ADA, Ohio (WLIO) — Ohio Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel made a stop in Ada Thursday afternoon to visit one of the schools participating in his “Team Tressel” Fitness Challenge.
Tressel’s fitness program began at the start of the school year and encourages students in grades 4 through 8 to build healthy habits through exercise, nutrition and sleep. Ada Schools joined the challenge, which has already reached more than 180,000 students across 700 schools in the state. Tressel said he’s excited to see the program grow — and that visiting Ada was especially meaningful since it’s where his parents grew up.
“It was a special day for me, being back in Ada. My fondest memories of my childhood were coming to Grandpa’s farm. It’s where my mom and dad graduated from high school. It’s really where my family’s from, and to see all these great kids from Ada and their enthusiasm, and meet the teachers and see the historical pictures on the walls — all of these are fun, but this one was kind of special,” Tressel said.
“It’s been a lot of fun watching how the students have taken their challenge home to their families, trying to get Mom and Dad involved, trying to get their siblings involved, trying to get involved in the nutritional discussions, and maybe make it a little bit easier to talk about getting to bed on time,” he added. “We’ve learned a lot going around to the schools and talking to principals, and we had some round tables to discuss how we can do this even better.”
Round two of the challenge begins in February and will expand to include third graders. The program is open to all public, private, charter and home schools across Ohio.
Principals can register their schools through the end of November at teamtressel.ohio.gov. More information is also available on YouTube at “Team Tressel Challenge.”
