FROM STAFF REPORTS

The Alliance of American Football’s Birmingham Iron recently announced the expansion of its ‘Iron Kids Program’ – presented by Brookwood Baptist Health and co-sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama – to include the Alabaster City, Chilton County and Shelby County school systems. The goal of the program is to generate awareness and take action toward the growing concern of sedentary lifestyle and childhood obesity in Alabama. 

“As a professional sports team, it is imperative that our players are in peak physical condition in order to perform their best on game day,” said Tom Ward, Iron president. “We also feel an obligation as a good, corporate citizen to have our players (and team) serve as role models by sharing our training experience. Our goal is to help the youth in our community get physically active and promote healthy lifestyles.”

“We are extremely proud to serve as the presenting sponsor of the ‘Iron Kids Program’ and help promote a healthier, more active lifestyle among our area youth,” said Shelby Baptist Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Daniel Listi. “Shelby County continues to be a destination for families in our community to live and work. Our hospital is pleased to partner with the three superintendents to celebrate keeping kids active. It’s a win-win for all of Shelby County.”

The program challenges students to complete 20 hours of physical activity during the month of February. Students will be allowed to participate during and after school in the 60-minute exercise segments, which have been broken down into multiple cardio and strength training exercises through a series of videos available online and featuring Trent Richardson, Iron running back and spokesman for the program. As an incentive for completing 20 hours of fitness activity during the month of February, students will be rewarded with two free tickets to an Iron home game in March.

To promote enthusiasm for the Iron’s inaugural season, the Birmingham Iron offered one ticket for students in the school systems to attend the opening game on Feb. 10, and Brookwood Baptist Health matched this outpouring of support by adding one companion ticket for a parent or guardian. The Iron took down the Memphis Express 26-0 in the first game of the season to record the league’s first shutout.