The Supersized PhysEd Podcast
The Supersized Physed Podcast is dedicated to providing new ideas, activities and inspiration to our physical education field. Each week a new episode about various physed topics comes out, sometimes with a guest, sometimes it's just me!
#physed #physicaleducation
The Supersized PhysEd Podcast
MacGyver Method: Creating Quality PE With Jim Hambel
Jim Hambel (https://x.com/JPEileenstrong) shares his MacGyver-like approach to building comprehensive physical education programs with limited budgets and resources. Drawing from his years of PE teaching experience, he demonstrates how creativity, partnerships, and resourcefulness can compensate for minimal funding.
• Utilizing relationships with sports organizations like USTA, Bowler's Ed, and PHIT America to secure free equipment and professional coaching
• Implementing bowling instruction as a pathway to teaching physical literacy, accuracy, and transferable skills
• Reaching out to local businesses to enhance PE curriculum through volunteer partnerships
• Applying for educational grants and using social media to discover new resources and teaching ideas
• Adapting instruction to work in unconventional spaces like third-floor gyms and hallways
• Emphasizing that student engagement comes from teacher creativity rather than expensive equipment
Let me know what you think,
Dave
Join me on Substack where I share PE tips, games and strategies.
***New FREE Video Course!!!***
Become a guest on the show: podcast signup form
FREE E-Book on setting up your PE program
My website: https://www.supersizedphysed.com
Get my book: High Fives and Empowering Lives: A Physical Educator’s Quest for Excellence
Paperback or download: HERE
Teachers Pay Teachers resources: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/supersizedphysed
Website for the book: https://www.teacherchefhockeyplayerbook.com/
Hello and welcome to the Supersize for Zed podcast. My name is Dave and today I have a very special guest. It is none other than Jim Hamble. Yes, jim, in the gym if you're on Twitter or X or whatever you call it these days. Yes, jim, in the gym if you're on Twitter or X or whatever you call it these days. And we've met and talked a few times already and we seem to keep in touch over the years. But I want to do a follow-up interview with him and talk all things just building a program from scratch or even where he's at now, just kind of the equipment you need, the equipment that's more of a necessity versus as you dream big and get a bigger budget, and even ways to build a program without much of a budget, which I've written about recently in my Beg, borrow and Steal episode.
Speaker 1:So, without further ado, here's my interview with Jim Hamble. All right, here I am with Jim Hamble. Jim, how are you tonight? I'm good. How are you? I'm great, good to see you again. It's been a little while, so I appreciate you, it has been yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's been a few years. I haven't really done a lot of interviews in the past few years. I just started kind of coming back with it. So that's good that you're on board again.
Speaker 2:No, I enjoyed our last conversation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when I saw that you were doing it again.
Speaker 2:I was like yeah, let's do it.
Speaker 1:So can you give us a brief intro of who you are, where you are and what you teach?
Speaker 2:please. Well, my name is Jim Hamill. I'm a phys ed teacher. I teach grades 3k, which, if your school is universal pre-k in the city we have, and in New York we have. I'm also from New York and there are universal, like, in essence, 3k programs for three-year-olds and my daughter. I have two daughters, one's in first grade, the other one is actually in a 3k program now, so it's full day 3k and I do up to fifth grade and I also have a gen ed and a special ed license which greatly helps.
Speaker 2:If you've not seen, or I'm the author of the PE Central course, secrets of Differentiation, which we've actually just revised, the newly updated Shape America Standards, and so I usually tend to do stream of thoughts. I apologize if I ramble, but I like to kind of like. This is almost like my teaching style I try to be on topic, on point, but also, you know, engaging. I like to think of myself as a teacher, but also as a facilitator. I'm always trying to work on student-centered instruction because I really feel like that's my biggest thing is that I always try to think. I remember when I student taught scripting lessons, got to do it. That makes half of it, so I know exactly what I'm going to say. It's almost like I feel like I'm a performer. I've actually read books on performing my best friend that I've known since I was three. But um, so that's a little bit about me and um. Back to you, dave. Well thanks. I also believe humor is a big thing, a big, important part of just life.
Speaker 1:I could tell and I've known that about you and I agree, yeah, You've been entertaining me for the past few minutes as we were talking anyway. So I do want to go into bowling real quick, because we started talking about bowling I'm like, oh, I've got to hit record, what's that? Yeah, right. So you need to tell us about your bowling career and you know just your bowling influence Well as it comes to PE, also what you've done for PE with bowling.
