Drive-by warm-ups keep kids active, thanks to Deltona Elementary PE coach

The principal at Deltona Elementary challenged her teachers to get creative and come up with ways to help their students while schools are closed and classes are being held online. 

For physical education teachers, creativity was key. Spring Hill PE teacher Micheal Helfand had an idea: Drive-by warm-ups.

He and three other teachers now drive from house to house and do quick, outdoor workouts with students in their own driveways.

Caprise Licht loved the idea. She saw an email that Coach Helfand put out to students and gave it a try.

“The coaches were standing in the road and I was in my driveway and we were doing warm-ups like we would do at school. I liked it because I could stay fit and safe at the same time. And it’s like kind of cool having the coaches come to my house,” Caprise said.

Coach Helfand says this is a good way for the kids to get a break from the computer.

“If they are cooped up all day in front of the computer, I know me, if I’m not moving around, I feel sluggish. This gives them an opportunity to get out, burn some energy. At school when I get them they are at their wildest. They are ready to come out and burn energy so they need to do that at home too,” Helfand said.

Kristie, Caprice’s mother, also appreciates the gesture.

“To see them all out there as a unified group was really cool because they all came out to my house just to see one student. It was really exciting that they took that time for my child and It made me really proud of them and proud that they were willing to come out and see her,” Kristie said.

Coach Helfand said it has been great to see the students again.

“Awesome, I mean, we haven’t seen them in over a month. Some of these kids I’ve known for 5 or 6 years. To actually see them and go through what we do at school is really good,” he said.

Coach Helfand says they to drive-bys on Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. They normal get to 15 houses a day. If your child attends Deltona Elementary and would like to have your home be a stop on the route, just email Coach Helfand. They will continue to visit students throughout the month of May.