Penn Hills middle school students were able to get a taste of what it’s like to workout like a pro football player on Wednesday morning.
Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman and Penn Hills alum Aaron Donald made a special visit to work out and interact with the students at the Yuhas-McGinley Stadium field. The special workout was part of the “Go Pro” summer program that Penn Hills School District is holding throughout the summer.
Superintendent Nancy Hines said the program aims to make up for the learning loss during the pandemic. Alumni from various backgrounds will visit schools to speak about their careers and what skills helped them to become successful, to help inspire students.
Matt Herdman, the middle school coordinator for the summer program, said it is exciting to have the opportunity to have alumni come back.
“We value our alumni a lot, and we hope they provide students the inspiration and motivation to do things in life and work towards their futures,” Herdman said.
Donald and his trainer Dewayne Brown, along with his 2/10ths Speed + Agility training team, led the voluntary workout. More than half of the 120 middle school students participated in the hour-long workout, doing a warmup, foot drills and agility drills.
Students who participated said it was a dream come true.
Amazcha Prater, a seventh-grader, said she did not expect Donald to lead the workout.
“I was in shock. He even said I did a good job during it,” she said.
A special alumni guest from Penn Hills High School, Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, conducts a workout session with middle and high school students today in Penn Hills @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/uLaqm1GgAw
— Shane Dunlap (@shanedunlap) June 23, 2021
Zylon Patterson, another seventh-grader, joked about how it was great to see a player who sacked his favorite quarterback, retired Saints player Drew Brees.
“The workout was great and felt the same as the football workouts I do,” Patterson said.
Gabrielle West was able to interact one on one with Donald during drills. The seventh-grader said it felt like a one in a billion chance to workout with Donald.
“It was so amazing getting to train with a major league athlete,” she said.
Donald said he had fun working out with students. He wrapped up the session huddling everyone together to close it out saying, “1, 2, 3, work!”
“Any time I get the opportunity to teach kids and have fun is always a good day,” he said.
The “Go Pro” program will run weekdays through July 2 and resume Aug. 2-13.
