FROM BOCCI TO BUKA BALL

Roosevelt High School

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SEATTLE, Washington—Although golf occupies a special place in his heart, Darrell Montzingo has never met a sport he didn't like. Now head of the department of physical education at Seattle's inner-city Roosevelt High School, Montzingo brings to his job a playful spirit and a fascination with games of all kinds. "My goal," he says, "is to introduce a new activity every year." He particularly enjoys bringing in games from other cultures. "I was in Spain last year, where everywhere you see old men playing bocci ball [similar to lawn bowling] in the dirt. Next year we'll start that. Buka Ball is an Asian game we use, too. It's like a cross between volleyball and Hacky Sack [footbag]. You use your feet, knees, or hands to kick a bamboo ball over a net, using volleyball rules. We like it because it equalizes males and females."

When Montzingo was hired at Roosevelt in 1992, the physical education program—consisting of team and individual sports and weight training—looked pretty traditional. Over the last eight years, however, the department has moved away from that approach to offer more choice and to focus more on lifetime leisure activities, including walking and individual sports.

To graduate at Roosevelt, students must take four PE classes for two full credits from a smorgasbord of choices. Tai chi has been available in the past; yoga, aerobics (including walking aerobics), handball, archery, and swimming are today. Lacrosse, more frequently played in private than public schools, has been offered since Montzingo observed a game of it. Students can chose inline skating or the circus arts of juggling and unicycling. Next fall, the department will initiate a body-toning class, which the faculty hopes will draw more women into weight training. New in February, a rock-climbing wall is a popular addition.

Individual sports offered include croquet, horseshoes, and what Montzingo calls create-a-sport. "I try to get kids to make up games," he says. For this assignment, students typically combine two games and change the rules accordingly. Students have tried blending basketball with soccer or basketball with golf. Or they've dreamed up new variations of the old classic, capture the flag.

And, true to his real passion, Montzingo offers golf as well as coaching the school's golf teams. What he calls his "inner-city golf project" is sponsored by the Professional Golfers Association. "Hey, you can play golf all the way until you're a senior citizen," Montzingo notes. "I tell the students that a lot of them will find themselves on a golf course for business reasons or with their families at some point in their future. It's a great life leisure sport."

Traditional team sports have not entirely gone by the wayside. But the old model of kids playing one sport all semester is no longer to be found. Instead, interested students rotate in the winter through two weeks each of Buka Ball, volleyball, basketball, and hockey. In warmer weather, students go outside to experience ultimate Frisbee, soccer, lacrosse, flag football, and softball.

The department at Roosevelt at times uses heart monitors in fitness classes, so students can see for themselves what it takes to reach their desired heart rate. "Less active kids reach their target just walking, while others have to work much harder," Montzingo says. "The monitors are great; kids can check it for themselves, which empowers them and frees up the instructor."

Parents have given the program thumbs up. Says Montzingo: "They say, 'We never had the opportunity to do that!' In fact, parents are often more articulate in appreciating the program than the kids are. Still, we have a lot of kids who come in from ninth grade saying, 'I hate PE. I'll be the worst again, and no one will pick me for their team.' Well, here that won't happen. Those kids take alternative sports and find out that they can be as good and as active as the others."

In all their eclectic offerings, one thing is clear: Roosevelt PE instructors are steering students toward forms of exercise they can enjoy for years to come. "I want them to develop routines they will follow for the rest of their lives," Montzingo says.

—"Snapshots" by Maya Muir

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