Orlando Magic encourage healthy lifestyle with Magic Fit Draft Combine – Orlando Magic Daily

The 120 kids from the South Orlando YMCA, Meadow Woods Rec Center and the Taft Boys and Girls Club are probably not old enough to know who the three tall dudes talking to them were.

They did not all know that Jeff Turner, the Orlando Magics current television color analyst, won an Olympic Gold Medal with the 1984 U.S. National Team. They did not all know Bo Outlaw, a stalwart and fan favorite through much of the early 2000s, was a swimmer before pursuing basketball full time.The students probably did not all know Nick Anderson was the first ever draft pick to the Magic and a member of the teams Hall of Fame.

The event Tuesday at the RDV Sportsplex was not all about the three Magic legends standing before the kids. Or the special guests, includingstrength and conditioning coach Bill Burgos, that attended too. It was about laying the foundations at the grass roots level to connect young Central Florida residents to the Magic, to basketball and to fitness in general.

As part of Tuesdays program, attendees participated in basketball-related drills, spoke to the Magics nutritionist about nutrition and healthy lifestyles and went through agility drills.

It was a fun, light-hearted afternoon for the Magic as part of a larger community effort. One of the many similar kind of events the Magic hold throughout the Central Florida area throughout the year.

Magic Fit is the teams fitness and nutrition education program for youth in the Central Florida area. The programs goal is to encourage physical activity through basketball and healthy living for youth and families.

It is part of the Magics Magic Youth Basketball Academy, an offshoot of the teams Junior Magic youth basketball program and its annual basketball camps held during the summer and spring and Christmas breaks during the year.

The Magic hold several youth events like the Combine every year to engage directly with young residents of Central Florida.

Basketball is indeed a strong tool to spread the message of fitness to young residents in the area.

Anderson certainly knew a little bit about what he taught his students at his station. Anderson oversaw games of dribble knockout, teaching them how best to pick up steals.

That is definitely something Anderson can talk knowledgeably about.

Turner too has a lot to share with young basketball players. Turner won a state championship as the head coach Lake Highland Prep. in Orlando in 2013. He had a fairly lengthy coaching career there before turning his attention fully to the Magic as their television analyst.

Turner said the Magic asked him to participate in more programs like the Magic Fit program. He jumped at the chance to help out and give back to the Central Florida community through basketball.

Former players Nick Anderson and Bo Outlaw are stalwarts in the Magics community relations as ambassadors for the team. Longtime fans know them as two of the teams all-time fan-favorite players. They are a constant connection between the Magic organization and the communication at large.

The lessons, even if they are brief in the two-hour session, go beyond basketball.

As Turner, Outlaw and Anderson introduced what was going to happen they stressed the importance of listening and following directions to get the most out of their time together. It would be a lot of fun too.

That much was evident as the kids shuttled from station to station and eagerly participated in the drills the Magic had set up.

At the end of the day, each participant received a Magic basketball, a group photo with everyone involved and the memory of a good time on the Magics old practice court at RDV Sportsplex.

It was a fun bit of education for the students who attended. Lessons that will hopefully serve them well beyond the mini combine.

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Orlando Magic encourage healthy lifestyle with Magic Fit Draft Combine - Orlando Magic Daily

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