‘Coach Jess’ urges children to be active

Lauren Magura, creator of “Coach Jess,” and her sister-in-law, Jessica Lain Magura, star of the show, decided to create a YouTube channel to help children be more active.

Their motto: “Coach Jess is turning screen time into playtime!”

“As a lot of us have seen, anywhere you go now is kids on iPads, iPhones, etc.,” said Lauren, who grew up in Wantage. “I’m traditionally in the tech industry so I am all for technology, but I think it is taking away a lot of physical activity and imagination.”

“Coach Jess,” which launched June 23, now has about 14,600 subscribers. During its first season, the show had more than 145,000 views from children all over the world.

The show consists of a warmup, outdoor play and basic sport skills, safety songs, and more.

“We were shocked. We thought it was going to take time,” said Jessica. “I thought if even 1,000 people watched, I would be happy. We have had a lot of positive feedback and one of my son’s good friend’s little sister looks at me as if I am a celebrity, so that is very cool.”

“Coach Jess” launched an eight-episode season, with a new episode released each week on YouTube. Each episode focuses on a different sport or workout.

The YouTube channel name is @CoachJessOfficial. It is @Coach_Jess_Offical on Instagram and TikTok.

Davie Franek, a 10-time championship-winning 28F race car driver, is sponsored by “Coach Jess” and is featured on one of the episodes.

The goal is to continue to grow and bring in partners, collaborators or sponsors related to children and families.

Lauren said, “We also wanted to create a truly unique experience by making a show for kids by kids. That’s why we brought on some of the youngest producers to share their creative ideas and feedback, helping shape content that resonates with them and reflects what they genuinely enjoy.”

Now that season one has concluded, viewers should look for episodes of “Sing Along Saturday” and “Tune Up Tuesday.” And a Halloween special was released last week.

The next season will be released in December or January.

‘Coach Jess’ crew

The show is made up of local talent, friends and family members, and it is filmed entirely in Sussex County.

All of the songs in the show are original and are created by Lauren Magura, Kelsey Lynn Stoll and Jack Unverzagt.

A fan favorite segment features Ref Randy, also known as Randy Stormes, an actor from Sussex County. He helps children identify colors through an interactive game using whistles, and he asks viewers to find the whistle he is looking for.

As for Jessica, when she is not on the screen, she is a full-time mother of four and also helps out at her parents’ farm, which has a glamping site.

She coaches her son in basketball and coaches her 8-year-old twin daughters and 6-year-old daughter in basketball and travel soccer.

Lauren started her career at NBCUniversal and Universal Pictures on the corporate side, then got into the tech industry, where she launched a mobile app for film production.

Her main genre is horror, but now she is wrapping up “Saurus City,” an animated film about parenthood and adoption.

She mentors leaders of female-led startups and creators of female-empowered content.