PE class

I remember PE. I was part of the new era of PE that shifted from getting a good hour of fitness to trying to make it more educational. There was some positives to that education, but did it provide the fitness that the students needed?
I also remember many kids just passively looking like they were doing something, and the teachers tried to get everyone to exercise, but the number of kids in the class made it impossible to be sure everyone was fully participating.
Reducing the size was made possible as schools began to allow those participating in numerous sports seasons were exempt from PE, but this left out the athlete that was aiming towards a single sport. This was the case for swimmers many times.
Now I coach in Simi Valley that allows for independent PE. It requires some paper work, and some extra time to complete the forms monthly and on the trimesters, but it is worth that extra time.
It is only for higher 3 groups, but these groups practice at least 11 1/2 hours a week not including competitions. This far exceeds that of a normal PE class. From these athletes I also see a better attendance as now it is for their grade.
It is a positive for us as a swim team, a positive for the athlete who now has more time at school to concentrate on academics, and a positive to the rest of the students who can have smaller PE classes to allow more participation and help those not involved in sports get the fitness they need.
The red tape involved is time consuming for the club, but it is worth it to benefit our athletes in their athletic and academic endeavors; no matter what level it is that they compete.
I wish all places allowed for the idea of independent PE for those who have developed in a program for years and now are training at a level well beyond the normal PE class.