Summertime is a much-needed break from school for the children. However, it is important that the kids be kept away from TV or video games and involved in some interesting activities. It helps to utilize the child’s time in a constructive way and also provides them an opportunity to learn and develop their cognitive skills.

Here are some useful ideas to plan fun summer activities for your kids:

• Indulge In Outdoor Activities: This is a great way to spend some quality time with your kids and make them learn the importance of staying physically active. Go for bike rides and evening walks with them. At times, you can simply opt to go out for a picnic and enjoy the pleasant weather. This will give them a change from their usual routine.
• Invite Friends To Home: Choose a day to invite your child’s friends to play. While planning, try to include all those activities that encourage children to interact and spend time together. You can arrange for board games, drawing, painting, treasure hunts etc. to keep the kids engaged. These will make the children learn important skills like team play, sharing, conflict resolution and problem solving.
• Complete Projects Together: Make the child help you with your tasks and learn about handling responsibility, time management as well as life skills. If you are hosting a party, let the child help you in making invitations, planning the menu or decorating. If you are planting a sapling, make them learn about plants, water it regularly and pick fruits or vegetables. These activities will keep them engaged and you will also a get a little extra help. 
• Join A Club: Boys & Girls Clubs Of Central Texas offers stimulating activities for the kids. You may get them involved in classes like photography, painting, music, drama or a sport like football, basketball and swimming. This helps children by refining their existing talent and also gives them a chance to make new friends, learn new sports and develop healthy habits. 

We, at Boys & Girls Clubs Of Central Texas, organize various interesting activities for kids in Texas. Our childcare programs are aimed at helping your kids develop and enrich their lives. For more information, feel free to call us at (254) 699 – 5808 or visit 304 W Ave B, Killeen, TX 76541.

Football is a fun and exciting sport that is enjoyed by children of all ages. It improves the physical health of children but also promotes their social as well as psychological skills. Boys & Girls Clubs Of Central Texas offers ‘Tackle Football League’ for the kids aged 7 to 12 years. In the program, different leagues are organized that enroll players depending upon their age and weight. Presently, three leagues are offered:

• NCAA League for boys aged 7-8 years who weigh 60-100 lbs. and 9 years who weigh 60-74 lbs.
• AFC League for boys aged 9 years who weigh 75-120 lbs., 10 years old weighing 70-110 lbs. and 11 years old weighing 75-89 lbs.
• NFC League for boys aged 11-12 who weigh 90-140 lbs. and 10 year olds who weigh 111-140 lbs.

Here are some benefits for enrolling your child in the football program offered by the kids club:

• Physical Activity: Football is a game that requires a high amount of physical involvement from the child. Approximately 60 minutes of exercise is recommended by the American Public Health Association for a person to stay fit and healthy. The jumping, running, catching and throwing involved in the game can fulfil this requirement.
• Teamwork: Football helps children learn the importance of team work to achieve success. Each game requires the combined effort of 11 or more individuals to be executed efficiently. While being a part of the team, the child learns responsibility and the importance of team play. 
• Character Development: Football provides an opportunity to the kids to have a practical experience of many life concepts both on and off the field. They learn how to handle defeat with dignity, attain success through hard work and determination, and improving themselves with constant practice. All these help in laying the foundation for the child’s strong character.
• Friendship: While being a part of the football team, the child gets to know, meet and share their views with other players. The team plays together, takes part in practice sessions, shares its wins as well as defeats. This instills a strong positive interest and a healthy relationship among them.

To enroll your child with any of the football leagues offered by Boys & Girls Clubs Of Central Texas, you can call at (254) 699 - 5808 or visit 304 W Ave B, Killeen, TX 76541.

Incorporating exercises in your child’s daily routine plays a crucial role in promoting their fitness and good health. In this age of video games and computers, children must get involved in some sort of sports to have their share of physical activity. Participating in youth football helps in the physical wellbeing of your child and helps develop healthy social and moral habits.

