Phantoms Hockey Team Partners With Allentown Health Bureau To Launch Its G.O.A.L. Healthy Kids Campaign In Lehigh Valley Schools

Online, May 12, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The Phantoms, the American Hockey League's top development team of the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers, announced today that it will launch its G.O.A.L. ("Get Out And Live") Healthy Kids Campaign in Lehigh Valley schools this spring in partnership with the Allentown Health Bureau. Rob Brooks, co-owner of the Phantoms, made the announcement.

The Phantoms, which will begin to call the Lehigh Valley home in 2013 when construction of Allentown's arena at 7th and Hamilton Streets is completed, will bring a live program to several area elementary schools over the next few weeks in order to teach students tips for a healthy lifestyle. With the help of Dax, the team mascot, and a master of ceremonies, the G.O.A.L. program uses video clips, skits, audience participation and group exercise to encourage kids to meet five goals:
1) Get a "Smart Start" with a healthy breakfast
2) "Strive for 5," focusing on the importance of eating foods from all the food groups, especially plenty of fruits and vegetables
3) Make "The Clear Choice" and drink lots of water
4) Make a "60-Minute Power Play" by being active for an hour daily
5) "Cap the Screen Time" and limit time spent on videogames, TV and the computer
Created with educators and using principles of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign to solve childhood obesity, the G.O.A.L program is designed to playfully reinforce the leading health concepts already taught in many schools. The Phantoms launched the program in Glen Falls, New York, the team's current hometown, in 2010.
"The Phantoms' healthy kids campaign has been wildly successful in New York, with kids dancing, doing jumping jacks and laughing at Dax's antics -- all while learning to better take care of themselves," Rob Brooks said. "We're thrilled to introduce the program to the kids of the Lehigh Valley."
Team co-owner Jim Brooks added, "The Phantoms team is a community-minded organization that strives to give back, and the G.O.A.L. program is just one of the ways we plan to have a positive impact on the Lehigh Valley's youth."
Phantoms executives are currently in talks with several school principals about sharing the G.O.A.L. program with local students before the end of the 2011-12 school year. If you are interested in having the G.O.A.L program at your school, call 610-533-4264. The team plans to continue offering the program throughout the Lehigh Valley up to and after the Phantoms' arrival in Allentown.
# # #
About the Phantoms:
The Phantoms are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the NHL Philadelphia Flyers. They were established in 1996, playing their first 13 seasons in the Spectrum in Philadelphia, and currently reside in Glens Falls, NY, until the Phantoms Arena in Allentown is completed for the 2013-14 Season (www.phantomsarena.com). The Phantoms have won two Calder Cup Championships and have developed many players who have gone on to play in the NHL. Several of the more notable players to play with the Phantoms are: Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, R.J. Umberger, Matt Read, Brayden Schenn, James Van Riemsdyk, Michael Leighton and Zac Rinaldo.

About the American Hockey League:
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League serves as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives and broadcasters of all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 85 percent of today's NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 10th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2010-11.