Another year, another summer swim season...

Every summer, my kids look forward to swimming with our neighborhood swim team, which is affiliated with the Northern Virginia Swimming League. The NVSL is one of the largest summer swim leagues in the country, with more than 100 teams divided into 17 six-team divisions. Literally thousands of kids from across Northern Virginia get up early every morning to practice with their teams, improve their strokes and compete in meets throughout the summer. Regardless of ability, the NVSL offers something for everyone.

This morning's competition was the annual Divisional meet, an individual championship for each team's top two swimmers in every stroke. The races were exciting, and energy was high. But when I looked around the meet, I realized that, no matter the outcome of the races, every kid at the meet was a winner. Every single child, from age 7 on up, were already excellent swimmers, able to swim lap after lap without a second thought. Each of them had already developed the skills they'll need to enjoy the sport of swimming for life. Without exception, they were strong, fit and healthy.

Without a doubt, America is facing an obesity epidemic, and kids haven't been left unscathed. According to the CDC, approximately 17% of children ages 2-19 in are obese. Nearly 1/3 of children in the USA are overweight to some degree. These numbers are scary, because they foretell an increase in heart disease, obesity and other diseases which affect quality of life. Children today eat more processed foods and high fructose corn syrup than ever before. My own children are not immune to these temptations, and I fight every day to teach them to make healthy choices.

Daily exercise is a critical part of staying healthy. Opportunities like the NVSL give kids the chance to exercise, learn a potentially life-saving skill, and most importantly, make it fun to stay fit. The kids on our swim team don't go to practice every morning because they want to "get the workout in". They go to practice be with their friends and have a great time. For kids, "fitness" means fun, whether that means being part of a team, or simply running around the neighborhood with their friends. It's up to each of us to make sure that fun opportunities like NVSL swimming are available to every child, to make fitness an integral part of their lives, rather than a chore or a burden.