Speaker 2:So the whole thing about me and if you've ever seen or read something about it because I do tend to talk about it a lot but really the big I grew up in the 90s. I went bowling on saturday mornings with my father. Yeah, I remember the bowling used to be on like primetime, like abc. Yeah, like saturday afternoons, that's like. That was like like this in essence, exactly like monday night football, like you would abc bowling and um, it's, it's. There's a lot of more different ways to stream it now, but you know, that was like the big thing back in the day. So like that's where I grew up and um.
Speaker 2:So I recently just wrote a blog for gopher sport and I gotta say so you give a shout out to matthew bassett, because he's the one who put me in touch with. He is amazing, he is, he is. I've met him, we've collaborated, he and I. Yeah, oh, I have not, so you're lucky, but he put me in touch with Gopher and they said so. Gopher gave me a chance. And I do also want to give a shout-out to Joe and I apologize, joe Dutch and Mike Chairman, because they also wrote blogs on it too.
Speaker 1:So and um, we'll link that in the episode notes.
Speaker 2:The show wants I'm not one to gatekeep and if it sounds like I'm name dropping, I'm really not, you know, trying to name drop. I'm just like give credit where credit's due, um, but in my blog. So really you might have heard, I mean like I, I if, honestly, if you kind of google jim ham bowling like, you'll probably find a lot of things. But honestly, my parents divorced when I was about 10. And the biggest reason I kind of say what bowling is, yeah, I kind of was good at it and I kind of picked it up, naturally, but it was really I do apologize to my mom. We bowled on a Tuesday night league in the summer at Baldwin Lanes and it was two games, but it was, you know, it was just something for her and I to do when, when. And then I do apologize to my mother's also retired visit teacher. So I do apologize and I apologized to her before I kind of kicked her off the team because I wanted to vote my father. So, um, and honestly, like I kind of stuck with it. I actually wanted to go be a lawyer. My father went to St John's and did a pre-law program. Women's bowling, I will say, is NCAA, but men's bowling isn't varsity team, so it's kind of a little bit trickier. Okay, I didn't know that. Yeah, when I went to Adelphi no, sorry, I went to Adelphi after St John's because I realized I didn't want to be a lawyer and um, but really honestly, the only reason I kind of stuck with bowling is because I wanted it was something that was a good bond.
Speaker 2:So in this blog I wrote, and you and I were just talking about it, like in golf you have the hole in one like there's always that moment like you don't always have to. Um, like one thing I told two of your students, like when I said oh, this is like this is like, this is basketball Like. Is it basketball? What makes basketball basketball? Like what makes golf golf? Like what makes any sport it's not just a team versus team. So, like a golf, you can pray, pray recreationally, it's still a whole one. It's still a whole one. Um, but I'm bowling and I'm basketball. You have the buzzer beater, but I'm bowling. It's moments like bowling 300. I've been very lucky. I've done it three times. Uh, four times, sorry, that's awesome. And in the blog I really seriously, my wife was there for the last one. It's been about eight years, I think.
Speaker 2:And, um, if you didn't know, you need 12 strikes in a row, which is, even if you've done it a few times, it's still pretty nerve-wracking. Um, mostly because at the point, some point, you don't want to, just, you know, throw it too much, and then you've got like a pin, and or you want to get like three pin or seven, and and it's it's like, but, um, I remember I I had the first 10. The 11th shot was like beautiful, and I left like a 10 pin, but like I don't know, and this my father had been had passed away like 2012, and this was like six years later, no, four, yeah, because it was before I had kids, which it seemed like a thousand years ago. But, um, I remember like there was just like some almost divine presidents, presidents, wow, presence like it. Just magically the pin fell over.
Speaker 2:So, um, for me, bowling is, I feel like I always say it's like a sport you could really really good at, but like even the masters, even the best ones in the world, like they you're always one game could be 300, one game cannot. So it's it's and, honestly, for me, and it just kind of like speaks to like what kind of like person like and what kind of teacher I am. Because, like, I just like to play so like, because, like, I just like to play so like, and I know, and bowling is great because you have, like you could go for awards and trophies, you can go for like accolades um, I'm not gonna say I'm not gonna, it's, it's cool to say I'm in the hall of fame, I'm a professional, but, um, yeah, even though I haven't gone bowling in like six months, but I've taught bowling and, uh, I one time did a PD at Brooklyn High School in the hallway with a colleague. So it's, and there's also a lot of different ways to be creative. Like I mean, there's the Bowler's Ed, which I'm a Bowler's Ed specialist, so I have to give a shout out to.
Speaker 2:And it's really the kind of thing where it's like, are students going to be entertained for a long time? They will like, if you have kids, if you have students, be like a pin setter and like to keep score. It's great for small groups because they can, you can differentiate. Do they take one step? Do they take four steps? Today now, even days like I I've I've had students, you know, back in the day you must, you remember you ever see a student will hold hand and they kind of like they don't really put their hand in it, like they just kind of like use two hands, like that. That's, some of the best balls in the world are two handed. So there's a lot there, but honestly, for me it's just it's like one of my favorites and it's just funny.
