Journal Entries
Entry #1
During the first week of my internship with youth sports at the YMCA it was dull behind the scenes work. Working in the garage and at the desk was something I did not expect on doing. Organizing the inventory for youth sports was actually a long and tedious process. They did not have hundreds of different sports and hundreds of items to organize, it was just all scattered throughout the garage. The youth sports section had an inventory for track & field, cross country, football, soccer, t-ball, and coach pitch. The sport with the largest inventory was track & field. The YMCA in Tiffin usually gets a lot of children to sign up for track & field. Along with organizing each sport in the YMCA's youth sports inventory, all the inventory needed to be counted and documented for the upcoming seasons. To calculate the inventory, my supervisor and myself had written down the quantity and condition of each item. Entry #2 After the inventory was hand written the information need to be copied to an excel file. This was a long process also; however, some sports had very few items in their inventory to be documented so it sped the process up. Now that the inventory was all counted up and documented the summer sports were about to begin. There were two different baseball leagues for the summer. T-ball and coach pitch. T-ball were kids from the ages of 3-5 and coach pitch were ages 6-8. I was given all the kids for t-ball and were to create five teams, combining kids and coaches to form rosters for the summer season. Many of the children and parents knew one another, so they asked to be placed on the same team as another child. If there were two siblings that signed up for the same league they were automatically placed on the same team, whether they requested it or not. There were a group of four kids who all wanted to be on the same team. However, if they were all placed on the same team there would have been a team with too many kids on it, so they were split up in a pair. Along with creating rosters an excel sheet was made for both t-ball and coach pitch. When assisting with kids or working for the YMCA for that matter one must be CPR, First-Aid, and Concussion certified. I had to take a one day four hour class were I listened, learned, and took tests on each topic. Entry #3 With t-ball and coach pitch coming up real soon equipment had to be ready for practices and games. At National Park Field there were four different areas for games and practices to be held. The diamond which are used by coach pitch, the left field, center field, and right field are used by t-ball. For each field a baseball bag was equipped with 2-3 baseball bats, 5-6 helmets, and 5-6 baseballs. In addition, coaches packets had to be formed for each coach to have before their first practice. Each packet was equipped with a roster, dates to become CPR, First-Aid, and Concussion certified, background check-up sheets, practice examples, YMCA rules, practice schedules, and much more. The coaches meetings were the following day so the coaches packets had to be made for each coach, whether they were a head coach or an assistant coach. During the meeting we (we meaning my supervisor and I) went over what practices should be like or an idea of what they used to be like. Also, took not of who was CPR, First-Aid, and Concussion certified and who needed to take the class; along with who we needed background checks from. Also, the coaches were given a time-sheet for their scheduled practices whether they pick to practice on Tuesday or Thursday; the times ranging from 5 to 8 each practice lasting an hour long. Furthermore, with there being some new coaches to the YMCA's youth sports league we answered any questions being asked. Entry #4 The following Thursday were some of the teams first practice. At the first meeting when coaches chose a specific time or field (if you were coaching t-ball) to practice on they showed up accordingly. With there being only five teams for t-ball and six teams for coach pitch some slots were left open for practices to be held. Many of the teams and coaches wanted to get practice out of the way starting on Tuesday so the spots 5-6, 6-7, and 7-8 were filled up first. Then other teams chose accordingly to what spots were open. For each practice slot it was a first come first serve basis. It was different when it came to the game times. Games were played and formed around the open times for the field due to other travel leagues scheduling for it. With the baseball diamond being setup already as far as the lining of the field the outfield lining for t-ball had to be setup. Making the lines for the t-ball fields was a short process. A line of yard was placed from base to base to assure the lines were straight. From home to first, first to second, second to third, and third to home had to be 30 feet. This may sound like a lot but coach pitch were 60 feet between each base. The lines for the t-ball fields were measured and made with straight line spray-paint. Entry #5 On some days my boss (supervisor) Carrie Fox gets to the fields before I do and she opens the shed so the coaches can access the baseball bags, bases, and tees for practice. Not all teams practice at once so when I get there I patrol the practices that are in progress. Walking from field to field making sure each coach has enough equipment and that the practices are running smooth. For this week each team was told to get to practice twenty to thirty minuets early to receive their shirts (jerseys) for pictures and that would be theirs for the season. I assisted my supervisor in ordering the jerseys by documenting each players and coaches size and what color they would have for the season. The orders were made in town so they were in within a day or two. I had to separate the shirts, make sure each team had the right amount and size and pass them out to each team. Along with baseball track is the other sport that goes on during the summer and I also had to create an excel sheet for the teams roster. The track team members all received the same color shirt which was a highlighter yellow. I do not spend much time with track do to the fact that my supervisor has two kids in track so she is watching over track while I watch over baseball. Entry #6 Now that practices have started and the coaches are feeling comfortable with the teams they have, games start up. The games can be scheduled between 9 and 12. Before each practice I have to get the key from the YMCA and open the shed to the equipment. Setting out the baseball bags, putting the bases down for each field, and placing a tee out for each field had to be done before the first practice. After setting out the