The wheel deal: Cycling program gets a thumb’s up from junior high school students

Floor hockey and basketball may get the dreaded eye roll from some Kennedy Junior High School kids.

But physical education teacher Eric Nelson has no difficulty whipping up enthusiasm for a new cycling program at the Naperville Unit District 203 school.

The program, dubbed the Jeff Moores Bicycle Initiative in honor of a popular District 203 PE teacher who died in 2022, aims to keep sixth, seventh and eighth graders fit and exploring on two wheels.

“We can get a floor hockey unit, or a soccer unit, or a basketball unit where you get a handful or kids who don’t like it or they don’t play it, although we try to make it as fun as possible,” Nelson explained.

Bicycles, however, have been universally well received. He teaches cycling on Mondays but “the kids literally ask me every day,” if they’ll be biking.

With assistance from the not-for-profit Naperville Outdoor Alliance, Kennedy Junior High Home and School, and Spokes Bikes, about 1,000 students are now exercising on a fleet of donated bicycles along with helmets.

On Monday, students cycled off-site from the Lisle school using nearby paths in the Green Trails neighborhood for the first time.

“The kids were really excited about it,” Nelson said, adding he passed numerous neighbors who were curious at first, then complimentary.

“That’s a benefit too, sharing our space with others and connecting with the community in the outdoors.”

Nelson and Kennedy colleague Kevin Quaid formed the idea amid the COVID-19 pandemic when both taught elementary school.

During remote learning, when they suggested cycling as an option to stay fit, “we noticed how many kids in the chat said they didn’t have a bike, or had never rode a bike, or had nowhere to ride because they lived in an apartment,” Nelson recalled. “It was eye-opening.”

The concept came to fruition when the two moved to Kennedy, Nelson said, noting that cycling dovetails nicely with the junior high cohort by teaching advanced skills.

While some students may excel at a particular sport, cycling is a leveler, Nelson noted.

He’s received numerous emails from parents saying, “my kid’s loving it,” or “they were trepidatious at the beginning and now they’re confident.”

Another goal is to foster a lifelong love of cycling by hooking in tweens who previously “didn’t think about biking or didn’t like biking. Now, maybe they’ll go ask for a bike for Christmas,” Nelson added.

The Naperville Outdoor Alliance previously helped establish a cycling program at Naperville North High School in 2019.

The new Kennedy project dovetails perfectly with the group’s mission, NOA Secretary Mary Lou Wehrli said.

“We want to make outdoor recreation more abundant and accessible to the community,” she noted.

Educators seeking information about setting up a school cycling program can contact Nelson at ejnelson@naperville 203.org.

mpyke@dailyherald.com