Field Trip: SnowTrax Day in Maple Grove
by Sonja Bostrom
March 6, 2003
Thursday morning, March 6th, I drove out to Oakview elementary
school in Maple Grove, Minnesota. The fifth grade classes
were getting a special visit from a program called SnowTrax
that day, and I was excited to see what would happen. I had
first heard about SnowTrax from an ad in a ski magazine I
was reading. I've been working this year as an intern in the
exercise medicine clinic at St. Paul Children's Hospital,
so I immediately realized that this would be a great way not
only to get the sedentary kids we see in the clinic off the
couch and moving, but also to introduce them to my favorite
sport: cross-country skiing!
I talked to the director of the program, Eric Goldwarg, over
the phone and realized that the program books up fast and
they were already full for their trip to the Midwest this
year (the program is based out of New England). So I asked
if I could come and observe one of the locations to see what
it is that they do, and how we could possibly work it in with
our clinic in the future. The doctor that runs the exercise
medicine clinic, Dr. Halvorsen, let me have the morning off
to go do this, and I was on my way back to elementary school.
When I got there the instructor, Dan Becker, was busily matching
skis, boots and poles in the gym as well as out on the lawn.
I helped him match skis as he explained to me how the morning
would go. There were also about seven parents that showed
up to help and ski, too! First, the kids saw a video starring
Bill Koch explaining the basics of cross-country skiing, and
then it was boot-fitting time! Luckily, Dan had brought those
sizing mats that you see in ski shops, so the kids just had
to match their foot to the feet on the mat and then the parents
would get them the right sized boots. After that we all filed
outside, and Dan and I matched the kids with skis while another
parent passed out poles. We all walked down to the field that
we would be playing on, and as Dan predicted, the hardest
part was getting the skis on to the kids' feet.
After a short while all of the kids were ready with a full
set of equipment and skis that were attached to their feet.
Dan let the kids just play around awhile and get used to the
equipment (which mostly means practicing getting up), and
then we played games. First we played "sharks and minnows."
Then we had a race in which anyone who was old enough to drive
a car had to ski the first half backwards. Next we played
freeze tag, which I thought was the most fun, except to "unfreeze"
someone you had to crawl through their legs with skis on which
was challenging, especially if you were not in 5th grade anymore!
After the games we had free ski time and all the kids immediately
took off for the nearest hill. They had the best time skiing
up and down and up and down until it was time to go in.
This program is such a good idea and the kids had such a
great time! I only wish that instead of having to have someone
drive all the way from New England to give kids a taste of
cross-country skiing, that this opportunity would be available
to kids wherever and whenever there was snow! Working at the
St. Paul Children's Hospital's Exercise Medicine Clinic has
allowed me to see some of the very unhealthy and extremely
sedentary lifestyles that so many Americans, even young children,
are developing. Programs such as SnowTrax that promote active
lifestyles and introduce people to lifetime sports are key
in finding a solution to this weighty problem, and the kids
have a great time too!
Photos
Photoset from Dan Becker (19 photos)
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About the author...
Sonja Bostrom is interning at the exercise medicine
clinic at St. Paul Children's Hospital. She is also
a member of the Skinnyski.com
Race Team.
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