Here are some of the reasons why parents should encourage their child to participate in youth football:

• Teamwork: Being a part of youth football team will help your child learn the importance of teamwork in winning a game. Playing as a whole unit, the child learns to be responsible and how the negligence of one player can be disastrous for the entire team.
• Exercise: Youth football demands a lot of physical input on the part of the players. It is recommended that children must do at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. The jumping, running and throwing involved in the game can help your kid achieve this target. Boost your child to give his maximum effort for the contribution he makes towards getting a win for the team. This will not only make him shine in the sport but also develop his moral character.
• Friendship: Enrolling in youth football provides an opportunity to meet and greet new people. Taking part in practice sessions with the teammates, playing, winning and losing helps to develop a strong bond between them. Having a common positive interest fosters a healthy relationship among the team members.
• Character: Football provides an opportunity to experience many important times that are a part of life. Succeeding through sheer determination and hard work, handling defeat with dignity and improving at a skill lay the foundation for the development of a strong character.
• Time Management: Adding football schedule in the child’s daily schedule will encourage them to effectively manage time and priorities. They will learn how to maintain a balance between two or more important things at a time.

Youth football is a great way to unlock your child’s physical capacities as well as refine his social skills. It can help your child become a better person, athlete and teammate.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Texas organize Youth Tackle Football League for the kids of different age groups. For more details about the programs offered, you can call at (254) 699 – 5808 or visit at 304 W Ave B, Killeen, TX – 76541.

Football enthusiasts spend most of their time practicing the game which is becoming ever so popular around the world. However it is important to follow proper techniques during play and warm up sessions prior to playing. It is the duty of the coaches and parents to insist on the importance of warming up before practice. The coaches must make the young football players aware of the preventive measures needed to be taken against injury and strain. Learning about stretching, warm-up exercises and strength training are the essential parts of a solid sports training.

The trainers must encourage the players to indulge in warm-up exercises in their practice sessions. A dynamic warm up session not only prepares the body for the sport but also prepares the player mentally. The warm up sessions often include some cardiovascular exercises, strength drillsand stretching exercises as the cardiovascular exercises increase the blood circulation, increase the heart rate and increase body temperature. Whereas stretching exercises warm up the muscles and prepare them for movement.

Kids should always warm up before playing football for two main purposes; firstly toincrease performance and secondly to prevent injury.As the blood flow increases the body temperature rises and the blood releases more oxygen, which enables the players to perform better. The muscles contract and relax faster, muscle metabolism increases and this helps the muscles perform efficiently.Warming up your muscles is necessary and a 10-20 minutes warm up session is sufficient to help players play well. Some of the exercises that can help youth football players are sidesteps, heel flicks, skipping, knee raises and jogging.

Cold muscles tend to tear easily, whereas warmed up muscles require more force to be injured. Thus warm up helps in preventing muscle injury and by keeping the muscles warm the players can function more and play efficiently. By doing some warm up exercises kids can start playing their best right from the beginning. Warming up also decreases the chances of injury due to pulling of muscles and ligaments. It prepares the muscles for the movement, weight and exercise.By including warm up and cool down exercises in their practice routinekids can surely take their game to the next level and play a better game. Kids can avoid tiredness, straining their muscles and any painful injuries during the game that can render them unable to play and cause serious damages.

Cheerleading tryouts can be a challenging task for kids as it requires a lot of patience, understanding and hard work. Kids are often afraid of facing the judges, making mistakes or forgetting the moves. Boys And Girls Clubs of Central Texas helps kids prepare for the tryouts. Here are some useful tips for kids that can help them prepare for cheerleading tryouts.

