KALISPELL — Girls on the Run Western Montana is an after-school program for girls in third through fifth grade that teaches valuable lessons about exercise, building friendships, communication skills and more.
Maggie Sherrill has taught at Elrod Elementary in Kalispell for 13 years. After school, she volunteers her time helping young girls build healthy lifestyles.
"Just a way to have fun and build connections with each other," Sherrill said.
For 10 weeks this spring, about 15 girls at Elrod Elementary met with coach Sherrill twice a week after school to build friendships and self-confidence through exercise.
"It's cool to see at the beginning of the year like what they come in knowing how to do and then watching them make those gains and grow at the end of the year," Sherrill said.
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Sherrill said the girls train throughout the season for a 5K race. This year's 5K was held during the Whitefish Marathon in May.
"So that was neat for the girls to see how big a running community can really be," Sherrill said.
Third grader Oakley Kushner said coach Sherrill taught her about the power of teamwork.
“And we learned like how we can work together to do harder things,” said Kushner.
Oakley encourages other students to join coach Sherrill and Girls on the Run.
"Because if you do, you can meet new friends and you can have nice coaches and learn things that are important for life," Kushner said.
Sherrill encourages members of the Flathead community to give back to the next generation if they can.
"I think it's a great way to be a part of that foundation of setting these girls up for the rest of their lives and their careers and helping create young women who are going to grow up to be confident and strong and go on to do extraordinary things," Sherrill said.
