By Christine McCall

NAPLES — At the start of July, the Naples community began its first summer fitness program with the help of Naples assistant Recreation coordinator Joel Frank Jr. and personal trainer James Riles.

The idea came along when parents expressed the need to keep the children active during the summer, as well as to establish healthy habits for the year. With the help of Frank and months of planning, the program began.

“We want to keep everyone motivated and help everyone [get] to their top fitness potential,” Frank said. “I lost 12 pounds already, and my blood pressure has gone down.”

Meeting three days a week for three-hour sessions, the fitness program incorporates several activities to keep exercise fun and motivating for all participants. Beginning with stretching, the session continues on to speed and agility exercises, then a high-impact sport of Muay Thai kickboxing and ends with a game of basketball.

With the supervision of Riles, the fitness program allowed everyone to experience exercise at a level they could all benefit from. Riles’ philosophy is, “I don’t care what age you are; you should be doing some form of exercise.”

The Naples community has responded enthusiastically.

“We do a whole array of things,” Tribal youth participant Corrine Zepeda said. “These fundamental activities keep us fit over the summer instead of sitting at home watching TV. It has been a wonderful experience.”

With such a great response, the community hopes the summer fitness program will continue to motivate and keep the youth active throughout the school year.