Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Wet winter, warm spring make buds burst ... Ashlanders can drop off their green waste for free on Saturday ... Lions stop taking paper for recycling ... Wet winter, warm spring make buds burst ... Ashlanders can drop off their green waste for free on Saturday ... Lions stop taking paper for recycling ... EDUCATION Finding their inner mermaid New Ashland club aims to teach girls about fitness, self-esteem Comment By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 Posted Apr. 27, 2016 at 7:20 PM Updated Apr 28, 2016 at 10:01 AM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 Posted Apr. 27, 2016 at 7:20 PM Updated Apr 28, 2016 at 10:01 AM » Social News When Meredith Yox was running a Mini Mermaid Running Club in the Bay Area, a little girl signed up one year and barely spoke during team meetings. She was so quiet, Yox couldn’t tell whether the shy girl liked it not. When it was time to sign up the following year, the girl was back, a little more outgoing than before. The following year, same thing. Then last fall, as Yox was saying goodbye to the team before relocating to Ashland, the girl — now in her third season as a Mini Mermaid — came up and gave Yox a big hug, which reminded Yox what the Mini Mermaids are all about. “I just gradually watched her change year after year, doing the same program for three years,” Yox said. “It made me feel amazing. I see the benefits with my kids, but I feel like it’s just incredibly different when you see it in somebody else’s child.” Now, Yox hopes to foster the same kind of growth in the children of Ashland, which is why she recently started the town’s first Mini Mermaid Running Club. Six fourth- and fifth-grade girls, including Yox’s two daughters, met at Yox’s home off Butler Creek Road in the inaugural 90-minute session Monday afternoon. Founded in Santa Cruz, Calif., in 2009, Mini Mermaids is much more than a running club and Yox, who is in her sixth year as a coach, set the tone right from the beginning. After introductions, she told the story of the Mini Mermaid and Siren, a fable which emphasizes the program’s themes of self confidence and positive thinking. “Mini Mermaid is basically the voice inside you that says, ‘You can do it, I believe in you, you’re strong,’” Yox explains. “Siren kind of represents the voice that we hear, either from ourselves or from TV and magazines, that says, ‘You are not good enough’ or ‘You can’t do it.’ We teach them to differentiate between the two voices and we try to give them tools to counteract what they hear Siren saying and how to make sure that they hear what Mini Mermaid says, and Mini Mermaid speaks the truth.” The program’s mission statement elaborates: “Our mission is to teach every girl to lead a healthy life by listening to her inner voice, valuing her uniqueness, learning to love movement and discovering the finish line is just the beginning.” After introductions Monday, the girls headed outside for some exercises, a 15-minute jog around Yox’s property, a game designed to stress the difference between Mini Mermaid and Siren, and finally back inside for journaling. The curriculum is provided to instructors, and Yox referred to her spiral bound notebook several times during Monday’s session. “They make it so easy for you,” Yox said. Outside, the girls stretched for a few minutes then hit the lawn for some sit ups, each taking a turn holding a partner’s feet as popular dance beats thumped away from a speaker on the porch. “Do you feel the burn?” Yox said. They did. The girls also took some time for stretching. The group will continue to meet twice a week for six weeks, after which they’ll conclude the unit by participating in the 5-kilometer Gold Dust Run in Gold Hill . At the start of Monday’s class, Yox asked each of the girls to share what they were most excited about and what they’re most nervous about. The sources of their excitement ran the gamut, but they all were nervous about the same thing: the 5K run. Vivian Mulkins, 10, the only Walker Elementary School representative in the bunch (the rest attend Helman ), said by the end of class Monday she was already feeling better about the run. “I am a little nervous to think about it,” she said, “but I think that the Mini Mermaids Running Club will really help me train to do it. “It’s really fun, and a really awesome environment to be able to learn about nutrition and how to run and how to set goals, things like that.” Yox’s 10-year-old daughter Sydney, a fifth-grader at Helman, was in the first grade when her mom discovered Mini Mermaids and has ran three 5K races. She’s quick to admit, however, that she still gets a little queasy when lining up on the starting line. “I get super nervous,” she said. “Before I start the run, my stomach — I’m like, ‘Oh no, I left my stomach at home.’ I get butterflies and I’m really nervous. But then I start running and I just run with it and try to forget that I’m running.” Meredith Yox’s goal is to expand Mini Mermaids in Ashland so that each elementary school has a team. There must be a coach for every 10 girls signed up, so she’ll eventually have to recruit coaches, too. There’s also a corresponding boys’ offshoot called the Young Tritons Running Club . Each six-week session costs $75 per child, but the Ashland MMRC was recently awarded $5,000 from the Oregon Sports Awards Pay it Forward fund, which will be used to pay the participation fee for any child who qualifies for the free lunch program. Yox learned of the grant not long after arriving in Ashland in December and was ecstatic to learn on April 14 that the new club had been selected. Now, she's focused on getting the word out. She’s already taken a step in that direction by reaching out to Southern Oregon Runners , a nonprofit based in Medford which “promotes health and fitness through the sport of running and walking.” How large the program becomes in Ashland is yet to be determined, but Yox derives Mini Mermaid-esque confidence in the program's depth — laid out on its website, minimermaidrunningclub.org . “I’m really hoping that since we have one girl from Walker that that will be kind of our in for next year, that we’ll be able to find somebody who wants to coach it at Walker,” Yox said. “Then hopefully I can work my way into Bellview as well. “We’ll be running in the Gold Dust run, and so I’m hoping that the visibility — all the girls will be wearing their shirts — will help and that people will be like, ‘Wow, I really want my daughter or son to be a part of a program like that.’” Joe Zavala is a reporter for the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach him at 541-821-0829 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at @Joe_Zavala99 . By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 Posted Apr. 27, 2016 at 7:20 PM Updated Apr 28, 2016 at 10:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501