equipment for practice all that had to be done now was patrolling the practices. Making sure no one got hurt and to make sure the players, coaches, and parents knew where their team was practicing and where the restrooms were. The key for the shed also opened the restrooms. At the end of the practice the left field for t-ball was done; however, there was one more practice for coach pitch, I tore down the field in the left outfield. Putting the baseball bags, bases, and tee away. When the coach pitch practice ended I put the baseball bag away and the bases. However, since this was the last practice of the day they were able to use the bucket of baseballs we have available to the coaches. The kids have a blast running and racing to the baseballs left out after practice. Lately at the end of every practice parents have been asking for the pictures they have ordered and they have not came in yet. Entry #7 Since not many teams were able to practice that first week we waited until the next weekend to start playing games. Since the first practice was on a Thursday not many teams were able to practice. Setting up of the practice fields and tearing down was a typical routine. Setting out bases, baseball bags, and tees, then putting it all away and locking up the restrooms and the storage closet. Patrolling was a big part but not as big as for the coaches. Because over the summer time the heat was a big factor the coaches were aloud to cut practice as they see fit and have as many breaks as possible. Twice during every practice I would walk to every field to make sure the coaches had everything for practice and to assure them that I was present for that day if they needed anything. There was only one team this week that cut practice but the reason was because both the coaches, which were a couple, were leaving for vacation this week and there were no replacement coaches. However, two players showed up and their parent's were frustrated that they were not contacted about the practice being cancelled they asked if their children can hit baseballs off the tee just so their day would not be a waste and I was fine with it. This weekend the fields were packed like I have never seen before. There was no parking anywhere and there were hot-dog stands with vendors selling snacks, food, and drinks. Mind you every parent and child wants to win and they are competitive. However, we do not keep scores or runs of any of the games due to the fact that we want everyone to get their fair share of playing time and attention. After today's games parents were asking about the pictures again; however, they still have not came in yet. Entry #8 This week we have only had practice on Thursday due to it raining on Tuesday. In addition, the games for this weekend had been cancelled because there is a big tournament being held at the field and it was booked before the summer started. The coaches were informed before the start of the season about the games being cancelled for this weekend. Therefore, we have games being played on Monday during the regular practice times between 5 to 8. Since the games are being held on a Monday not many people showed up to the games today then they normally would on a Saturday. Although, there were still vendors and a good amount of parents that showed up. Before the games I was called in early to separate the team pictures into each team and each order. The orders were fairly easy to separate since each team was filled with nine to ten players and not many families ordered pictures. As the teams were finishing up with their games I passed out the pictures to the families that order them. Since their is an odd number of teams in the t-ball league one team did not receive pictures. Entry #9 The next Monday the YMCA was contacted by numerous parents and coaches about team pictures. The parents and coaches that were calling was the team that did not receive them yet. Since they did not have a game last week we held the team pictures for them. I had contacted all the parents and coaches to ask if they would like to come to the YMCA to pick up their pictures or if they would like them mailed. Six of the ten parents said they would come to the YMCA to pick the photos up. However, the other four said they would like them mailed to them. Each packet of photos were packaged and sent to the families who requested for them to be sent. Following three days each of the four families were contacted to make sure they had received the photos and they all had received them. At this point all the photos were given to each family. Now that the summer sports were coming to an end the inventory needed to be counted and documented again. The number of baseballs we had went down about ten. However, one of the players had left a helmet inside one of the baseball bags, so we had an extra helmet. When the YMCA receives items that do not belong to them they hold on to it until it is claims. They have a lost and found that is filled with many different sports items from football to golf and many more. Final Reflections The certain aspects of the internship experience that added to my personal development is the behind the desk work. Making the rosters, fliers, and inventory checks has sharpen my behind the scenes work and character. Some experiences on the job that have related to my academic studies is working with Excel and Publisher in Microsoft Office and I have gained better knowledge about these computer programs. The quality of supervision and communication with my supervisor was very professional along with a hint of ease. At the beginning of the internship my supervisor and I were very professional and to the point; however, after a while we both were more laid back and comfortable with each other. For everyday I worked I was supervised by Carrie Fox or one of the supervisors above her that worked for the YMCA. I have loved and truly enjoyed working with children for some time now and this internship has influenced me drastically by me making smarter decisions about my career. I will need more experience with kids before I want to jump right in and work with them. I will still love to work with kids but this internship has showed me that I am not ready to work with big groups of kids and at such a young age. Some advice I would pass on to other students considering this internship is that your supervisor and all the other supervisors are very laid back and like to have fun. However, at the same time they like to get work done when it is time to work. Also, your job is not as hard as you think, due to the coaches interacting with the kids a lot throughout practices and games. |
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