In addition, many schools have too little or inadequate sports equipment. You go into a gym and see a few kids playing basketball and many sitting in the bleachers. The program emphasizes using small teams to help build both athletic and social skills. When a batter hits the ball, fielders must toss it to every player before the batter reaches home. This keeps everyone involved and active in the game, and leads to less goofing off, say teachers who use the program.
Soccer is different, too, played on mini-fields by teams of three.
That's important because middle school is seen as the next critical step for physical education, the place where many children begin to opt out of exercise. It is used in 10 states, most prominently in Michigan, where 700 PE teachers use the program in half of the state's districts. EPEC has been adapted and extended to middle schools for the current school year, and will be further adapted for high schools. Students learn how to set up a personal exercise program and monitor their progress, says Glenna DeJong, developer of the nonprofit program. She adds that EPEC emphasizes social skills, including compassion, putting forth the best effort possible, being responsible, and being flexible.