PHIT America Takes Action to Combat Youth Inactivity Crisis
Krissy Vann | Host, All Things Fitness and Wellness
PHIT America is set to open its first PHIT Center at Garden Park Elementary School in Brownsville, Texas, this week. This initiative is part of the Brownsville Healthy Kids Campaign, developed in collaboration with local school officials and the mayor, to address the city’s designation as the “Most Unhealthy City in America” for two consecutive years.
The CDC reports that 77% of children in the United States fail to meet the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. Additionally, a 2020 UNICEF study ranked U.S. youth last in physical health among 38 developed nations. These statistics highlight the urgency of addressing the inactivity crisis, which has been linked to rising rates of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression.
The PHIT Center, a 150’ x 90’ open-air facility, is designed to engage up to 60 children at a time through a circuit-training format that combines movement, music, and skill-building activities. Students will learn sports and fitness skills, including soccer, pickleball, tennis, and running, along with hand-eye coordination exercises using tools like Billie Jean King’s Eye Coach. The center’s goal is to help children build healthier habits, develop physical skills, and improve academic engagement.
Cesar Murillo, Principal of Garden Park Elementary School, expressed the significance of the initiative, saying, “The PHIT Center is defining the future of physical education for America. Every community in the country should emulate what PHIT America is doing in Brownsville, not only for better health but improved academics.”
The facility will be used for physical education, recess, and before-and-after-school activities. It will also be open to the community free of charge on weekends, extending its impact beyond the school day.
PHIT America founder Jim Baugh, former President of Wilson Sporting Goods, emphasized the importance of bringing fitness programs directly to schools. He explained that nearly half of public schools in the United States have cut physical education programs, leaving many children without access to structured physical activity. “America has failed our kids, PHIT America is fixing it,” Baugh stated.
In addition to the PHIT Center, PHIT America is introducing four physical education programs—Amped, Play Tennis, Play Golf, and Play Pickleball—across all 31 elementary schools in the Brownsville Independent School District. These programs will serve approximately 19,000 students, teaching them lifetime sports skills and promoting better physical and mental health.
The nonprofit has plans to expand the PHIT Center model to other communities across the country. “Our largest donor, Darren Pritt from the Julia Love Pritt Private Foundation, is funding our first few centers,” said Baugh. “We are confident that companies, foundations, and governments will want to invest in PHIT Centers for their children.”
By providing innovative fitness opportunities directly to schools, PHIT America aims to reverse the alarming trends in youth health and set a standard for future physical education programs.
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