Speaker 2:I had a student we were doing basketball and we've done it a few times. I have this class twice a week and the other day yesterday she was like she said can we do bowling? Yeah, probably out of the blue. And I say that and I was like that's my favorite. And I said this and I was like you know what, it may not be your favorite, I won't be upset, but that's my passion and love. But like, I think it's good to have like trends, to be able to know like, so say like, and students are like, oh, and I'm like so what if you get invited to a bowling party, a birthday party? Like now you know what to do. So that's I think that's also a part of like physical literacy and phys ed, that a bowling is a good example of that too Not the only example, but it's also a good one to kind of like help roll that out.
Speaker 1:No pun intended. So what is your OK? So one of the things my favorite games is because we have a bunch of dots in our pavilion, so we'd have partners. It's like one pin on a dot and they would. It's almost like a cardio bowling, where they bowl it. If it gets knocked down, they move to the next dot and the next person goes. They're kind of like rotating One person's bowling it, the other person's resetting it, or kind of like I don't want to say catching it, but catching it as far as the bowling like the catcher, oh yeah, and so they run back. The goal is to make it all the way down and back, like keep moving that pin and back. What are some other? I guess quickly, we don't spend a lot of time on this, but maybe a game or two that you like for bowling to teach the students.
Speaker 2:I just saw one I actually kind of adapted it for basketball. I think it was Jessica Gore who did like bowling, for like critters you put, like little animals, or like you put beanbags and hula hoops Not as any game the biggest things for bowling little animals or like beanbags and hula hoops the biggest things for bowling are accuracy and consistency, because there's really only not that many skills that you need to do, but you need to be able to do it well. So large targets, narrow targets, medium targets A game like that is perfect. I've done that before. The way they are bowling is because a lot of students, a lot of people just know it naturally from like you know going and scorekeeping. So any way you could incentive like personally I've done before, I've bowled and like used cards, so you can make it so like one of the bowlers at games is, you have the kids, you can have them roll two rule two dice and if you get like a two and a four, you put up the two pin, the four pin and then you put up the six pin because you add them together and if the total is more than 10 you put up all 10.
Speaker 2:So and you can definitely do things like or I I think I remember someone, I forget where he was but like you could put pictures on the bottom of them or you can have like so that when they hit Bulls, that also has a really cool one where they have, like you know, a set of 10 pins. So this way and I recently just discovered like puppets with numbers on them, discover like puppets with numbers on them so you can do with like every five pins, um, they could get a card or they could get some some something, and this is good to help them keep track of their progress. And I gotta say, like when I've been, well, I haven't where you got like a strike or you could even it's called no tap, where if you really want to make it interesting and this will make the you could do or like, instead of having to get a strike but knock down all the 10 pins, maybe they only need if they knock down eight, that counts as a strike. Or knock down nine pins and it counts as a strike. So that game like you're talking about, like it's quick and, truth be told, I only like to do like one turn and then switch because, honestly, I've been bowling for many, many years and pulling that sometimes is I've only I've learned it because it's situational. I think that's the best kind of aspect I mean for for older students. Yeah, you could also have them to use apps.
Speaker 2:You go on my bowling school like a bowl of Google but like, that's a great game. You do like bowling golf. You put like little buckets, um, put the pins or put cones out, and there's also different angles. I don't like, because if there's too much oil in the lane it's annoying. I have to think.
Speaker 2:But like um, you have to be very versatile and how you throw the ball, not just what you you're doing, but how you're doing it. So there's a lot of applications for strategy and I know we wanted to get too short, but I'm sorry you guys be course bubbling. I, I, my brain is like my brain's like 27 things, um, those are the like, honestly, like, like that kind of game, like games are like open and I just could literally just run right. The replayability, yeah, I think, I think just replayability games, because it's like and then again, then you can, then you could lend it to itself.
Speaker 2:Like you apply concepts of like sport, um, yeah, sport related fitness, where it's like how much force, like balance, um, health related fitness, because actually bowling is a lot more cardio, is a big apartment, but I'll tell you, after I do a 10 game tournament I'm exhausted, but um, oh, you could even. You could even do candle pin bowling. Which what's that? Oh, tell me, it's like, um, oh, so it's like it's a northeastern thing. So it's almost kind of like boccians, because the ball is like literally like, like the size of lacrosse ball, bocce ball, but oh, you know, 15 pins and um they're like duck duck, pin duck, bowling or something like that.
