Starting this school year, McNeil is offering a “Movement for Athletes” class through the dance department. The class is targeted towards any student currently enrolled in a sport.
Head director of the Sapphires dance team and teacher of various dance classes, Maddie Jones, first introduced the idea for the class and took action to implement it at the school.
“I made sure the lead counselor was on board with adding Movement for Athletes as a class in our dance program,” Jones said. “After it was a go from her, I got all of the athletic coaches on board with their athletes taking this class and benefitting heavily from it. I went to each athletic sport and recruited for the class.”
Although this is the first McNeil has heard of the Movement for Athletes course, it is not new to Round Rock ISD.
“This class was started at Westwood High School four or five years ago,” Jones said. “It is a class that athletes at Westwood really enjoyed and I had only heard success stories from it. Many collegiate athletic programs have their athletes participate in dance elements and it helps their athletes tremendously. As an athlete and coach in high school, time is limited in practice. Coaches do not have the time to consistently work on [these dance elements]. So I knew that this class would be popular for athletes to take.”
Westwood’s Movement for Athletes program was not the first that Jones had heard of a class like this as she had taken one in college.
“[I took a] class called ‘Dance Conditioning,” Jones said. “It was a requirement for me to take it in order to graduate with my dance education degree. We did yoga, pilates, stretched, guided relaxation, along with other dance technique classes.”
The goal of the class is to help student athletes with physical skills that can help them in their sports such as flexibility, footwork and strength. The class can count as both a physical education and fine arts credit.
“This is the first year I am teaching it,” Jones said. “I told my athletes that we get to pioneer how this class looks at McNeil and that makes me super excited. Right now we are starting with introducing stretching [and movement]. We are eventually going to start incorporating different styles of dance. The athletes are very nervous about starting the dance units but, each unit is tied to a specific area that we will work on that they need in their sport. For example, jazz dance is heavily focused on footwork, quick weight shifts, and explosive movement, which are all elements of their athletic sport. Ballet is heavily focused on balance, coordination, and body control. If I can tie everything back to their athletic sport, I think they will be more excited about the material.”
The course is offered during both 5th and 6th period. These classes are filled with both boys and girls who play various sports at McNeil.
“I think any high school athlete will benefit from this,” Jones said. “A lot of times athletes work super hard on gaining strength which also is a direct correlation to becoming more ‘tight’ and less flexible if they do not prioritize stretching along with strength training. This class works hand in hand with their athletic sport to gain mobility and flexibility while they are prioritizing strength training.”
The units in the course will cover yoga, pilates, anatomy, jazz, tap, hip-hop, momentum, floor work, ballet, global dance, weight sharing, improvisation and choreography.
“My goal now is for the athletes to love the class so much they continue signing up for it every year and get their friends too as well,” Jones said. “I encourage anyone to stop by and see the work we are doing. It looks very chaotic sometimes, but the athletes are eager to work and are up for any challenge I throw at them.”
Along with the addition of this course, Jones will continue to teach regular dance classes and teams.
“I already have noticed how different my typical dance students are from these athletes,” Jones said. “My dance students struggle with strength, but the movement and flexibility part comes more naturally. My athletes are very well equipped for the most part in the strength area, but obviously need to focus on mobility, flexibility, and being able to control their bodies.”
