With today’s emphasis on combating childhood obesity and promoting healthy living, the Anaheim Ducks have created a unique program addressing these issues in an effort to motivate fifth grade students to better health as well as prepare them for their California Physical Fitness Test. The Captain’s Challenge program meets the criteria for social distanced learning while taking students through interdisciplinary activities to help them learn about nutrition, health related matters, physical fitness, and leadership traits. The activities found in the workbook will seek to empower students by teaching them to become a captain in different situations – in the classroom, at the family dinner table, on the playground, and ultimately with the daily choices they confront each day when trying to improve their personal health and fitness.
The Captain’s Challenge uses the same formula as other Anaheim Ducks S.C.O.R.E. programs and provides many incentives for students, flexibility for teachers, and a curriculum that is standards-based. Thanks to the Anaheim Ducks Foundation, the Captain’s Challenge is free for all teachers. Participating classrooms will receive an official Captain’s Challenge kit containing student workbooks, participation charts, and Anaheim Ducks prizes!
Registration for Captain's Challenge opens in September and closes in October. If you are interesting in participating in the 2024-2025 Captain's Challenge please email Celeste Loyatho cloyatho@anaheimducks.com
If you have completed the 2024-2025 Captain's Challenge submit your score using the link below. Please note, prizes will not be shipped until spring 2025.
The Captain’s Challenge is a health and fitness program that was created to help students learn to become a captain like the Anaheim Ducks captains of past and present. Through lessons on leadership, perseverance, integrity, courage, and accountability, students will understand how to lead themselves and others to better health and fitness. This month-long program was designed to inspire, motivate, and empower students while placing minimal burden for implementation in the classroom. As an added benefit of participating in the Captain’s Challenge activities, students will be better prepared for their 5th grade California Physical Fitness Test.
Teachers who sign-up will receive an official Captain’s Challenge Kit containing digital student workbooks, a digital classroom participation chart, and Captain’s Challenge stickers. They can implement this program at any time before the program deadline date. Once the program begins in the classroom, students will have an opportunity to become a class captain. They will lead their classroom through physical fitness activities, much like a captain does on an NHL team. At the end of the program, the Ducks will reward students and classrooms based on their participation scores.
Materials
The official Captain's Challenge workbook is a guide containing five challenges, each with three sections, to help students become a captain. The first section of the challenge provides a lesson of a character trait belonging to a captain, the second section uses a fitness concept to help students put these character traits into action, and the third section encourages students to share these captain and fitness concepts with family members at home as they continue their fitness journey.
What is a Captain?
The captain on a National Hockey League team, like the Anaheim Ducks, is the most honored position in all of sports. That is why the captain on a team is given the responsibility of wearing the “C” on his jersey. Each season, Anaheim Ducks’ coaches select one player to represent the team on the ice, in front of fans, and for his teammates. So which of the 26 players on the team do coaches select to be the captain? Most children believe that it has to be the player who has the most talent or the most charisma. However, in hockey, coaches look for a player that can lead others, show perseverance, has integrity, displays courage, and is accountable for their actions. Since these traits can be taught and instilled in children, we believe that they are all capable of becoming a captain and should wear the “C” proudly in the classroom. By the end of the Captain’s Challenge, we hope students will have the confidence to become a student leader by respecting and encouraging their classmates just like the Captain does on his hockey team.
On March, 2025, over 1,000 students in Orange County will participate in a test they will never forget! The Captain's Challenge event is the culminating experience for schools in the Captain's Challenge Program. This event will help teachers administer five of the six required testing areas [aerobic capacity, abdominal strength, trunk extensor strength, upper body strength, and flexibility] for the State of California Grade Five Physical Fitness assessment. Anaheim Ducks and community partners will be on hand to record students' scores and encourage them in a highly exciting and energetic atmosphere similar to a marathon or 10k race.
This event is FREE and in addition to the Physical Fitness Assessment, features entertainment, awards, and more!