Speaker 2:That's very similar, yeah okay, I think it's also called that. Yeah, I think it's also good. Down here it's called duck pinball. Yeah, yeah, so you have like 15 pins and you get like three turns, but it's a smaller ball. So it's like that's perfect differentiation and it's also like transferable skill and my understanding of physical literacy is that, as long as you are keeping the spirit, especially in elementary school, where we, you know, it's more about skill development, but it's great for also in competition, because the students are not necessarily going against each other Like they're, my success is not dependent on what you do, I don't say. I will say one thing like there's a lot of opportunities for. Like when I bowled in high school, I didn't Wasn't a great tournament, but there was a lot of scholarship opportunities, like scholarship money but there was a lot of scholarship opportunities like scholarship money.
Speaker 1:Well, we have a um, I have a neighbor um, just right that right on the street, his son just started bowling a couple years ago and he was. He became one of the best of the state and he actually got a scholarship for I mean, and he does the um, I don't know how you bowl, but he does that thing where like no fingers in the ball and does the two and yeah yeah, I, I is that. Is that a newer, like the past 10?
Speaker 2:20 years. So it's not really. It's not really. You're only putting your um, middle finger, ring finger, you're not putting your hand in. So, like these fingers, yeah, on the ball, yeah, and the other hand normally you would put your thumb in and that would like balance it right, but you put your other hand and the whole purpose that is, you're trying to create more revolutions. You want the ball to basically turn more Right and that way it will create more speed. It will also create more hook and more power. But that is more of a no, I want to say. It's probably been going on for a longer time, but it's been more, I guess I want to say, mainstreamed recently you do that or no.
Speaker 2:You know you do traditional, I'm traditional, but um, I'm not without getting me too, but I'm not really more of a power player, I'm kind of with more of an in-between. I do like to hook it a little bit, but I I don't just because it's physics. There's really a lot of physics and a bowling ball, the cover of it is really a sponge. So the fancy bowling balls like I do have from Storm go Storm and there's a lot of science behind it. So, for me, think of it as like you have to go somewhere. It's, it's, it's like. Think of it as like it's like you have to go somewhere, but instead of going straight there, you go 20 minutes to the right, 20 minutes out of your way to come back, and it says it says it's like that way because if you throw the ball with a lot of hook, um, there's the margin of error sometimes is, is is higher all right, we have to move on and we have to move on to let's do that.
Speaker 1:Uh, because what? One of the reasons why I wanted to kind of reconnect with you is because I put out an article and then you kind of you responded, yes, it was about building a program with little to no budget. Um, mine was beg, borrow, uh, build and steal equipment, and I put a little ebook out there. So I'm gonna put that in the show notes as well. And uh, put a podcast out on it. And you kind of responded that you did the same thing. And so I read an article, uh, that uh about. It was actually about you and how you built your program from you know like duct tape and you know gum like MacGyver. Um, so, uh, can you describe what you did, uh, how you like, how you did it? How'd you build your program?
Speaker 2:Actually, yeah, I do. I am kind of the MacGyver oh, there you go, because that sometimes I don't want to. That's a very bold um, whatever works best. But, like, for me, it's important that you know the first relationships. Like the New York bats, I'm grateful because a couple years ago they sent, they gave, I said I reached out to them and said I teach you to school. Do you know? Bye, do you have anything I would have been happy with, like a, a towel. They sent some, they spent some batting tees, some like little mini franklin gloves.
Speaker 2:Sometimes it's fun to play a modified version or just play that like sticks to the true spirit and fun and bad is also a great one because it gives you. But it gives you curriculum, but it also you don't necessarily need a traditional bat and gloves, um, and there's a lot it it, there's a lot of ways to modify it and it's versatile. So that's one of the reasons why I love that um and the bowl is that I was talking about as well lots of different ways to be versatile. So curriculum is one thing, like finding curriculum, a lot of the like. I'm very fortunate, I have to say, like the USTA, I've had a tennis pro USTA Eastern, that I had a tennis pro come to work with my students. And then a couple of years ago you might have heard, we went to the US Open for the NetGen thing. So couple years ago we might have heard, we went to the us open for the net gen thing. So a lot of these thank you and um, when you hear grants and and a lot of times all you need to do is just an email because I feel like you know, in a digital world it's great we could email, but sometimes like just that, like taking the time to just call and um, like the blog you were talking about was from shape america. And then I've been an ambassador for fit america, which I've gotten golf equipment I've gotten there's great things. I hope billy jean king gets to hear this, because he basically created and they gave me two free. It's basically like a batting tee for tennis where you have a ball and has like on the arm and you can hit it and it will go, but it'll come back. Oh, awesome, yeah, and it's. It's so america is phit america.
