Issue link: http://latinschool.uberflip.com/i/96436
���We want them to learn what it means to work out, to play tennis or Frisbee, things that they can do their whole lives, and to feel successful so that they are comfortable enough to join a touch football game or a pickup basketball game in the park,��� McCarthy says. The P.E. program is further enriched by the work Dan Houlihan ���97, director of fitness and wellness, does in Latin���s fitness center, which opened in 2007. Houlihan works out with students, faculty and staff, introduces them to the equipment and helps design training routines. He also addresses nutrition and other health issues. He strives to get kids and adults in the Latin community to be physically active any way he can. Each year he organizes a variety of fitness challenges that anyone can sign up for, ranging from the ultimate marathon, which challenged participants to run a 100 miles in a month, to a month-long pedometer activity in which participants endeavored to complete 10,000, 20,000 or 30,000 steps a day. ���Every time I do something I want to make sure that it is inclusive enough that a senior can do it and a lower schooler can do it. It doesn���t so much matter how many steps they actually take, but that the challenge helps them make healthy choices like taking the stairs instead of the elevator.��� The P.E. Department has already seen success. Fewer excused absences or visits to the nurse���s office during P.E., a number of students who have stuck with the program even after completing the requirements, increased enthusiasm by off-season athletes and participation by faculty, staff, as well as parents, in Houlihan���s fitness challenges are positive signs. ���There is something in fitness for everyone,��� says Houlihan. ���We have to walk a fine line: Push kids enough so that they are exposed to new opportunities, but don���t push so hard that it will leave a bad taste in their mouth about physical activity. Present them with enough options where they might not like the first nine, but number 10 will do the trick and they will run with it and that will be the activity that they do for the rest of their lives.��� Latin School of Chicago 19