Former Colts safety Mike Prior Works with Kids on Healthy Lifestyle
As Mike Prior coached about 25 students through their exercises at a recent Colts Fitness Camp, some of the youngsters laughed loudly. Some smiled. Others giggled.
Clearly, the fourth- and fifth-graders at Charity Dye Elementary School No. 27 were having fun. Prior makes that a priority. He wants the kids to enjoy themselves as he leads them through jump-rope sessions, obstacle courses and workouts with small dumbbells.
But Prior also seeks to impart some lasting lessons about all-around physical fitness, nutrition and giving one's best.
"I'm their personal trainer for a day, in a way," said Prior, who played safety for the Colts from 1987 to 1992 and now serves as the club's Youth Football Commissioner. "I try to challenge them.
"It's great, too, to put a smile on their face while they're working out."
The Colts' Youth Football Department joined with Riley Hospital for Children, CardioChek and the Indiana Dairy Council Inc. to create the camps. Prior operates the sessions at 35 elementary and middle schools throughout Central Indiana from November through March.
At Charity Dye Elementary, Colts employees Phil Andrews and Casey Bolsega were on hand, too, to help the enthusiastic group get through their warm-up stretching and jumping-jacks.
As the students arrived -- and prepared to work out in front of a near-life-sized photo of running back Joseph Addai that is on the wall of the school gym -- Prior greeted them with a simple message.
He talked about taking "P-R-I-D-E" in whatever they do -- "personal responsibility in daily effort."
For Prior, the camps are a labor of love.
"It's really rewarding," he said. "It's giving back (to the community)."
The camps have spawned as many success stories as they have smiles. Prior, who's been running the fitness sessions for about four years, remembers one especially heart-warming moment after a camp that included some football pitch-and-catch with the students.
"This third-grade girl comes up to me after we got done," he said. "She goes, 'That was awesome. I didn't like football. That was the first time I ever caught the ball.' Excitement like that, it's just great. She was just amazed by the whole thing.
"When kids say things like that after our camps, you know they had a good time."
Students at the Charity Dye Elementary camp showed rapt attention during their time with Prior and his assistants. Afterward, they quenched their thirst with a carton of milk and took home a Colts gift bag with a towel, a mini-pennant, a head band and a wrist band. Colts T-shirts and a football were among prizes awarded at the end of the event.
Camp participants are also encouraged to continue their workouts and complete a one-month training cycle by following the Colts Fitness Camp Journal. After a month, students can win prizes based on improvements and on a one-page essay they write about their plan to continue their healthy lifestyle from what they learned at the Colts camp.
Prior, for his part, has a specific goal in mind after each Colts Fitness Camp.
"I want them to feel better about themselves," he said. "I think they do feel that way after one of the camps."