Speaker 2:Like I said, I don't want, but like these are companies that, like I've had a great, I've built a relationship, so a lot of those things, and I feel like to bring experiences that are not traditional and like golf, lacrosse, us lacrosse, or if you're going to teach skills, you know students, some students may never have used a baseball glove before. It's really what it is. You know students, some students may never ever have used a baseball glove before and giving them it is really what it is it's about cause hey, you never know, you may have the next Hall of Famer, but even if you have someone who's like you know what I want to play recreational softball it's also still a win too or someone just, even if they're like you know what. Baseball or softball is not my thing, but you know being able to hit if they want to go play a game where they're hitting a bat, like hitting with a bat. So that's my philosophy, but I've started off.
Speaker 2:I taught in a school in brooklyn. I started off with literally five cones and two loops, so um, what'd you do with those things?
Speaker 1:how would you?
Speaker 2:you do, oh boy A lot of like using and I was a trot in the hallway, so there was no using the hula hoops as taping them together and standing them up. That would make a net to go back and forth for volleyball, for tennis and or one student holds them, or one game that I've also seen from a open, that I did a variation of, where, like, I wish I knew this game now. But, like you have the students, they toss the beam Like a lot of times. Like use it as targets, like put it on a wall, put it under a basketball hoop for the younger students. Now I've actually just gone to a dollar tree and I got little big baskets and I cut out the bottom and three weeks later they're still going strong and like it's also a little bit different.
Speaker 2:So, like anything, it's like anything, like cones are always great for, like boundaries, or you know, having to toss the cone into the hula hoop and um, not being afraid to speak up. I, as you may know, I'm I'm not a kind of shy person and um, but humor and being candid and being transparent I feel is very important. On there's a lot of visits, like I've gone to New York city for conferences and people say you know what? I don't want to travel back with this and that's and that's perfectly awesome. They gently use.
Speaker 1:So how do you find these places Like, how do you find these links or these places or these websites or?
Speaker 2:I know the way, like you and I like twitter, um, social media. I was telling a teacher in brooklyn about the usta and they said, oh, I, I know a company that cycle kids who got the bikes. That's how the bikes came around. So I was almost kind of like trading resources, but like it's also like I feel like you can learn something from anyone you know, like even you and I just doing this right now, like I mean, I'm sure, like you, just kind of have to be open because, like one thing I know for me, I I just like to be creative. It's like I mean, like I've made batting teams but using a giant cone. That's what we do. Yeah, and and, and, if I have fancy like pool noodles, yeah, I've had people ask me, like I don't know, when I walk into school like lots of pool noodles. I was like what are you doing with them? And I'm like I'm using them, I use them as I use them as as, yeah, yeah, so like hockey sticks, exactly like like bowlers, that they have a free bowlers, that grant you can apply for and get rug, the rugs that are mimicked, that are like a regular bowling lane. They also like, um, and a lot of times it's just like looking it up or just like looking at usbc and, well, like tennis program or, honestly, chat gbt and like ai, like, if you wanted to look up, you probably could be.
Speaker 2:Like education grants, yeah, and a grant doesn't necessarily mean like you have to link the application. Sometimes it's just filling out a oh, we'll come, or reaching out to them and say, oh, can we talk? And that's where you put yourself on the radar and if, when you actually talk to someone, even if it's a 10 minute conversation and nothing pans out, you never know. I mean, I have rail yard fitness, I have to say, and me too, I well, your friends are going to say I'm. When I originally spoke to him, I said you know what? Everything sounds great and, honestly, to be truly transparent, the price it's just too much and fundraising is not always easy. Donorschoose is great.
Speaker 2:Twitter is also great, because I get to interact with teachers that are like, and even TikTok. I get to interact with teachers that are not in phys ed but they like amazing things, but like really a friend of back to them and creative, like I have this beautiful, like screen and like. I reached out to them and I said you know what let's, can we work together? And they were like, yeah, and they were able to come up with a custom package, so that's great. Yeah, thank you. And just because I said what's the worst that happens. I know time is precious, but, like I said, it was awesome, like I was just happy to have them publish it. But I mean writing blogs or contributing, like you know, I like to write, but, um, this so many and it might seem exhaustive and daunting, but like, if you think about, I mean like, be a MacGyver, so talk about the MacGyver thing and come up with creative stuff.
