Youths Learn to Overcome Mental, Physical Obstacles in the Heat

Sunday afternoon, scores of youths from Framingham and MetroWest participated in the first-ever Crons Goal Games at Framingham State University's Maple Field.

In scorching heat, the students learned they could physically do more than they mentally pictured.

The games were a couple of hours of challenges that emphasized the importance of constant self-improvement. The youths learned about setting and reaching goals. A lesson that can be applied to life beyond just sports.

“One of the greatest lessons kids can learn is that they can accomplish almost anything in life if they understand how to set and manage goals," according to the Creator of Crons Pat Cavanaugh.

For example, at the beginning of the afternoon, one youth was asked how many push-ups he could do. The boy said he could do 15. He was challenged to do 17 and with encouragement he completed 17 push-ups.

The youths participated in more than a dozen activities. Each time they were asked to estimate how they would do. Then, the youths were asked to complete the task and do better than they thought they could.

For example, during an obstacle course. One youth completed it the first time in 15 seconds. The second time, the youth improved her time to under 10 seconds.

The event was free. To learn more about CRONS, click here.