'Skins come to local middle school

Picture this, hundreds of middle school students packed into a gymnasium listening to Antwaan Randle El tell them such wonderful news. On Tuesday Oct.14 Washington Redskins receiver Antwaan Randle El and back up quarterback Colt Brennan spent the day at Edgar Allen Poe Middle School, a local Annandale middle school and also a feeding school into AHS. They were there on behalf of the NFL Network’s new program, Keep Gym in School.


This program was set in place at four middle schools across the country to help promote obesity awareness. The NFL Network selected Poe middle school to receive a $55,000 dollar grant to build a new track ring around the field that they are going to be renovating with the money from the grant.


Across our nation less than eight percent of middle schools have a physical education program. Due to the alarming rise in the number of obese children the NFL Network has decided to do something about it.


I think that this program that the NFL Network has set up is an absolutely outstanding one. In my lifetime the obesity rate has indeed increased substantially. Kids are not going outside to play and throw the football anymore. Instead, now-a -days, due to the availability of high technology toys, kids just want to stay inside and play Madden or Grand Theft Auto.


Having this brand new field would enable clubs and organizations around the community to use the fields for practices and games or whatever else that people could use the field for. For example, the Annandale Boys and Girls club could use it for their soccer or lacrosse games or practices. A middle school track team would be able to use the track that is about to be installed around the field instead of having to drive over to AHS and interrupt our cross country or track practices, they could just stay at Poe and do it there.


It will be interesting to see how this project turns out, and I will more than likely be playing football after school there with my own friends.