Speaker 1:So somebody a teacher actually gave me some, a bunch of tennis balls, because their son plays in high school or college or whatever. And I got all the canisters and I didn't know what to do with them. So the problem I was having was I have real bowling pins. They're really old, but I have real bowling pins that are really heavy. But I also have these ones from I guess I won't say what company, but they're kind of light, they're foam and they kind of rip at the neck, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:So what I did was the other it was like a week ago I filled them up just tennis ball canisters with water, like just a little bit just to keep them from blowing down from the wind. And I want to play a game with the younger kids. It was kind of like a bowling game With the older kids. It was a hockey game where they had to shoot at it and knock them down. And eventually I told the kids I'm like, oh well, I'm going to fill them with sand eventually and I'll tape them up and it's going to be perfect. But what happened was and it was a nice kind of sunny day, and the reason I'm saying that is because when they got knocked over they would spill. Well, that was actually fun, because I'm on cement and it was hot out, so it evaporated not too long after that.
Speaker 1:So we're playing a game, so I ended up calling it Splat Ball. They actually liked it. We just made up this game. So again it was tennis ball cans filled with water about that much, not very much and again it prevented from being too light or too heavy, kind of like Goldilocks, just right. And then we created a new game just called Splat Ball. Just knocks it over, water goes everywhere. And because we're outside, we can do that. So I just want to tell you that story. That's all. No, that's a great story.
Speaker 2:So, um, you know what I'm and imitation is a sense is, this is a form of flattery. So if, if I, if you see, if I tell you in a few months or so I'm playing, there you go. Or field day, splat ball.
Speaker 1:Splat ball. But yeah, no, I'm writing down stuff as we're talking because you're giving me so many good ideas. I just want to keep it streamlined. I can't keep up with you, so okay. So, if you were to start, here's some of the things I wrote down. If you were to start from scratch, I have cones for boundaries and even for throwing Cones, hoops, maybe gator skin balls some we don't need a million of them but maybe beanbags, beanbags, noodles, scarves, scarves, noodles, maybe some poly spots you don't need noodles, but for tagging and things like that, Noodles will come in handy later, I feel like later in the year.
Speaker 1:What else, if you were like beginning of the school year.
Speaker 2:Go ahead If you wanted to use bicycles. If you go like a Facebook marketplace, a lot of people like that's one thing I did today. People will sell or even give away those little mini Radio Flyer bikes. I got like three or four of them and my, my, my students can use that Awesome Do you have a place to put them, though, because what I'm going to do is build a shed.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to build it literally, but I'm going to get a shed. And then I was bikes Cause I was just writing about. I'm writing an article like, or yesterday about, because we used to have a bike trailer. It was funded by the state and we lost the grant. The grant is gone Because they would drop off the trailer for two weeks every school, once a year, and we teach kids to ride bikes. They'd have helmets and we'd wear hairnets and scooters, but then they lost the grant. So I'm like well, what can we do? We can make our own bike trailer. Tell me about your bikes what do you got? You got storage for those.
Speaker 2:So I do, but these are like little bit mini bikes which I'm able to kind of just like kind of put in the corner, but I'm also using hooks that I bought from Home Depot. I just kind of screw into the wall. There you go, um, you just kind of like, learn to be creative with your space. Like, um, make shelves, like yeah, amazon has like really amazing, like those really giant, like big shelves. Um, you're gonna be creative because it's like it's remember, it's like your classroom.
Speaker 2:Like if you go to a classroom, like they have big closets, they have big sheds that are just there, but like I mean, students are used to like this all day. So I mean, like I'm not saying, please understand, I'm not saying like, be unsafe, leave things out, but like like if you put a shed or if you put like something like that, or like if you use like a closet, like with the doors, it's like metal I can't think of the word. But if you put something like that, like it it just some cones around it, but there's ways around, like the shed you talked about. I mean I don't really have outdoor storage.
Speaker 1:So Are you inside the whole time or are you outside a little bit?
Speaker 2:I'm inside, I'm on the third floor of my school, but we're also co-located because there's another, another school. So, using the, the yard, and honestly, I, I used to, I used to do, I used to um leave recess, I used to lead recess, I used to teach and I prefer to teach inside.
Speaker 1:Wait, your gym's on the third floor? No really, I've never heard of that. No, no, do you like that? Do you like it that way, then?
Speaker 2:Huh, yeah, that's interesting it's, it's well lit, um it's very spacious.
Speaker 1:Is it a newer school or no? No, it's very spacious. Is it a newer school or no? Old school.
Speaker 2:It's old, it's old school, it's old school, it's old school. A lot of buildings in the districts that I work in are older. Yeah, I don't even have an AC and a lot of times kids will be like, can you get an AC? And I'm like I would love one, but I have an old fan. Um, get on the third floor. I I honestly prefer, because it's it's I, yeah, I. I get to like we're doing basketball.
