Raising Kids…Who Can Save The World!

Raising Kids Who Can Save the World (if they had to…)
By King Hoover- Internationally recognized Fitness Expert

I have always had an intense fascination with spies, the WWII spies who kept the Nazis from conquering the world to James Bond-type secret agents who get amazing training that turns them into unstoppable forces for good. Why are spies so cool? Maybe it’s that even though they are totally human, their cutting-edge technology tools and highly specialized training makes them seem as if they are Superheroes…

From Julia Child (yes, the chef!) to Daniel Craig as the latest 007, spies are totally cool, but why? It is this- because they are able to accomplish so much as a single individual. Remember back a few years ago to the movie series “Spy Kids”? What was intended as a fun, lighthearted kid’s film spawned 2 sequels and a 3rd that will begin shooting next year. The first film is currently rated by MSN Movies the ‘9th Best Superhero Film Ever’ even though there were no Superpowers used in the flick. How come? It plays out a story that every boy and girl relates to, awkward teen boy and older, clever sister save the world from domination by evil forces, rescuing their parents in the process.

If there is ‘world-saving’ to be done, (and your personal ‘world’ counts) we can’t leave it to fictional Superheroes, the Marines (they have enough to do) or even James Bond. Some mission objectives have to be accomplished ourselves. So how do we help our own children become Spy Kids? Is there a Crash Course for Covert Operatives? How can we help them get their License-to-be-Thrilled without them crashing and burning in the process? I am so glad you asked…

In the 1st Spy Kids film, Juni Cortez and his sister Carmen were untrained and had to rely on advanced spy technology to get the job done. We need to do the same regarding own young spies’ fitness. Remember when “working out” meant lifting heavy weights or putting on leg warmers and taking an Aerobics class? With the debut of the Wii from Nintendo or Kinect from Playstation, we can ‘virtually’ train our Spy Cadets without them having to get out in the Texas heat or being too far from a cold glass of water.

Like the Simulators used by the Military, the Wii has games and exercises that train a variety of muscles, get their heart rate up, get them breathing heavy and lets them do the move over and over until they get it right. Fun, life-saving and sweaty.
The feedback of ‘scores’ and competition either with their peers or the machine help to build a desire to ‘want to’ become a better Spy Kid. If we begin with talk about training to help them ‘lose weight’ or ‘get rid of some fat’, they can think it’s about how they look, but that’s not it at all. Its about helping them develop a Lifestyle that will serve to see them safely through Missions they cannot imagine, nor can they avoid.

When it comes to our Athletes, sports like Football, Basketball, Baseball and Soccer all train our spies-in-training to overcome a variety of challenges they’ll encounter in their lives. Challenges like getting around a Defender, achieving their objectives (scoring) and understanding that their lives will definitely be filled with opposition, but teaching them how to handle it when it comes.

In the 2nd film, now full-fledged spies, Carmen and Juni open the film working out on a dangerously tall set of Monkey Bars and Rope Ladders. This is the next Phase in Spy Kids training, getting outside the controlled environment of Home or the Spy Lab to test their mettle in the real-world. For our Spy Kids, school or community league sports can fill this bill nicely, if you feel your spies are not-yet-ready for Prime Time, don’t hesitate to increase their Training at home to prepare for the Pro debut.

Many people ask me, “How did our kids get this way in the first place?” The answer is simple, they were born too late and eat without a menu or schedule. Previous generations have had to move around far more than kids or adults today, more cars, remote controls for entertainment and not having to work the Family Farm have all taken their toll.

Previous generations have had a very active Lifestyle, if we didn’t do something, it didn’t get done and that meant consequences for the family. There was immediate feedback (hungry family members) if we weren’t ‘active’ enough.

With the advent of convenience foods, electronic entertainment and safety issues for children unsupervised outside, we are losing the war for our children’s healthy future. Getting your kids ‘playing’ more Twister than Halo, Red Rover and Capture the Flag instead of Call of Duty or Final Fantasy is a step in the right direction.

“Whatta ya sittin’ around for?” needs to be the phrase our children hear from us the most, if you need help with “what to do or how-to-do-it” for specific effect, this is where Spy Uncles can be a big help.

In the Spy Kids films, “fake” Uncles and “real” Uncles played key roles in help Juni and Carmen achieve their Mission Objectives. The Uncles were specialists in the fields of Tactics and Weapons that gave their Spy Kids (and ours) an extra edge to accelerate their progress or protect them in dire straits.

You, the Coaches that lead and guide them at school, their League or Church Team (even Speed and Performance Coaches like myself) come alongside your own “Spy Kids” to get them Mission-ready in no time.

So become (or adopt) a Spy Uncle to prepare your Spy Kids for their next and future Missions, you never know when they may be called upon to ‘save the world’ for their friends, their Team or for you.

King Hoover is Fitness Coach with more than 30 years of experience in his field and has been educated by the top experts in fat loss, injury management and youth athletic development. His unique and innovative approaches are available by contacting him at transformingathletics@gmail.com or 817.320.1161

This entry was posted on July 26, 2014 at 5:09 pm and is filed under Exercise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.