The girls, ranging from third- to fifth-graders, learned of the nonprofit organization and the four-week session provided by the group at assemblies at Hatch and Farallone View elementary schools near the end of the school year.
“It sounded like a lot of fun,” 10-year-old Lia Liu said. “It was something I wanted to do.”
 Coaches Courtney Good, left, and Laura Myers show their enthusiasm in one of the drills at last week's BAWSI function. About 35 girls from Hatch and Farallone View elementary schools signed up. |
At the other end of Moonridge were some older girls. About 15 women, all mothers and one grandmother, doing simple exercises demonstrated by Susan Armenta, the group’s program director.
Fluid in English and Spanish, Armenta demonstrated the exercises, from pulling a bungee to step-ups. Some got to kick up their feet after both feet were on the same surface.
Armenta got a big promise from the group at the end of the session.
“They all said they would each bring a friend to the next session,” Armenta said. “They all had a good time. They never realized exercise could be so much fun.”
The happiest camper could have been Eliasar Aguayo, 74.
“After she warmed up, she said she was able to touch her toes for the first time,” Armenta said.
The only down side to the first Wednesday of the session last week was the overcast sky. But the clouds couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the girls of all ages.
“I liked everything,” said Emily Gomez, 10. “It was great to see all of my friends.”
Gomez couldn’t stop smiling from the first activity until the girls sang the group’s song. She liked everything that was offered.
“I told my mom that she had to sign that permission slip,” Gomez said. “At first, I was nervous when I got here. But all the coaches helped relax me.”
Coach Nicole Picard, who just finished her junior year at Santa Clara University, has been a volunteer for the group for three years. But this session provided her with a special feeling.
Picard is a graduate of Half Moon Bay High School. Picard played softball, volleyball and soccer for the Cougars.
“Hopefully some of these girls will play soccer, softball or volleyball at Half Moon Bay,” Picard said.
The campers, young and young-at-heart, each received a T-shirt, a journal, and a pedometer to count how many steps they took during the day. Each camper took more than 1,000 steps in the one-hour session.
Marlene Bjornsrud, the CEO of the group, called the first day a success.
“You can judge the success by the smiles of the girls, the number of steps they took and the power of their high-fives,” Bjornsrud said. “We’d love to be here for a while. If we could find some funding, we could be here in the fall. We know a lot of girls in Half Moon Bay play sports. But we also know of a lot who don’t. We’d love to provide them a team experience.”
The girls were split up into small teams. Those teams will change. The campers know what they want to do next year.
“I want to do this again,” said 8-year-old Olivia Liu.
w