Redefined Kidz, Fit Run Club

Confusion. Lack of self-confidence. Worry. Loneliness. 

Being a child is tough. Being a child in today’s society with the exposure of every detail of your life at one’s fingertips makes it that much more difficult to live through. Even as a young child, significant mental health problems can occur. Children can demonstrate characteristics of anxiety disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and neuro-developmental disabilities, such as autism, at a very early age. Secondary to their early brain chemistry, however, children respond to and process emotional experiences and traumatic events in ways that are very different from adults and older children.  Toxic stress can damage the brain’s architecture and create lasting mental health problems as a child develops. With the help of early intervention and providing reliably responsive and supportive tools and relationships, a child is able to buffer the stressors that are encountered in life. 

As a young child myself, I experienced family trauma, circumstances associated with family stress and pivotal points of development that ultimately led to an eating disorder and depression. After years of inner battles, reaching highs and lows, and witnessing many other peers battling similar battles parallel to me, I began investigating resources to help replace these negative thoughts and behaviors with something more meaningful and positive. It was on this journey that I discovered my passion for running. It was during the training cycles that I would find myself deep in meditative thoughts, creating mental goals that were met in a hierarchy of mastery, and overcoming challenges that life entangled along the way.  I discovered the beauty and joy in a sport that was mentally enlightening while inspiring and motivating friends and family that supported me. It was through this journey that I discovered an amazing cohesion of empowerment principals and running. Through this, the training and dedication to launch Redefined Kidz, Fit Run Club was born. 

Every child is able to compete and reach the goals they once thought were beyond them. With the use of our run club curriculum, we have worked with hundreds of children of all fitness levels, and have learned fun and active tools to harness self-confidence. We have developed core empowerment principles to create a unique and powerful curriculum that we weave into each program. We equip children to REDEFINE themselves with the use of these empowerment principles while starting their running journey understanding correct form and basic training concepts.

Each week we focus on a different core empowerment principle, such as the principles below:

  • Power Words: how we talk about ourselves defines who we are. Words have the power to wound, or to lift our hearts. We teach children how to refer to themselves with the use of power words both on and off the running field. We help children redefine who they are with the use of positive and uplifting vocabulary.
  • Positive Thoughts: we are what we think. We teach children how to cope with negative thoughts and emotions to help build overall self-confidence into their lives.
  • Aggressive Goals: we dare to believe anything is possible. We help children set goals to improve motivation and commitment while staying focused on what to accomplish, honestly assessing their unique strengths and weaknesses while tracking their performance.
  • Personal Resilience: we welcome setbacks as an opportunity to grow. We teach children resilience techniques that are important in sports and in life and how to develop a habit of viewing mistakes not as disqualifiers but instead as essential steps in reaching their goals.
  • Teamwork: together we can do what we cannot do alone. Though running is an individual sport, we at Redefined Kidz, LLC focus on drills that involve children working together towards a common goal. Teamwork is essential to manage conflict in every aspect of life.
  • Community Vision: our actions affect our community. We teach children that the actions of one can have a positive or negative impact on the entire group. We work on conflict resolution and working around obstacles that may be faced in life.
  • New Beginnings: a finish line is the beginning of a new journey. With running, just as in life, there is no final destination because as soon as we reach one goal, another one appears. We reinforce that the journey itself is the joy.

We provide both after-school programs as well as community based clubs.  All of our youth programs, ranging from preschool through upper elementary school grade levels, meet once a week for 8 weeks.  We also offer programs that are twice a week for 4 weeks. Redefined Kidz, Fit Run Club is designed to introduce running as a fun and rewarding sport for all abilities and fitness levels. Our ultimate goal is to empower children and build character through running. Running is a life long sport and our programs will set the foundation for a growth mindset that will benefit kids for years to come. 

Contact us today for more information! 

    redefinedkidz

    Suzanne (Columbia) Varona, MS CCC-SLP is a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist that is highly skilled, ASHA-certified, and NJ licensed with nearly two decades of experience working with children in the outpatient, school, community and in-home environments. She is a certified HANAN 'Learning Language and Loving It' professional and is formally trained in PROMPT, DIRfloortime, and PECs. She is a Baby Signs, Inc. and Speech Buddies provider. She continues to expand her area of expertise, advocating for the most innovative therapeutic strategies and resources, in the area of apraxia of speech, early speech and language growth and development and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Suzanne is also an advocate for mental health and wellness, becoming an empowerment specialist and currently obtaining her 200-hour digital wellness, SEL and yoga teacher certification in Breathe for Change.

    Suzanne was raised in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, obtaining an undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Linguistics and Teaching English as an International Language from Geneva College. She earned her Masters of Speech and Language Pathology from Clarion University in Pennsylvania. Soon after graduating with her Master's degree, she relocated to northern New Jersey and began working in a variety of treatment locations. After immersing herself into school district placements, she soon discovered her passion to advocate for early speech and language development while training parents/caregivers when working in homes and inclusive community locations through NJ's Early Intervention System. After relocated to southern NJ several years ago, her passion and dedication to advocate for early intervention support for children and their families/caregivers only blossomed until a need for initiating Redefined Kidz, LLC was created.

    Suzanne's energy, passion and commitment to helping children is demonstrated in her dynamic, fun approach and in the sincere, respectful relationships she cultivates with parents/caregivers. She focuses on functional communication skills while holistically working with parents/caregivers to receive support training necessary to use the strategies during existing activities at home, in the car, and on the go. She focuses not only on building early receptive and expressive language and communication skills but on building mental, physical and emotional wellness to empower each child to be equipped with specific tools and skills to tackle challenges that will be faced in life. It is with this passion that she has advocated to spark a movement for all children to enhance their health and overall well-being through mental, physical, and emotional development and growth.