Bowie Woman Gets Local Kids Fit

Not everyone gets to combine their passion with their work, but Molly Nercessian, the children’s activity director at Sport Fit in Bowie, gets to do just that every single day.

Nercessian grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Bowie with her husband and two small children five years ago. Both she and her husband are very physically active—Nercessian is a runner and her husband is a triathlete—so moving to an entirely different climate was a big change for them.  

“In LA, it’s sunny every day. Here, you can’t necessarily go for a run in December,” Nercessian said.

So it made sense that when she saw an opening in the children’s department at Sport Fit, that she would apply. It would give her the chance to be active and she could bring her kids with her to work.

Now her children, ages 6 and 9, are in school full time. Nercessian earned her certification in kids fitness and just recently took over as the children’s activity director.

“It’s a very cool thing when you can marry your passion with your job,” Nercessian said.

Sport Fit offers various programs for kids of most ages. Little kids from 18 months to 5 years old can enroll in a variety of dance and movement classes and kids ages 6 to 13 can sign up for the more advanced cardio, family spin and other exercise classes. The idea, said Nercessian, it to get children to see exercise as a necessary part of their lives.

“What I want is to get kids at a very young age to realize that exercise is a good thing,” she said. “They come in with their parents and they think, ‘This is just what we do.’”

When Nercessian sees kids running around, giggling and having a great time, she feels like her mission has been accomplished.

“Sometimes I almost feel guilty that I get to come in and play with kids all day,” she said.

At Sport Fit, children sign up for their own membership, just like their parents, and all the classes are free. The membership also comes with a once a month Parent’s Night Out, held the first Saturday of every month to give moms and dads a chance to catch up on chores or just enjoy a quiet evening out. The gym also offers fitness classes for home-schooled children.

At the end of the day, Nercessian said she just wants to infuse fun into exercise, and if her packed, family-spin class is any indication, she’s achieving her goal.