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HAWC holds Youth Clinic

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Michael Means
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  With the start of the new school year approaching, the Health and Wellness Center offered a youth clinic Aug. 27 to provide sports nutrition education, injury prevention and tips on how to improve performance at home and school.

The class was broken into two sections focusing on nutrition and sports performance. The first segment of the class focused on nutrition education.

One of the main goals of the nutrition portion was to educate the kids on the importance of sports nutrition and how eating well will affect them in the classroom.

"We see a lot of trends with people overusing energy drinks, eating unhealthy and using substances that are not beneficial for them," said Alyson Kresser, 92nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron HAWC registered dietitian. "Proper nutrition is essential for overall wellness, and research supports that proper nutrition leads to higher test scores in the classrooms and performance in sports."

With many of the kids in the class planning to get involved in sports this school year, Kresser explained that eating proper foods before physical activity is important for their performance and recovery.

"I really enjoyed the nutrition portion of the class," said Kyle Klausner, who is about to start the 8th grade.

Kyle, explained that instruction really helped explain how food can help reach his physical goals.

Participants were informed that consuming the right nutrients and focusing on whole foods that have minimal processing can have a tremendous impact on how a person feels and performs, both at school and during physical activity.

The second segment of the class focused on fitness and sports performance.

Will Saultes, 92nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron HAWC health promotion manager, urged the kids in attendance to have goals that are measurable and attainable. He also tied in leadership, followership and accountability with their fitness and sport training goals and how they are incorporated at home and school.

"Some of these teens are just going into fall sports and the class emphasizes injury prevention and how to properly train," said Darla Klausner, Kyle and Kalum's mom, who attended the clinic. "It all ties in to reducing injuries and improving health and fitness."

During the class, Saultes had the kids perform movements to determine muscle imbalances and provided instruction on what muscles are tight and what areas need strengthening.

"I really liked the class, it was informational and I think it will help me in becoming more physically active," said Kalum, who is about to start the 7th grade. "I am recommending this to all of my friends because the information provided is helpful in sports and team activities throughout the school year."

Ultimately, the HAWC encourages better health and wellness for Team Fairchild by promoting healthy lifestyle choices that improve readiness and help prevent disease and injury.

The programs that the HAWC offers stem around injury prevention that, Saultes says, is becoming a much larger concern year after year.

"We are here to help people with whatever their goals may be," Kresser said. "We are a free resource for all members of team Fairchild."

Any Department of Defense identification card holder in need of current fitness or nutritional information is welcome to use the HAWC.

The HAWC is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call 509-247-5590 or pay them a visit.