Speaker 2:Now I took those baskets, I cut out the bottom and I put them on the wall. I get to leave them up there. I don't have to worry about the elements. I'm the only one in the user's gym. It's like I I can leave again. I go to lunch. I don't have to worry about you know. So I'm very fortunate. But, um, great, yeah, no, I like your idea with the with the shit, because, like I thought about doing that. It's like when I sometimes, when the weather's warm, with the pre-k students, they go, we go outside, naturally, because it's the yard and those little mini radio flyer bikes that the students love to use. They're a bit of a hassle to shut down.
Speaker 1:Well, how many do you have? How many bikes do you have for your PE program? Like a lot, like 20 or more or less.
Speaker 2:I know I have at least eight little radio flyer minibikes. Biking usually comes later on in the year, right May is actually not bike month, but I try to align it. But usually you know at that point I'll know I'll have a great, I'll have a good. The students will kind of know expectations routine. So it it's like I don't want to say a reward or culminating, but like it's, it's yeah, no, I get it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and what grades you teach bike, I do it's hard to teach it to the middle grades because I don't have the bikes Like, the bikes I have are for they're for older kids and they're for younger, so I have to. I'm working on getting and it's not easy, but for the middle. So, like I said, it's a good problem to have, because years ago when I first started, I didn't even know I would ever be teaching cycling. So, like I said, there's always things I'm trying to like. It's there's a lot of different ways to solve a problem, but sometimes a little grit and tenacity. You have to just stick with it a little grit and tenacity.
Speaker 1:You have to just stick with it. What are some things you would bring If you could just bring something? You mentioned a rock climbing wall, because I was actually thinking of that for myself, but I don't have any place I could build it Not physically build it, but there's nothing I would love to have a rock climbing wall or get an archery. Archery is next for me, if I can just convince my parents I love archery.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if I can just convince my parents I love archery. Yeah, I did archery because I was in Lake Shore two years ago, two summers ago, and I found those archery sets that they have for sale. It was really well-received, like I think it all just took a lot of the students really love that. Yeah, I'd love to do that. Like I've talked to students before about, like, what's your favorite physical activity? And some of them like, oh, I want to learn how to box. And yeah, I feel kind of weird because boxing is a sport and it's a great physical, it's an Olympic sport, it's a great, um, just the nature of it. I feel kind of personally, I feel kind of, but, um, I'm sure, like karate, martial arts things, maybe that would be. We do martial arts Seriously. I think it would be great because it would be like a perfect combination of, like mindfulness, sel, self-regulation and also physical activity. Those are one step at a time. You have to tell me what you do for karate.
Speaker 1:Well, I could teach it. It's funny that we're talking about this because, again, I just published an article about how I do martial arts in PE. So I am a black belt in karate. It's been 20 years, but uh, yeah, I don't want to go. I don't want to go deep in this story, but, um, so a local uh Taekwondo studio, um dojo, contacted me. Um, and they, they've been working with the district. Uh, this is like 10 years ago, nine, 10 years ago they had been working with the district. Uh, this is like 10 years ago. Nine, 10 years ago they had been working with the district. They only had a couple of schools. They didn't know I was into martial arts, I, it was just a coincidence. But they reached out to me and we started working together.
Speaker 1:Where they come in, for it's supposed to be a nine week program, but sometimes it doesn't work out to be nine weeks, like between seven and nine weeks, and they teach our. They come out twice a week and they teach our second graders one year that they did third grade because of our schedule, but basically they donate uh the the uniforms and so they really fit second graders and they come out. Uh, again, they, the kids, wear the uniforms over their clothes. They just, they put them on real quick. Yeah, we help them tie them and then they, uh, yeah, they teach them. Uh, at the end they, we, they break boards. They get a white belt, uh, you know that kind of thing. It's. It's really cool to do a nice ceremony, uh, but they teach them like different blocks and strikes. They don't touch anybody, it's not contact, but they uh, but they teach them different. Just not just that, but you know life skills and and you know hard work and dedication and being honest and stranger danger and what happens if a bully comes. You know up in your face and you know that kind of thing. So it's been really just great. So that's there you go.
Speaker 1:If you can reach out to a uh and plus, okay, so they don't get a lot of benefit out of coming. They do get to kind of promote themselves a little bit. So they might get a few students from our school. They actually come to our school anyway, because they have an afterschool like bus that takes, you know, five kids there, something like that. So, but yeah, so it's kind of it's beneficial to them to get into the schools, because then the kids know them, the parents know them, they get more business, but they volunteer a lot of time, like it's. I don't know if I'm sure they don't make out financially based on the amount of time they volunteer versus the amount of business they get. But it's, you know, we've been working together for a while. We've been working together for a while and I just brought them back this past year, this school year, to my current school because after COVID, you know, everything kind of went crazy and they didn't go into schools for a while. So they just started, yeah, coming back. I mean, they came back.
