By JOSEPH KELLARD
Sporting multicolored Nikes, red cargo shorts and a sleeveless gray gym shirt, the phys. ed. teacher leads an 8:30 a.m. aerobic kickboxing class in the high school's auxiliary gym.
"Three more - you can do it," Messina, a Franklin Square resident, calls out through his headset microphone, encouraging his coed class, 40 students ranging from freshmen to seniors, to finish a combination of squats and dumbbell presses.
This is one of a variety of exercises Messina includes in his charges' 20-minute workout to a steady beat of Latin dance music.
The aerobics routine is something Messina brought to OHS three years ago, to diverge from the steady diet of routine gym classes- volleyball, softball, basketball, football - offered at most high schools.
"The days of shooting basketball are a thing of the past," Messina said. "This is something different, but something the kids needed in terms of them getting something really physical out of it."
During the nonstop workout, his students do everything from push-ups and jumping jacks to shadow boxing and jumping rope, as well as a quick outdoor run. In between exercises, as he explains how each is performed, Messina keeps the kids moving, doing steps.
"We have a problem with obesity in this country, and this is a better way than the traditional gym activities to battle this problem," he said recently before one of the classes.
After taking attendance and leading the students in stretching to the strains of a Beethoven string quartet, Messina turns on the beat music for jumping jacks. When the students finish their squats and dumbbell presses, they lie on the hardwood floor and move right into crunches. Messina zigzags through the maze of crunching bodies while counting down the reps: "... four, three, two -- one more crunch."
When Messina asks the class if they're "feeling them," one student groans "Yes!"
"The first class or so, I thought, this is going to be a drag," said freshman Ben Schneid, who has always preferred pumping iron to aerobics. "But then they turned on the music and you get into it and really work your body. ... Mr. Messina keeps us moving constantly, and you really feel a burn."
"It's much more of a challenge," said senior Nikki Szuman about her preference for aerobics over traditional gym sports.
With neon-orange jump ropes in hand, some students skipped with perfect rhythm, while others got entangled in their ropes. Then they did push-ups, and on the last one Messina had them hold the up position on one hand.
Some 300 students in all sweat along with Messina two or three times a week. In some they focus on cardiovascular work, while in others they pass around large physio balls, and in others they hit the track. Some students are required to take the class, while for others it is an elective. "Some kids take it three or four times; others can't wait to get out of it," Messina said.
Like Szuman, Claire Hines returned to the class after taking it her junior year. "I don't get to do much exercise, with school and work," the senior said. "So I figured, why not squeeze it into my school schedule?" Hines likes aerobics because, she said, the more traditional gym classes "are boring and seem pointless." While Szuman likes the crunches most, Hines enjoys the running.
When the class returns from its brief trot outside the gym, there is a glean of sweat on every forehead, and some stand with hands on knees and mouths agape, while others fan themselves with their T-shirts or tank tops. "The bad news about this class is that the kids get all sweaty and stinky and uncomfortable," Messina said.
During the workout's last minutes, students do more push-ups, then Messina has them kick their legs - and then drop and give him five more push-ups. "Come on, we only have a few more minutes," he tells them as some of the students moan, fatigue setting in. "You're doing a great job," he says.
The students wrap up by doing steps, counting down their reps loudly and in unison -- the final 10 as if these were the last seconds of a victorious football game.
Before sending them to the locker rooms, Messina has his students sit against a gym walls, on which are posted signs like, "Only exercise keeps it off" and "The test is how hard you work when no one is watching." Messina tells them they're a special class. "You guys really get into it," he says before dismissing them.
"I also came back this year because I like Mr. Messina," Hines said before heading to the locker room. "He's very personable."
"Mr. Messina is the kind of teacher who makes you want to come back," Szuman said.
Messina also believes that, unlike team sports like softball or volleyball, aerobics is something kids are more likely to stick with beyond high school. "It's something that, hopefully, they will pick up on and go with it the rest of their lives," he said.
"If you're thinking of joining," Schneid said, "definitely do it. It's not a fluke."
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
