If left to our own devices, we would eat ice cream and Snickers for lunch every day. We would stay up all night watching movies and surfing on the Internet. We would carry soda around in bottles instead of water.

And we would also gain weight, grow tired easily, be slower, and be physically uncomfortable in our own bodies.

I think it’s safe to say that we need help when it comes to living a healthy life.

When asked about her inspiration for the Coordinated Approach To Children’s Health (CATCH) program, Coach Nielsen replied, “I want to see kids more active like myself.” Coach Nielsen is launching the CATCH program this year, and she is very enthusiastic about it. She hopes to have everyone on campus involved. “My goal is to have kids adapting to a healthy lifestyle.”

CATCH is a district-wide program that recently started in response to the ever-increasing obesity rate of children in school. It encourages students to be active and eat healthy. “As a district, community, and state, we are trying to integrate healthy choices into people’s lives,” said Nielsen.

Nielsen has many things planned for the CATCH program. “We do CATCH activity breaks, teach CATCH lessons, have Family Fun Night, and hopefully we are going to have an open gym for students, faculty, and parents,” said Nielsen. “Also, I want to start an intramural  program after school for kids to be active and play sports.” She also hopes to have an all-campus CATCH day.

Another component of the program involves learning to choose the right foods to eat, as nutrition is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle. To aid this effort, the cafeteria has made significant changes to the school menu. For example, the a la carte menu has been replaced by a made-to-order sub line. Also, the cafeteria no longer serves ice cream or sugar-sweetened beverages. This has increased the sales of water and low-fat milk. “We have been teaching the difference between ‘GO, SLOW, and WHOA foods,’ so hopefully students and teachers are grasping that concept of when to consume foods all the time, and when to consume foods moderately.”

“I have always had the passion [for fitness] and I am glad my profession can teach others about it.  I love to research, read, and learn more about health and nutrition every day!” Although Nielsen has been at CVMS for only two years, she has a total of 12 years of experience teaching health and fitness to middle schoolers. The small farm town Iowan likes to travel and participate in triathlons. She moved to Austin in 2001 because she was attracted to how active the city is.

Nielsen’s zeal for fitness isn’t just about herself, it extends to everyone in the community through the CATCH program. She wants to help people develop healthy lifestyles, one step at a time. She believes that everyone can participate in CATCH, and that it isn’t limited to one day a week. “Really, it’s happening every day,” said Nielsen. “Everyone can participate in CATCH. [By] getting exercise, eating healthy, drinking water, [and] supporting the CATCH concepts, you are participating in CATCH!”

At the end of the school year, let’s see how much faster, leaner, healthier, more energized, and confident we are. And we’ll know that CATCH is at the heart of it.