Meet Jake! You may have spotted him in one of the local preschools or on the field coaching baseball for the Parks and Rec youth league this spring! He runs Playball, a program which builds a foundation of age appropriate sports skills. Check out what Jake says is his best piece of parenting advice (and we agree!).
What is your name? Jake Kretlow
What Golden Isle do you call home and how long have you lived there? Saint simons Island. Been here a little over 4 years.
How many children do you have and what are their names and ages?2 kids Max-7 and Rosie-5
What do you love about raising a family here? The access to outdoor activities is my number one. Whether it’s a spontaneous beach fishing trip, bike ride through the neighborhoods, a hike through the old oaks, or getting on the water, you can find a way to get outside and stay outside! A close second is the history on the island. Kids are so curious, and places like Fort Frederica and the WWII Homefront Museum offer chances to show the kids how life used to be, and what had to happen to give them the lives they have now.
Tell us about your career and one (or more!) thing you love about it. I’m a certified personal trainer with a youth fitness designation. I also run Playball, a youth development program for ages 2-8, in some of the preschools in the area. The program is designed to focus in on the specific age ranges and help them achieve their age related milestones while building a foundation phase of sports skills. They also get a lot of emotional and social development within the program by participating with their peers while learning how to deal with winning, losing, and being coached and corrected.
The most enjoyable thing, for me, is building a love of sports, hard work, and exercise within the kids. Playball day at school is often the kids’ favorite of the week, and it’s very rewarding to be a part of someone’s favorite day!
What is your favorite piece of dad advice or “dad hack?” Answer every question. Anyone who’s been through the “why” phase knows that this can be a challenging task. But I believe that answering every question, instead of giving the “I don’t know” or “that’s just how it is” has multiple benefits for me and my children.
First, the question gets resolved, whether it came from Google or not! If it did come from Google, everyone learned something new.
Second, they’ll learn to come to you for other questions because you have (or can get) answers. I feel like this will pay dividends in a handful of years.
Third, it will expand their curiosity on many subjects. This will build into a passion at some point. And by that time, they will be able to read or research about it on their own.
Finally, bonding time! Explaining the answer, how I researched it, and how it fits together is a process of problem solving that you can teach. They will learn how you do it and will find a better way for themselves from your method. It’s now a subject that can be discussed in the future, whether it’s bed time today, dinner tomorrow, or a car ride next month.
How do you balance work and family? With only so many hours in a day, this is the trickiest part of life with children. There’s no easy answer. I take every moment I can to enjoy being present, have fun, and make memories while the sun is up or down.
Favorite band/TV show/and or book…Currently, I’m finishing up Ozark on Netflix. Though, I haven’t been able to stay awake at night, so it’s taking a lot longer to finish than I expected.
I’ve been on a roll this year on books, and I recently finished Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins. If you need some motivation, read this book and tell me you don’t want to go run a marathon for no reason. It’s a great way to see how the power of the mind and the will to persevere can carry you through and over any obstacle.
We love to support local! Can you tell us some of your favorites in the Golden Isles?
Date Night: Indigo Coastal Shanty
Grab Coffee: Dulce Dough
Indoor/Outdoor Activity: Pedego Bike Ride