• Meet the coach before tryout: It is advised that you should meet the coach of the squad, and take that opportunity to introduce yourself and express your interest in tryouts.  You can ask the coach about any particular requirements that he/she may have.
• Be Confident: Whatever you do, you need to do it confidently. It is important that you practice your skills before the tryout. By helping others in the team, you can gain more confidence and make an acceptable place for yourself in the team.
• Be prepared for commitment:  Cheerleading is quite demanding and demands commitment. Whether it is games, competitions or practice, you can succeed only if you are committed to do your best. Your passion and commitment should reflect in your try out. You must check out your potentials and the requirements of task before tryouts so that you can mentally prepare yourself for the task.
• Adapt to match your squad: Every squad has its own style, personality and image. You must show that you can fit in the image. 
• Practice: To be successful cheerleader, it is essential that you practice your steps so that you do not forget them during tryout. By regular practice, you can strengthen your skills and be more confident.
• Keep learning: If you want to perform well during cheerleading tryout and impress the judges, you must learn new dance steps and athletic actions. Note other cheerleaders in the squad and even get advice from previous squad members on how to learn new actions.
• Stay healthy: To join a squad, it is important that you should be healthy. Be confident about yourself, smile genuinely and have a healthy diet.
• Avoid stressing yourself: It is crucial that you recognize your limitations and do not over stretch and strain yourself.
• Dress appropriately for the tryouts: It is important that you should be comfortable; therefore avoid wearing too tight and skinny clothes. Wear something comfortable, tie your hair back and avoid wearing jewelry.

These tips will surely get you success in your cheerleading tryouts.

There are great benefits to be had from targeted and organized after school activities for kids. Boys And Girls Clubs of Central Texas offers games like football for youth, which not only allows for physical and mental well being of children, but also gives them a great place to socialize and makes it easier to get to know each other. The benefits of youth football are numerous and can be extremely beneficial for children during their childhood and also at later times. It is necessary for parents to know and fully appreciate these benefits so that they can make a well informed decision of sending their children for youth football. Here are a few points to consider -

Health

Youth football has a profound positive impact on a child’s health. There has been an alarming increase in the number of children affected by obesity over the last few years. The fact that this has reached epidemic proportions is indeed a cause for concern, as obesity is a breeding ground for a number of afflictions like heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes and arthritis. It is extremely important for children to be in good health. Youth football can be a great place for improving health as children get regular and targeted exercise which improves fitness and stamina and encourages good eating habits. This can protect children from a slew of possible health issues later in life.

Mental Attributes

Youth football instills a number of important mental attributes in children. For starters, it inspires children to care about others and think about a common goal rather than individual targets. The spirit of teamwork is something which is essential for living a good life, and football is the perfect place to inculcate the true values of teamwork. Children can also learn and imbibe the concepts of sportsman spirit and the notion of leading a disciplined life.

Forming Relationships

Another great benefit of youth football is that it enables children to form rewarding and lasting relationships. The value of relationships in life cannot be doubted, and youth football is a place where children can interact and spend time regularly with their peers. This encourages the building of friendship and compassion. Also, relationships with mentors and coaches can be a lasting and positive influence for children, driving them to excel in life, giving them the ability to follow instructions and being a source of motivation and self-belief.

The importance of sports for the overall development of kids is something that everyone is well aware of. Taking part in physical activities and sports from an early age lays the foundation for the development of a healthy mind and a healthy body.

Moreover, sports activities become all the more significant during times when kids have vacations. They ensure that your little ones stay fit and do not turn into couch potatoes. There are various sports activities for kids in Texas; read on to know more.

• Basketball is a wonderful game that kids enjoy while playing in a team. It provides complete physical workout, builds strength and endurance of the muscles, and also helps to build height when kids are in the growing up years. The child also learns skills such as coordination and collaboration within a team, which are great assets for the future.
• Kids can also be actively involved in Youth Football in Texas. There are various programs that you can avail; whether your child is interested to play the game on the field, or to cheer for his or her favorite team. There are a host of clubs that offer football programs for young children.
• As with basketball, football is also a team game. It is a great way to work out towards a fit and healthy body.
• Track events are another area that kids can be engaged in. Whether it is racing, or relay events, these are a great way to build up physical strength. Kids develop sharper reflexes, quicker response times, as well as great head and eye coordination.
• Not only this, track events are the best way to build up stamina and endurance, which will help the child in the long run.
• Sports are a fun way to learn. They teach the child many life skills in a free environment. Right from a young age, the child gets to know the importance of traits such as leadership and team spirit. Besides helping build physical fitness, sports activities also nurture the self-confidence of the child.

