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January 18, 1991 - Image 48

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1991-01-18

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

SPORTS

Fulgenzi cruised the
neighborhood to find
families with children.

Ply' s Mighty•Mite

From basketball to kids' birthday
parties, 10 Mile's Theresa is giving
a boost to the Center's phys-ed use.

Staff Writer

Fulgenzi
eresa
readily admits that
becoming physical ed-
ucation director of the
Jimmy Prentis Morris Jew-
ish Community Center was
a bit disconcerting.
"I'm an east-sider," said
Fulgenzi, who grew up in
St. Clair Shores. "I didn't
even know the place (JPM)
existed."
Her bafflement grew when
she took stock of her new
surroundings — the lone, un-
air-conditioned gymnasium,
single dressing room and
small dance studio. It was
quite a change from the
sprawling Maple-Drake JCC
complex at which she had
been working the previous
two years, with its health
clubs, weight-room, swimm-
ing pools, racquet courts and
indoor tracks.
It was also quite a change
in terms of programming
and facility usage.

T

48

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 1991

"What am I going to do
here?" she found herself ask-
ing. And after looking
through the P.E. files, she
was even more perplexed.
"There wasn't a whole lot
there," she recalled.
But when the initial shock
wore off, the energetic 5-
footer with the short black
hair and dimpled smile lash-
ed on her rollerblades and
hit the neighborhood
sidewalks in the JCC's
equivalent of the door-to-
door salesperson.
"I'd cruise the area to see
what kind of toys were in the
yards," said Fulgenzi.
When she spotted bigwheels,
bicycles or basketball
backboards, she figured she
had homes with children —
potential "customers."
"I stuffed the mailboxes
with flyers," she said.
Residents quickly showed
interest in her proposed new
programming. The response
was particularly good from
Huntington Woods, she
added.

Fulgenzi, who had been
both a health club fitness in-
structor and after-school
program director for chil-
dren at Maple-Drake, wasn't
too surprised, however.
She'd looked at the number
of youngsters in the Hun-
tington Woods and Oak Park
recreation centers' programs
and figured, "There's got to
be more kids around here."
Besides that, she told
herself, "If they (the two rec
centers) can do it, I can."
That extended to women's
basketball, a sport Fulgen-
zi loves. Encouraged by Sol
Cohen, a member of JPM's
morning walking program
who is Oak Park's recreation
coordinator, Fulgenzi
checked both centers and,
learning neither offered
women's basketball,
borrowed their softball
registration lists and called
prospective players.
Today, thanks largely to
Fulgenzi's efforts, what
had been thought of as most-
ly a senior citizens' JCC is

quickly finding favor with
those from toddler age on up.
For example, the 10 Mile
Center's gym now is open on
Saturday afternoons for both
adult and youth Center
members. And there are a
number of new programs at
JPM, including
• a five-team, women's
age 20-40 basketball league;
• two corporate-sponsored

P hotos by Mars ha Su ndq u ist

RICHARD PEARL

Theresa feels JPM users
appreciate her efforts.

(Marriott Hotels, Mercury
Paints) men's evening
basketball leagues;
• a boys' gymnastics class;
• a Sunday four-team
Kenny Goldman basketball
league for boys ages 8-11,
and
• weekend children's bir-
thday parties.
There also are a variety of
exercise, yoga and aerobics
classes, some ongoing, some
new or revitalized, for
toddlers on up. Special exer-
cise classes have been added
for those with Parkinson's
disease or multiple sclerosis
and for the visually im-
paired.
In addition, a women's
post-natal exercise class is
planned for the spring and a
pre-natal is being con-
sidered. For youngsters, a
baseball clinic is planned for
March and an open-house for
Neighborhood Project
residents which will include
a baseball clinic is scheduled
for April.
The JPM gym now is open

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