Starting early

But Madison Church was already breaking a sweat.

Madison, 10, a fourth-grader at Sea Gate Elementary, was participating in a pilot fitness program for students operated by the City of Naples that takes place every day before school.

Madison was about halfway through 50 forward arm rotations, and already her arms were giving out. Her rotations became slower and her arms drooped to her sides, resting beside her red shorts.

"Fifty is a lot. It really hurts," Madison said as she winced and leaned against a wall.

"Oh, come on, Madison. It's not really bad yet," insisted Alex Eynon, 10, a fifth-grader at Sea Gate and another of the children participating in the fitness class.

"You can do it," Alex encouraged, a look of determination on her face as she completed her own rotations.

Madison toughed her way through the remaining workout -- push-ups, sit-ups, short- and long-distance running. And though she complained again a time or two, when it was all said and done, she said she enjoyed the exercise.

"It's hard and everything, but I do feel more motivated to wake up in the morning to come here," she said.

Sea Gate Principal Brian Castellani said he's thrilled the city decided to give the program a try at his school.

"It's great for our kids to have the opportunity to get a cardiovascular workout before school," Castellani said. "Once they get to class, they are more alert, more awake and better able to focus on their school work during the day."

While it's true the students take physical education class during school, it's not the same. Students only go for phys-ed class twice a week, and the workout isn't as intense.

Sabrina Puhr, who heads up the city's tennis and fitness program, said molding the children to make a morning workout part of their daily routine helps develop an important lifetime habit in a time when from 23 percent to 25 percent of children under 19 in the United States are overweight or obese.

Not only that, exercising makes them better students, she said.

"What I notice the most in the kids who are in the fitness program is that they develop better concentration and more focused study skills, which directly links to better study habits and better marks," she said. "Not only that, it makes the children feel better about themselves, their bodies and their appearance, and that builds confidence."

The only problem is, there aren't enough children enrolled in the program for it to continue in its current form, Puhr said. Only five students signed up for the three-week trial program at a cost of $40.

That was a losing proposition because the city puts up about $350 for the program, said Puhr's boss, Kevin Walker, tennis supervisor for the City of Naples.

Instead of giving up on the program altogether, Walker and Puhr decided to reconfigure it so that it might attract more students. A new three-week program will begin Dec. 1, but will include both fitness and tennis.

"We want to make it more appealing so we're adding tennis," Puhr said. "After all, we are the tennis department for the city."

The new fitness/tennis program will last from 7:45 to 8 a.m. each morning. Cost is $25 for one week or $70 for all three weeks.

Walker estimated they need at least eight students to sign up to make a go of the program.

Another program Puhr is proud of is an expanded fitness and tennis program offered after school at the city's Sea Gate tennis courts, adjacent to the elementary school. Classes last two hours -- one hour of fitness and one hour of tennis -- in two sessions after school, giving children from other schools the chance to sign up as well. Sessions cost $50 a week. Times are 2:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. for beginners and 3:45 to 5:45 for more advanced players.

Walker said he hopes the before-school fitness/tennis class will attract enough students for it to continue.

"I want to give it a fair chance, because it really is a beneficial thing for the students," he said. "It's a matter of making people aware."

Maria Rice, whose son Michael, a fourth-grader at Sea Gate, has been participating in the before-school program for the past three weeks, said she hopes the program will continue. She said she's noticed a real improvement in her son in just this short time.

"His body is better toned and some of his clothes are getting loose around his waist. He has better eating habits, he goes to sleep earlier," she said. "And even though it's a lot of work for him, he really wants to come. He pushes me out of the house each morning saying he doesn't want to be late for exercise class."

To find out more about the City of Naples' tennis and fitness programs, call 213-3060 or 287-2763.