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Updated March 27, 2004 0:21 AM

Running program helps troubled youths

By CRAIG KAPITAN Eagle Staff Writer

Dressed in running shorts and a T-shirt, Brazos County Juvenile Services psychologist Michelle Fecowycz vied for the attention of a crowd of rambunctious middleschoolers Thursday afternoon. The group all ordered to be there by their probation officers discussed Eagle photo/Butch Ireland values and life decisions as Michelle Fecowycz, staff psychologist for they sat on a picnic bench Brazos County Juvenile Services, holds the curriculum for the Girls On Track program she outside Bryans Neal is implementing with girls on juvenile Recreation Center, probation. The 12-week course trains girls to frequently averting their run a 5K race and includes group counseling to attention as friends from help them improve self-esteem and make better the neighborhood passed decisions in life. by. I wont ever let my man hit me, one of the girls said with the brashness of a 13-year-old going on 30. The discussion was just a warm-up for the afternoon. Later they would be running laps, preparing for a 5K run in May. Now in its fourth week, Juvenile Services is trying out a new threemonth program called Girls on Track. It is intended to help girls build self-esteem as they spend time together preparing for the race. Each week the group discusses topics such as drugs, dating, anger management and eating disorders. I see a lot of potential in each of these girls, Fecowycz said. Its just about teaching them how to make better choices. The psychologist was presented with the idea to incorporate the national program locally last summer as she was training to run a marathon with Brazos County Health Department employee Marcy

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Hosking, who also volunteers with the girls. Geared toward sixth- through eighth-graders, the program was started in 1996 by Hawaii Ironman Triathlete Molly Barker and since has spread to almost 100 communities. Even though the national program isnt specifically geared toward troubled youths, it just seemed to make sense to incorporate it into Juvenile Services mission, Fecowycz said. Adolescent issues seem to be all the more pronounced among girls occupying the countys caseload, she explained. Running makes me feel really good about myself, so I thought, Why not do it for these girls too? she said, explaining that it is a refreshing way for her department to give positive reinforcement. Its not all about, You did this, and therefore youre going to jail. It seems to empower the girls. Because it isnt generally intended as a requirement of probation, the first local class has been somewhat of a learning experience for the teacher as well, she said, explaining that she has had to focus the lessons a little more on consequences. The program started in February with eight girls from Bryan and College Station middle schools who are brought to the park twice a week. Eventually, Fecowycz said, she would like to expand the program to include at-risk girls who havent yet entered the system. Jennifer, a 15-year-old Stephen F. Austin Middle School student, described the program Thursday as a sort of anger management class for her. If we keep all our stress in, its not doing nothing but building up, she said, catching her breath as she rested from running laps. The program is all right, she said, although she sometimes wished some of the participants had better attitudes. An older member of the group, the teen said she tries to remind the girls whenever she can that they dont want to be locked up like she once was. But regardless, the program seems to be working for her. Someday, she said, shed like to run a marathon. I want to run track, and Im trying real hard, she said. Deep down in me, I know I can do it.
Craig Kapitans e-mail address is ckapitan@theeagle.com.

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4/4/2014