A regulation game in the National Football League lasts just 60 minutes, but a lot of work, both on the football field and in the meeting rooms, takes place to get ready for that one hour of game time every Sunday.
Before a player makes it to the NFL level, they must spend countless hours working on their physical fitness and conditioning.
Defensive linemen ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
“We came out here to talk about being active and staying active,” Schaefering said. “With them winning the challenge, it shows that they’ve been active already and they know what to do. We gave them some other pointers, tips and activities that they may be able to do and also talked to them about nutrition. It’s not just about getting out and playing, but it’s also about what they put in their bodies and how they rest and sleep.”
According to their physical education teacher David Adams, the students at St. Mark School jumped rope, participated in relay races and even used the classroom to maintain their physical fitness.
“They are very physically active as kids already and just needed a little bit of a push,” Adams said. “They needed to understand that they can do things in an organized fashion as a group and work on their athleticism. They did a lot of things in their classroom when they weren’t in physical education. They did so much that it rattled the ceiling and the kids on the first floor started doing it as well. It really spread throughout the whole school.”
Throughout the six-week Play 60 Challenge, the participating schools logged over three million minutes of physical activity and St. Mark School collected the most average minutes of activity among all of the schools.
“You try to reach as many people as you possibly can,” Schaefering said. “You can’t reach them all, but if you reach one, then, you’ve done your job. I love the fact that we can get in the community. The Play 60 Challenge is a thing for the kids and they want to win so we can come out and see them. It gets them active. It gets them off the couch, away from the video games and gets them healthy and fit.”
The Cleveland Browns Play 60 Challenge was a six-week challenge in partnership with American Heart Association, and presented by GlaxoSmithKline in association with Medical Mutual of Ohio, Cleveland Clinic, American Dairy Association Mideast and Fuel Up to Play 60. The program is designed to motivate seventh and eighth grade students to become physically active for 60 minutes each day. Funding and editorial support for this program was provided by GlaxoSmithKline.
Stay connected to the Browns from your phone with our text alerts and free mobile app! Sign up for texts or download the app today!