The French Creek Family YMCA, 2010 Recreation Lane in Avon, is introducing a new sports-focused program for children ages 5 to 11.
In an effort to help youngsters from greater Lorain County hone their athletic skills in specific areas, the program will launch this fall.
Officials at the YMCA said the new program, known as SWIFT, will help children train with purpose.
“There are three classes offered: strength, speed, and stamina with three monthly options,” according to a document the YMCA provided to The Morning Journal. “The mission of this program is to develop sport specific fitness and knowledge through high quality training, while maintaining the joy and integrity of youth sports.”
Starting Oct. 2, the program will focus on three distinct areas: stamina; strength; and speed.
Registration options are open for one day per week, as well as two and three sessions per week, said Hannah Bartlome, program director at the French Creek YMCA.
Bartlome, a former college high jumper at Ashland University, is spearheading the program herself.
The program is the first of its kind among YMCA locations in the Greater Cleveland area, she said.
“The SWIFT program, It’s just for French Creek right now,” Bartlome said. “We’re starting the program here to be the pilot program for the rest of the Association of Greater Cleveland.”
First and foremost, Bartlome said, the new program serves to grow the love of sports in young athletes.
“The goal of what we want to accomplish (with SWIFT) is to provide more, high quality fitness training for young athletes that’s affordable for families,” she said. “We don’t want to start the young kids out in a very rigorous program that kind of breaks the parents’ banks.
“We want to increase the love of the sport.”
Across different sports, Bartlome said she wants to help strengthen character in young athletes.
Through the program, children will be able to train both their body and their mind for any number of youth sports.
“In the summer here at French Creek, we run a very large sports camp which serves ages 5 through 12,” Bartlome said. “That’s kind of what this concept is based off of.
“(The kids) come in, we do a warmup with different ages through our sports camp. In the camp, we’re focused on character development.”
SWIFT is broken into age groups of 5 through 7, and 8 through 11 years old, Bartlome said.
Once the program is fully rolling, the facility wants to add a high school age group as well, for athletes looking to take the next steps, she said.
“I think those, the speed, strength and stamina, are appealing to the kids,” Bartlome said. “The kids, they want to be fast, they want to be strong.
“Calling the classes those names, I think will create kind of an interest for the youth.”
Those looking to enroll their child in SWIFT have a chance at early bird pricing, Bartlome said.
Now through Sept. 10, registrations are 50 percent off, she said.
Registration is open now at www.clevelandymca.org/locations/french-creek-family-ymca/programs?selectedLocations=B139.
