Sacred Heart students get ‘Viking Fit’ through parent-run athletics program

Though Winnetka’s Sacred Heart School might be small (K-8 enrollment is only about 200 students), it’s certainly mighty.

A parent-led fitness initiative, dubbed Viking Fit after the school’s courageous mascot, has cemented itself as a student favorite, encouraging young athletes and non-athletes alike to get out of bed, get moving and have fun while doing it.

“We’re just a little school trying to do everything we can to show people that there’s value to being at a little school,” said Rob Levoy, co-creator of the program with fellow Sacred Heart parent Billy Small. “We’re talking about trying to build lifestyle habits for all these kids that, quite frankly, at some of the bigger schools, may get left behind athletically.”

While the program launched for the 2023-2024 academic year for third- through eighth-graders, participation in the first year was lower than what Levoy and Small hoped, with about five to eight students in attendance.

But following what was clearly an effective year demonstrating proof of concept, the program has grown and is now currently attended by approximately 23 students who are up and at ’em and in the school’s gym by 7 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays (in addition to the two other Viking Fit trainings offered at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and 6 p.m. on Thursdays).

“I’ve run a couple of marathons, and I have battled with my weight my whole life,” Levoy told The Record, speaking about his personal connection to the program, which his son attends. “I think I’ve run three marathons in the last eight years, but when I’m not, I’m getting big. And I look at it regretfully. I kind of wanted better for not only my kid but all these kids, and we had the ability to give it to them.”

He continued, “We have a saying at (Sacred Heart) that challenges are opportunities, and it really makes sense for (Viking Fit).”

Sacred Heart’s school gym essentially doubles as an in-school fitness center. It features medicine balls, plyo boxes and a Torque Fitness tank, acquired through community support and donations.

Serving as volunteer coaches, Levoy and Small are at the gym every day. They’ve also partnered with a yoga instructor for the Tuesday morning classes and a sprint trainer for the Thursday evening out-of-school activity in collaboration with Illinois Bone and Joint. (The previous academic year, the partnership was with MECA Personal Training.)

The students who attend the sprint training on Thursdays are “Viking Fit Elite,” as second-year attendees. The title creates something for Viking Fit members to strive for without dividing them based on level.

Depending on whether students are attending all four classes or three, the annual fee is $250 to $350 to support the initiative and its longevity.

Although physical fitness is at the program’s core with Levoy describing some of the attendees as having become “shredded,” the students are also building a stronger sense of community and confidence, among other benefits.

Jodi Reuter, principal at Sacred Heart, said that the students come out of the Viking Fit morning sessions more calm, centered and focused for their academic day.

Reuter also noted the level of support she sees among students and the Sacred Heart community at-large.

“We have kids in various grade levels and we have kids in various fitness levels … but the kids encourage each other, they’re always supportive of one another, they cheer each other on,” she said. “It’s such a great collaboration between all the students, parents and coaches, too.”

Reuter added, “There are kids who are natural athletes and then you get kids who are not, and … (the latter’s) confidence has been growing in not only their physical selves but how they perceive themselves and how they feel now among others and that growth mindset, like, ‘OK, this is hard, but I can do hard things.’”

Whitney Wolf, the director of marketing and communications at Sacred Heart, is among the parents who has seen the positive impact of Viking Fit firsthand. Wolf continually gets her son to school by 7 a.m. and contributes nutritious breakfasts like protein shakes and bagels.

Her son, who is now in fifth grade, joined Viking Fit last year.

“When Viking Fit came along, we’d (already) been saying, ‘You need exercise, you need to be doing something, we’d love for you to do team sports,’ but that was a hard ‘no’ from (my son),” Wolf explained of their first foray into Viking Fit. “So, I drove him kicking and screaming for the first Viking Fit. And he loved it.”

Since then, Wolf describes his athleticism as having increased significantly. Her son has run the Heart and Sole 5K and gained the confidence and friend group to join the school basketball team.

“To see him growing and doing all these things and not only physically capable of doing all these things but mentally enthusiastic to do all these things really is extraordinary — never in a million years would have seen this coming, and it’s all because of Viking Fit,” she said. “There’s literally nothing else driving this but his participation in Viking Fit, which has just bloomed into a love of fitness and sports and athleticism and,” she added through laughs, “protein shakes.”

In the near future, Levoy said he hopes to add a book club to the Viking Fit program in which attendees will read and discuss a positive book about lifestyle and nutrition.

“We’re just going to continue to see if we can up the ante every year with facilities and all the things that we’re making available to the kids,” he said. “We’re trying to develop this into a program that’s sustainable for the school for a long time after we’re gone.”

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