In addition, there are many other innovative ways to engage kids in physical activities. Try to find out what your kid loves the most, and accordingly get him or her active in a sports activity that fits the bill.

These days, many school aged kids prefer to kill their free time holed up in bedrooms with video games and computers. With latest technologies at their fingertips, good and refreshing physical activities appear to have become a thing of past. It’s about time we reintroduce the love of daily recreational activities and increase their interest in the field of sports.

We, at Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Texas understand the importance of recreation for the overall development of kids and aim at providing them with a safe environment to enhance their skills through our fun-filled activities.

The activities at our club range from indoor fun like fine arts and drama to several outdoor sports programs. When it comes to outdoor team sports, there’s something about tackle football that makes it a popularchoice among kids in Texas.

There are three tackle football leagues kids can participate into at our kids club in Texas:

• The NCAA League: It is provided especially for boys aged 7-8 years old with weight 60-100 lbs, and 9 year olds with 60-74 lbs. of weight.
• The AFC League: This league is available for boys aged 9 with weight 75-120 lbs, 10 years old with weight 70-110 lbs and 11 years old with 75-89 lbs of weight.
• The NFC League: It is available for boys aged 11-12 with weight 90-140 lbs. and 10 year olds with 111-140 lbs. of weight.

Tackle football is basically a physical game which involves a number of offensive and defensive strategies and playing positions. From leisure to health, this game provides kids with a lot of benefits. The most significant, however, is that kids learn how to cope up with winning and losing. The balance and composure that follow further inspires the kids to develop and maintain a positive outlook throughout their lives.

Other benefits of participating in Tackle Football at Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Texas include:

• Healthy and fit lifestyle
• Fun and enthusiasm
• Increased confidence level
• Self-discipline
• Exciting new challenges
• Educational benefits
• Better Communication

In addition, participating in this youth football game is a great way to develop social skills in kids. It teaches them the importance of teamwork, honesty, cohesiveness, respect and other key values. Understanding these facets features the moral development in kids and results in social bonds that last for lifetime.

To enroll your kids into any of the tackle football league or for any related query visit us at 304 W Ave B, Killeen, TX – 76541 or call at 254-699-5808  Ext:102.

Basketball is a very popular sport that keeps children physically active. Playing basketball regularly not only helps your children burn those extra calories but also improves their concentration and builds endurance. As a parent, it is imperative that you engage your child in a productive kids’ club in Texas where basketball is one of the activities.

At the Boys & Girls Club Texas, we organize various activities for kids that involve sports fitness and recreation. The Youth Basketball League is one of our key initiatives and comes under our Organized Sports Leagues. Apart from basketball, we also have other programs as well. These are: Youth Football, Cheerleading and many other such activities.

Through these programs, we encourage the kids to take part in sports and enhance their physical and mental well-being. Read on to know more about our Youth Basketball League…

• There are three leagues in all: 2nd Grade; 3,4th Grade and 5th Grade. All the different leagues have specific age requirements.
• A membership fee of $10 is to be paid and an additional $55 as sports participation fee. Along with this, proof of age and proof of residency is also required at the time of registration.

Apart from the above mentioned benefits, basketball also offers many other physical and mental advantages. Below is a list of some of them:
Basketball helps in improving balance and co-ordination.

• It helps to build strong muscles.
• Since the game involves teamwork, it teaches the kids how to be a good team player.
• It is a fun game that kids of all age groups can enjoy.
• It also inculcates self-discipline in children which is vital for their future lives.
• When your kid joins our Youth Basketball League, he gets to make new friends whom he can meet regularly. This widens the social circle and also opens doors for healthy interaction.

Keep in mind that while playing basketball, your children have the requisite safety equipment with them so as to avoid any injuries. You must provide them a good pair of sports shoes that provide a firm support to the ankle. Also, you must give them mouth guards and protective knee and elbow pads.

Since basketball involves a lot of running, jumping and twisting; make sure that your child is in the best of health before he joins a kids’ club. Visit your family doctor to get a thorough check-up done prior to engaging your child in the game of basketball.