Kids from around the state see what "Playing 60" can do for them

GREEN BAY - It takes a lot of hard work and a healthy lifestyle for NFL player's to be in playing-form come Game Day. And for about 60 kids from around the state, they learned what working hard and "Playing 60" can do for them.

For 15-year-old Blake Marquardt, Sunday's Packers pre-game was the culmination of a lot of work.

"It means a lot,” said Marquardt of Oshkosh. “All the practicing and stuff pays off."

Marquardt – who won his age group in the team championship Punt, Pass and Kick competition (or P-P-K) – has been involved with the NFL program since elementary school.

In front of Packers fans Sunday, he got to show off his passing skills that may take him to the PPK National Championships.

Marquardt is one of about 40 kids, ages six to 15 that made it to the Green Bay Packers team championships Sunday morning. And for 7-year-old Will Schlader of Green Bay, he's at a slight loss for words about the momentous occasion.

FOX 11 asked Will if he was excited to be on the field at Lambeau for the first time.

"Yeah, because it's my first time," said a bashful Will. "I practiced (for the PPK competition) with my dad and my sisters."

"All my kids are really involved in sports, so we practiced a lot and do a lot of things,” said Will’s father Tony Schlader. “He joined a football camp this year, so they had the sign-up there. And so my girls did it, he did it."

PPK has been an NFL program since the 1960s. But for the 2012 season, it was brought under the 5-year-old "Play 60" campaign umbrella. Play 60 is designed to promote an active and healthy lifestyle by encouraging students to be active for at least 60 minutes a day.

"Do fun things, walk your dog for 10 minutes, play in the back yard with your friends for 20 minutes, take the long way from school,” said NFL League Marketing Coordinator Jacque Skowvron, “Just to get those extra minutes of activity in every day."

About 20 statewide "Play 60" participants also took part in activities at Lambeau Field.

For Tess Kayzers, she's been excited to be involved.

"You get to teach to the whole school and preach being healthy," said Kayzers, a student at Little Chute Middle School.

"We get to show everybody how it pays off to play 60."

The Green Bay Packers say the ten Punt, Pass and Kick finalists (five boys, five girls) won't know if they will go to nationals, yet.

The team says their scores will be matched with other first-place winners from across the NFL.

And if you're wondering if you've seen Blake Marquardt in the competition before, you'd be correct.

He went to nationals back in 2011.