P.E. and strength P.E. builds athletic abilities

Physical education offers students a chance to take a break from academic classes and improve their physical health. FCS offers students multiple choices to fulfill their P.E. requirement including strength and conditioning, cheer, color guard and independent P.E.

Hope Villines is one of three high school and junior high P.E. coaches at FC. Villines taught physical fitness and strength and conditioning at Fresno City College before teaching elementary P.E. last year. She thanks God for the opportunity to teach at FC.

“Taking a position as a P.E. coach was probably more of a God thing, which was pretty exciting,” Villines said. “A couple of years ago Darby Whipple moved into a position in athletics which opened up the elementary P.E. position, so I got to move into K-6 while already doing Cheer. Then, this year, they needed a P.E. teacher for 7th period for junior high and high school, and that’s really my wheelhouse. Now I get to do full-time PE. That’s actually what I’ve always wanted to teach and that’s what I taught at Fresno City College.”

In addition to coaching varsity basketball, junior high volleyball, athletic director, Jon Penberthy also instructs high school P.E. Penberthy says integrating competition during class helps build relationships and prepare student-athletes for their sports season.

I love competing with the students and I enjoy building relationships with them. I enjoy being apart of their athletic world and seeing them develop into better athletes both in class but also on the athletic fields and tennis, volleyball and basketball courts. Being a small school, we rely on our students to play multiple sports, which makes a great opportunity for our students to be active and a part of athletic teams. — Jon Penberthy

Students in P.E. bond through competition. Sarah Smith, ‘21, enjoys the time she spends with classmates in a different environment than a routine academic class.

“My favorite part of P.E. would be playing and messing around with my class because everyone in my class is pretty close,” Smith said. “It’s a class I can usually look forward to going to every day.”

Coach Mick Fuller also teaches physical education, along with strength and conditioning. Strength P.E. started at FC in 2008 and grows every year, working to train athletes for their season. His favorite part of coaching strength class is helping student-athletes push themselves further than they thought possible.

“I enjoy teaching the strength classes,” Fuller said. “That class, more than any other I’ve taught, allows students to make significant, measurable improvements the students can observe for themselves. Then, noticeable improvements in strength, stamina and body composition foster a strong desire for continued progress.”

Most students who join strength class aim to improve their performance in sports. Jonah Lozano, ‘19, says reflecting over his time in strength, he has seen considerable improvements in his athletic capabilities.

“I started taking strength and conditioning my sophomore year,” Lozano said. “I wanted a strength advantage in the sports I played. Coach Fuller is really helpful; he teaches us certain lifts just for us and helps us with diet plans and energy saving.”

I love competing with the students and I enjoy building relationships with them. I enjoy being apart of their athletic world and seeing them develop into better athletes both in class but also on the athletic fields and tennis, volleyball and basketball courts. Being a small school, we rely on our students to play multiple sports, which makes a great opportunity for our students to be active and a part of athletic teams. — Jon Penberthy

Students who do not enroll in a special P.E. class are encouraged to stay active. Competing in sports FC does not offer a team for, like handball and hockey, are ways Fuller, Penberthy and Villines motivate students. Helping students move and exercise is Coach Villines’ favorite part of teaching P.E.

“My favorite part of teaching is getting these kids to move,” Villines said. “I love doing cheer because that is my favorite part of coaching. But for teaching P.E., just getting these kids to actually move and exercise is my goal. That’s not a priority for kids as much anymore if they don’t play sports. So that is my very favorite part; it might not be their favorite part, but it’s my favorite part.”

Freshman Kyler Garza came from Crossroads Christian School to FC this year. For Garza, engaging in new sports and remaining active is one of his favorite aspects physical classes.

“I think P.E. here at FC is more fun,” Garza said. “All I did before was drills, but we get to play many more sports here. We’re encouraged to be as active as possible.”

Strength training is widely considered an essential part of training for football,” Fuller said. “However, Fuller says strength and conditioning benefits all athletes and would like to see every student-athlete take at least two years of strength.“I got interested in weightlifting recreationally and for exercise during college.

“When I started coaching football,” Fuller continued, “I became more focused on the role of strength training in preparation for competition. In 2016 we started to follow the training principles described in the book Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, by Mark Rippetoe. The emphasis is on taking advantage of the stress recovery adaptation cycle. Stronger athletes, regardless of the sport, are better athletes.”

While tennis may seem an exception to Fuller’s rule, Mark Pimentel, ‘21, takes strength and observes an improvement in his game. Pimentel played the number one spot both years of junior high.

“I decided to do strength and conditioning because I wanted to get stronger, gain weight, and train for tennis throughout the year,” Pimentel said. “When you are stronger, you can push through or hit a ball harder than you did before. Surprisingly, it also helps with your accuracy when you play a game.”

While choosing classes before each school year, do not discount the advantages physical education classes offer.

For another sports article, check out the Fall sports box scores. For more articles, read Passion drives Urban Rescue to perform at next level.

Bryce Foshee can be reached via email and via Twitter.