blue is a busy mascot. When he’s not performing at Lucas Oil Stadium with the Colts, he is performing shows at schools throughout Indiana. In fact, Blue performs 107 shows per year — that’s one multitasking mascot!
Blue’s mission is to spread positivity, and he regularly performs four different shows for students:
Be the Best You Can Be: This is a fun and interactive show where Colts cheerleaders and players call in to express the importance of a healthy and balanced diet, being physically active, not bullying, and working hard in the classroom.
Blue is the New Green: This show is all about the importance of conserving energy and going green, brought to life with calls from Colts cheerleaders and players.
Read Across America: This show helps motivate children to read regularly and master the basic skills needed to accelerate.
Choose Love: Blue talks about the importance of choosing love over judgement and bullying.
Schools can request a show by visiting colts.com/blue/school-shows.