Speaker 1:Anyways, my school first year.
Speaker 2:No, and you actually reminded me because I've, on parent conferences, parents have said, oh, we want gymnastics or ballet and, like I said, we have the New York Ballet Company. Not far so well. You said, like I reached out to gymnastics places and said, hey, you know, I can't promise, I can't make this lucrative. And when we went to the US Open, I literally just said, hey. They said, oh, we would love to have a coach come and teach tennis. Awesome, I invited Wound up. The way that story worked out was I invited him once Came back, once he loved it. He came back again, came back a third time.
Speaker 1:He then won a grant because of his work and that was in the fall.
Speaker 2:And then he won a grant. He came like three or four times, five or six times, over the year he even came to field day. That's the year that we went to, we applied, went to the US Open, went to the US, the us open. I'd never been there to myself. Um, we wound up. One of my students has a really awesome smile.
Speaker 2:They use this, they use the pic, they use this picture for their like 2023, like like book, yearbook, um. So I guess these are the kinds of things and it's like results may vary, but like you were saying, like if you had a company, like I mean, like like they won't offer more, but like like golf, or like you know, you, you karate. Like I mean at some point, like if this is what, and as teachers, like we'd love to share what we're passionate about, so like that's the most important right. So exactly like is it sometimes? Just like, like I said before, like sometimes if you reach out to them and they said you know what it's not gonna work out, right, you never know, you just don't ask you can't get it right exactly and, like I said, no, there are so many things and sometimes we are all busy and I'm not saying it's like, like this is, this is the highlights.
Speaker 2:This is now if imagine, although like I say this, this and that, like there's five other places like not not anything bad, like the rock wall, um, it's just too much. You were talking about macgyver like, um, like, if you use those basics, like you go to the dollar store I love dollar stores like dollar, like dollar tree, like you go, you get that stuff, like it's, it's, it's also good, because then it's like oh wait, how does this like? And then it kind of also talks about it's not just the equipment itself. So it's like it's hard to see sometimes the forest behind the trees. But in essence, just you, just like you're hearing when you talk about the credit, like, like you said, even one or two students like, but you never know Like what, what, if, what, if they, what if they become a karate champion?
Speaker 2:and they come back when they, and that you never know. Yeah, it's you never. You never know, you never know. And I'm hard. Uh, bird, what is it? A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Like I'm an old, I'm dad, like, and I'm I know we're going off the tangents, but honestly, like talking to you about this stuff, learning about it, like honestly I'm sitting out learning from stuff, from that I'm gonna do that. Or I'm like, oh, I gotta go do that. Um, you've been teaching how many years?
Speaker 2:uh well, pe 14, but overall 22, 23 and we're still it's still it's a Saturday and we're still it's still it's a Saturday night, we're still talking about how to get grants and how to do things, and you're talking about so, like I mean, love it Exactly. Like I mean we don't have to, but like it's, it's, it's seriously, it's like it's sometimes I remember it's like like we got into this for a reason, like remember, very specifically, I I wanted to be the dude that one day wanted to do law, but I was like you know what? Because my first, my first cell broke down on the way to school. I was like you know what? I could really enjoy this? I want to do phys ed because it's something that I'm gonna enjoy.
Speaker 2:So it's like all this stuff, it's like like I say I don't want you to be like, I don't want you people to hear this and be like, oh, no, man, like I got fun with it, like it doesn't have to be, like, right, in the end it'll be you, um, because it's also great for you to be a free advocate for your program well, give me your final thoughts, because I was thinking that I was almost going to say there was the mic drop and you almost had it and I was like so give me your final thoughts.
Speaker 2:To wrap this up a little bit, like I was saying before, like you want to get partnerships, like I said, like if you reach out to me, I will be very happy to share it. Like I'm not just saying this because, like I'm genuinely saying like, please reach out to the companies, please reach out, try these things and if, if you get them, and your experience is even more awesome, that makes me happy because it gets out there, go get it. Let's, let's keep bringing phys ed and, just, you know, make it bringing ourselves to new heights.
Speaker 1:Thank you everybody for tuning in today. I really do appreciate it, as always. Go to supersize physad for more information, or check out my sub stack and my medium articles. If you're more of a reader, you want to check out. Check those out, and you'll also be getting one to two emails a week on different posts, different podcasts, all that stuff. So love to have you be a part of it. So click on the links in the show notes and check out all that stuff. So love to have you be a part of it. So click on the links in the show notes and check out the free stuff. There's a free book in there if you haven't got it yet, a free ebook. There's my book that I wrote in there. Lots of good stuff. So definitely check those out With that PE Nation, have a great day, week, weekend, whenever you listen to this, and let's keep pushing our profession forward. Thank you.
