Posted on March 20, 2020 at 8:47 pm by West Sider
From running clubs to youth soccer teams, exercising is often a group activity in New York City. Not anymore. People who coach sports, or workout in groups are having to improvise as new social distancing restrictions become commonplace. (Yes, you can also exercise alone, but that doesn’t work for everyone!)
At Super Soccer Stars on 90th and Columbus, the coaches are now teaching kids by video.
As soon as the City shut down the school system on Sunday night, Super Soccer Stars turned its newly refurbished playspace on the Upper West Side into a 24h content studio.
Their most popular coaches are hosting interactive soccer classes for kids of all ages using Facebook Live and Instagram (the medium of choice for their competitive soccer program) to reach their audience.
“We want to impact as many children as possible during this time. We are asking our coaches to adapt, using a variety of distance learning initiatives, so that they can continue to interact with every player in our program”.
Parents can comment and wave at the coaches during class then follow up by sending in pictures and videos of them learning soccer skills or simply dancing, moving and having fun!
Later in the day , the older players are invited to join challenge the coaches to speed and agility drills from the comfort of their own living room.
And a workout group called Six Feet Apart has started up to help people do a group workout without getting too close. One of our readers tells us she’s heard it’s a good experience (though we haven’t spoken to the organizers). The group has been meeting at the Bethesda Terrace stairs in the middle of Central Park around 72nd Street. There are morning and evening workouts.
“SIX FEET APART Fitness brings fellow New Yorkers FREE small-group workouts based on guidelines from the CDC, WHO and New York city and state authorities,” the website says.