Mars Area Centennial School students are learning about the fundamentals of hockey using equipment donated through the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation’s PensFIT youth fitness program.

The PensFIT curriculum is designed to meet national guidelines and focuses on enhancing motor skills, movement patterns, performance and social development. In addition to lesson ideas for enhancing the school’s physical education curriculum, the program also provided the school with free floor hockey equipment, including sticks, balls, goals, and pinnies.

In their physical education classes, fifth- and sixth-graders are learning how to use a hockey stick by controlling the movement of a ball around cones in an obstacle course. The students are then joining in a “last man standing” game, in which they attempt to prevent a “tagger” from knocking their ball out of bounds.

“PensFIT is designed for students of all skill levels and does not require ice or prior hockey experience,” says Tyler Yaskula, health & physical education teacher. “Its goal is to encourage healthy lifestyles, teamwork, and an introduction to the sport of hockey in a fun, accessible way.”

For more information, visit www.pittsburghpenguinsfoundation.org/pensfit-ball-hockey/.