John Muir celebrates new fitness center

Nobody really enjoys doing push-ups, but when you’re doing them at a fitness station on rubberized material instead of dirt, they’re almost bearable.

Student at John Muir Magnet School are more excited about exercise, even push-ups, thanks to their new fitness center built with funds from a San Diego Chargers Champions grant. Students, staff and dignitaries were recently joined by Chargers’ personnel and linebacker Donald Butler to celebrate the new facility.

The new fitness center occupies a large section of the school’s dirt field, and includes an area with rubberized material and grass for fitness stations, as well as a practice area for the school’s archery program. Fitness equipment was also purchased using funds from the grant.

Hundreds of students attended the dedication ceremony, highlighted by a question and answer session with Butler and a dance by the school’s third graders to the San Diego SuperChargers song. Butler participated briefly in the dance number and tried his hand at archery with the help of the school’s top archer, Angelica Marasigan.

Physical education teacher Caryn Maroni spearheaded the effort to apply for the Chargers Champions Grant. The school was awarded the grant in the amount of $45,000 in 2013.

The district’s Physical Plant Operations staff, led by Tom Tomovich, helped build the Fitness Center. It was completed in June of this year.

Funds allocated to Chargers Champions are administered through the Chargers Community Foundation, the San Diego Chargers’ charitable foundation. The Foundation was established in 1995 by Dean and Alex Spanos to “help” San Diego build on its strengths by supporting individuals, activities and organizations that work to make the city a better place to live.

Chargers Champions consistently provides more support for schools than any other private company in the county. In 14 years, more than 100 schools have received funding for projects ranging from outdoor fitness trails, weight rooms, running tracks or fitness equipment.

For more information on the Fitness Center and grant, please contact Muir Principal Laura Bellofatto at 858-268-1954.

Video (San Diego Chargers)

Photos (San Diego Chargers)

NBC 7 News Clip

For photos, visit the district website.