Avalanche Hold First TeamFit Event Since 2020

Last week on Nov. 11, the Colorado Avalanche held their first TeamFIT event since February 2020. Led by strength and conditioning coach Casey Bond and players Artturi Lehkonen and Jacob MacDonald, the trio took students from Merrill Middle School through exercises and drills the team does themselves.

TeamFIT is a program offered by Kroenke Sports and Charities. KSC formerly had two programs - one called Eat Right to focus on Nutrition and TeamFIT. TeamFIT was originally created solely to focus on strength & conditioning.
Roughly 10 years ago, the programs combined under the TeamFIT name to focus on both nutrition and fitness for students in 3rd - 8th grade. The program is an opportunity for students to gain insights of a team training and includes instruction from staff and players. More than 2,000 students from 50+ schools have participated since inception.
Under Casey Bond's leadership, the program has continued to grow and develop each year. TeamFIT has been hosted at various schools, and in unique situations has been hosted at the Denver Fire Training Center, a corn maze, and more!
Friday's event was held on the Nuggets' practice court, where the kids ran and exercised in both large and small group settings with the Avs representatives. After the exercise portion was over, the kids sat at center court and asked the players a few questions. The students then lined up and received autographed playing cards and also received autographs on their jerseys and shirts by Lehkonen and MacDonald.

"It's a lot of fun." MacDonald said. "Obviously, hanging out with the kids has been a really good time and seeing their enthusiasm for hanging out with us and being here in the facilities has been cool."
The event was the first of its kind for both Lehkonen and MacDonald as members of the Avs. When asked about what they hope the students take away from it, they shared similar sentiments.
"I hope that they're going to enjoy exercising," Lehkonen said. "That's the most important part, when it comes to health and fitness."
"I can still remember times in Portland going to Winterhawks (a junior ice hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League) games and meeting those players," MacDonald recalled. "So, I can still remember that 20 some years later. I'm sure that they'll remember these things for a long time and hopefully have good memories."
As for instilling a lasting message to the kids regarding the importance of maintaining good health and proper exercise, MacDonald emphasized the fundamentals of sport itself.
"Just have fun with it," MacDonald said. "You don't have to be a professional athlete to exercise and have fun doing it. It doesn't have to lunges and squats, it can be going for a jog or kicking a soccer ball around. Any kind of exercise is good and just make sure you're having fun with it."
The joy in the room was palpable and the Avalanche and KSC are looking forward to producing the same result in future TeamFIT events.
For more information on the program and how to apply, please visit
https://www.nhl.com/avalanche/community/team-fit
.