ST. GEORGE — Even if you’re not a runner, you can still help out. Girls on the Run Southern Utah, a positive youth-development program, is in need of 50 coaches to ensure that all 130 girls currently enrolled in the 10-week program will be able to participate starting Sept. 10.
Girls on the Run is a physical activity-based program for girls in third through eighth grades at 14 different sites in Washington and Iron counties. However, this isn’t just about running.
“Do not be fooled by the name! Girls on the Run is not a running program,” Krystal Helmick, a returning head coach for Girls on the Run, said in the news release. “The physical component is suited to every girl, regardless of her athletic ability.”
According to a news release issued by the Girls on the Run, program participants develop and improve competence, learn to feel confidence in who they are, develop strength of character, learn to respond to others and oneself with care, create positive connections with peers and adults and learn to make meaningful contributions to community and society.
Character building lessons are key to the program, Helmick said, teaching girls how to set boundaries, build healthy relationships and embrace their individuality.
“We learn and train together as a team in a supportive non-competitive environment,” she said. “Coaching has been very rewarding to me, and I look forward to a new season.”
Volunteer coaches use a curriculum to engage small teams of girls in fun, interactive lessons during 90-minute sessions typically held twice a week after school. The program culminates with all teams participating in a celebratory 5K event in order to give them a tangible sense of achievement and a framework for setting and achieving life goals.
Coaches must be 18 and are not required to be runners but must attend one day of training and pass a background check. Head coaches must become certified in CPR/first aid. The program covers all training costs.
“We invite parents, teachers, and community members who have a passion for helping build strong, healthy young women to register to become a coach for the program,” Melissa Miller, executive director of Girls on the Run Southern Utah, said in the release.
Fall programs offered include the Girls on the Run program for girls in third through fifth grade and the Heart and Sole program for sixth- through eighth-grade girls.
The programs are held at various sites throughout Washington and Iron counties and begin the week of Sept. 10. A coach’s information night is scheduled Tuesday at Dixie 4 Wheel Drive located at 73 N. 900 East in St. George from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
For more information or to sign-up to coach, visit the Girls on the Run website or attend the coach’s information night Tuesday from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Dixie 4 Wheel Drive, 73 N. 900 East in St. George.
Event details
- What: Girls on the Run coach’s information night.
- When: Tuesday, Aug. 7, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- Where: Dixie 4 Wheel Drive, 73 N. 900 East, St. George.
- Details: More information is available on the Girls on the Run website.
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