BROWNINGTON –– On a cold winter day in the Northeast Kingdom, Brownington Central School students gathered in the gym for a jump rope demonstration by jump rope athletes Nick Woodard and Kaylee Woodard of Learnin’ The Ropes who came from Bowling Green, Kentucky. This week, the Woodards demonstrated jump rope skills and provided information about their visits to this school and others in the Orleans Central Supervisory Union and the United Christian Academy in Newport City.
The couple got into jumping rope as elementary school students and are now national and world champions. They’ve coached several world champion athletes. The Woodards explained that they do all things in rope jumping, including putting on shows and teaching classes, as well as selling jump ropes and programs.
“We want to make sure that we get everybody moving and having a good time with jump ropes,” Nick Woodard said. “It’s important because we grew up in the sport of jump rope, and we saw a lot of the benefits it had for us. Physically, mentally, and socially. As we got older, we wanted to make sure that we could give the same thing to others. We want the kids to know that there is a spot for them. Maybe it’s jump rope. Maybe it’s something else. But knowing that they can do some really good things with something so small as a rope. That’s really cool for them.”
Kaylee Woodard said jump rope is a unique way for students to set and achieve their own goals. She added that jump rope stands out among individual sports by offering both a physical and a creative challenge.
“We’re always coming up with new skills and combos, having fun jumping to music,” she said. “There are the physical, mental, cognitive, and social aspects, especially when jumping with others or doing double Dutch. It’s all-encompassing.”
Physical Education Teacher Jessica Booth said Brownington Central and Orleans Elementary Schools have spent the past three weeks on a jump rope unit. The curriculum covered jump rope fundamentals using both long ropes and individual short ropes. The Woodards, visiting from Bowling Green, Kentucky, arrived this week to demonstrate their skills and engage with students. Their tour began on Wednesday, after snowstorms delayed their planned arrival on Tuesday.
The jump rope unit idea started last year at a parish hall in Orleans because the Orleans Elementary School was temporarily without its gym. That was the first time Booth ever taught a jump rope unit. During the unit, Booth showed the students an online video of the Woodards demonstrating their skills, providing inspiration, and highlighting cool possibilities.
“I said to the students, ‘wouldn’t it be cool if we could get these guys to our school?’, Booth recalled. After researching, she found the Learnin’ The Ropes website. Now, a year later, here they are, they were at her schools. Each school covered its cost of about seven hundred to eight hundred dollars for the visits. As explained, they had multiple school discounts. Booth said that the schools have money set aside for cultural events like this one. The parent-teacher committees offered to help with the cost, but the schools said they had the expense covered. Booth added that the Woodards have a powerful message about perseverance and hard work.
“It fits with what we’re aiming to instill in our students,” Booth said. The schools were interested in hosting these guests. It provided our students with an opportunity. While I can teach them some, having professionals present can further increase their awareness of available possibilities—not just in basketball, soccer, or team sports, but also in individual sports where achieving personal goals is central.”
As Booth pointed out, this is the Northeast Kingdom, and the students don’t get many opportunities to see the talent of the Woodards’ caliber. She also said that when she teaches physical education, she always tries to look beyond traditional team sports because many students don’t connect with them. Booth added that individual pursuits like archery, jump rope, and other activities where students can set their own goals are important.
After the demonstration, fifth-grade student Anthony Davis said jump ropes are cool and awesome.
He said he found the program interesting and thought the Woodards demonstrated significant skills.
Fifth-grader Jacob Wells also liked the program. He likes jump rope because he gets to learn about it, and the more he learns, the faster he goes, and it becomes more fun.
Fifth-grader Levi Collins liked the program and the tricks the Woodards did.
