Student Spotlight

From time to time, we like to honor an individual student from our group school. In this instance, we would like to focus the Student Spotlight on Kevin Coxhead. Kevin is currently a third degree Brown Belt who trains under Master Harry Pfister in the Chalfont school. The following letter from Kevin's parents (who also train) gives insight to Kevin's selection for Student Spotlight.

Dear Harry,

We have always been interested in martial arts for our child.  It's a 
tough world and we admit it, we need all the help we can get as 
parents.  Little did we know that our son, Kevin, would start out his 
life shy, introverted, overly cautious, and lacking confidence.  From 
the cradle he approached every new activity with extreme reservation.   Heck, it was torturous to get him in the pool or on a bicycle, often  involving shrieks of resistance and fear.  There is one  exception...karate at Villari's.  He never thought twice about it and  he has never looked back.

We knew little about martial arts and we did some research into  different arts, defense vs. offense, kids programs, and teaching  style.  We never wanted to teach Kevin to be an aggressive person, but 
we know that he will benefit from becoming more assertive.  Well, we  really got lucky with Villari's.  As it turns out, it is everything  that we ever wanted for Kevin in a martial arts lifestyle.  From the  art, itself, to the instructors.  There is camaraderie, focus on good  behavior, as well as fitness and self-defense.

The changes have been incredible.  He's still a 7 year old boy with  all of the normal childhood growing pains, but not at Villari's.  At  Villari's he is focused, disciplined, and genuinely excited to learn.  
It has been 2 years and he is now just as interested as he has ever  been.  We almost never have to coax him to class.  From practice, to  clinics, to tournaments, he is "all-in".

Most important, the changes in Kevin have been dramatic.  Kevin now  approaches new situations with ever-increasing confidence.  He seems  to pick up new physical skills with ease and he likes to try all kinds  of different activities.  This isn't just a boy growing older, this is  a boy growing stronger in every aspect of his life.  We are absolutely  certain that this is a direct result of his martial arts training.  He 
continues to prove to himself that he is capable and that he can  achieve anything if he sticks to it.

Now the rewards have become tangible.  Recently, Kevin was awarded the "Boomerang Award" at Butler Elementary School, for his participation  in the Villari's Colors of Character program and his fund-raising  efforts in the Kick-a-thon fundraiser for A Woman's Place.  Based on  the 40 Assets program, Kevin was recognized in May for "Sense of  Purpose".  That's a pretty big concept for a 7 year old and he has  Villari's to thank for helping him to learn what it means.

We don't know where Kevin would be without Master Pfister, Master  Madore, and all of the folks who make Villari's an incredible  experience.  We do know that we love it here and we are incredibly 
grateful for the positive outcome for Kevin and for our family.

Thank you,
The Coxhead Family

Way to go, Kevin!