Journal Entry 1:
In the month of March of 2014 I started my internship at the Tiffin YMCA. On my first day I really didn’t do much. The purpose of the first day was to introduce myself to the staff that I will be working with over the next couple of months. What I learned about the staff is that a lot of the people are born and raised in Tiffin, Ohio. A good percentage of the staff are volunteers that are only there because its there way of giving back to the community that they grew up loving. After I met the entire staff I was then given a complete tour of the building. I was surprised how big the building was on the inside. The building holds three basketball courts, an indoor pool, workout facility, and class rooms. During the week the YMCA also offers a pre school service and after school programs.
Journal Entry 2:
One of my first duties as an intern was to help plan the annual golf outing. Every year the YMCA hosts a golf outing in efforts to raise money for daily operation expenses. Eric decided that we should send invitations members all throughout the community. In efforts to reach out to the majority of the community I spent the next two days mailing people in and around the community a friendly reminder of the date and time of the outing. By the end of the two days we had sent invitations to over 500 people throughout the Tiffin community. During this process I learned that it takes a lot of work to plan an event that success in contingent of the participation of other people.
Journal Entry 3:
Throughout the year the YMCA host many leagues for the kids and adults of the community. I was lucky enough volunteer for the indoor soccer league and the 5 on 5 indoor basketball league. The first league I contributed to was the indoor soccer league. Just like the golf outing we sent out friendly reminders to people in the community about the league. The soccer league started in March and started with about 10 total teams. The games were held every Saturday morning . The first game started around 9pm and the last game ended at about 3pm. I usually got there 1 hour before the teams to set up. On most days I left about thirty minutes after the last game was over. Once the league started in was my responsibility to make sure that the gym where the games were played was set up properly before the teams arrived. During the first two weeks it was my job to control the scoreboard during the games.
Journal Entry 4:
After the first couple of weeks I had to referee a couple of games because the normal volunteer referee decided to stop showing up to the games. I really enjoyed this experience because it allowed me to look at the game in a different perspective. I was surprised how passionate the team members were about the sport and their teams. I had some of the team members scream at me because they thought I made the wrong call. At first I would get upset because I wasn’t comfortable being in that position. I ended my 40th hour of my internship thinking to myself that I need to get better with dealing with people.
Journal entry 5:
At the moment I’m at the end of my 50th hour with the YMCA. So far I have learned how to plan events, how to work scoreboards, and I’m working on dealing with people during uncomfortable situations. At this point of my internship I challenged myself to learn how to handle situations without the help of my superiors.
Journal 6:
During the 60th hour of my internship at the is around the time that we started the five on five basketball league my role with the YMCA changed. My primary responsibility during the basketball league was to keep up with teams to make sure they al know what time they were playing. It was also my responsibility to make sure the teams and fans were respectful to the referees.
Journal 7:
As I’m approaching my final hours at the YMCA I’m using this time to reflect on everything I’ve learned since I first started volunteering at the YMCA. First and foremost I have gotten a lot better working with people. When I first started I was very standoffish and pretty much stayed to myself. I’ve made a lot of progress and I feel like this experience will help me later down the road.
Summit Basketball
Journal 8:
I started my interniship with my former high school coach Antonio Davis. He was the head coach for his son’s junior high school. I was really excited to participate because I wanted to experience sports for the coache’s stand point. My first couple of hours I spent most of the time introducing myself to some of the players on the team. I also got an opportunity to meet some of the players friends and family members.
Journal 9:
One of my first tasks was to organize the transportation for all of the away games. I first had to call around to see where we could get the best price. After a few hours of making phone calls I found that it would be the most cost efficient to rent 15 passanger vehicles versus using a standard yellow school bus. The good thing about the 15 passager vehicles was we didn’t have to hire a driver. Most of the time one of the coaches or volunteers drove to the games.
Journal :10
I Just finished my 30th hour as the intern/volunteer of the summit junior high school team. One of my favorite things about this job is seeing the growth and development of the players. Most of our players are playing on their first organized basketball team. When I first joined the team there was little team chemistry. I mentioned to the coaching staff that I thought it would be beneficial to the team if we organized some type of team activity not related to basketball. The coaches agreed. Later that week we cancelled practice in substitute of bowling and pizza. The activity allowed the student athletes an opportunity to get their minds off the game. I’m excited that the coaches allowed me to make a decision that I thought would be beneficial to the team.
Journal 11:
In my opinion the activity that we hosted for the student athletes is going to prove imperative later in the season. In my opinion it made them a much closer team. For the first time in the season the players had the opportunity to interact with each other outside of school and basketball practice. Within the last two weeks the team has won three out of for games. In my opinion the recent winning streak is directly related to the bowling activity we hosted for the players.
Journal 12:
As I mentioned earlier I was interested in the growth and development of the players on the team. I was shocked at how passionate some of these players were for the sport of basketball. As I begun to get more comfortable I working with players with simple things like off hand layups and free throws. Lately I’ve specifically been working one on one with this player name James. James is a good player but he has recently missed free throws that has costs his team some games. Everyday after practice we have been working on his technique while shooting free throws. One thing I liked about this kid was that he is supremely confident. I’m excited to see how James’s free throws improve over the course of the next few games.
Journal 13:
I’ve been having discussions with the players and they all want to do something to give back to the community. We decided as a team that we will collect can foods for some homeless shelters around the neighborhood. On top of collecting canned foods we also helped pass out dinner meals at a local Salvation Army.
Journal 14:
As I am closing up on my final hours with the team I am taking this to reflect on the progress that has been made since I first joined the team. I’m proud to say that I have helped this team both on and off the court. I’ve helped improve team chemistry by suggesting the non basketball related activities. I helped with the development of players by staying after practice to work on fundementals of the game.
Journal 15:
The final two days that I was with the team the coach did his mid season evaluatuations for the players. The players were called to the coaches office one by one to discuss overall performance in school and on the basketball court. I was granted the opportunity to sit in on most of the meetings. I didn’t speak much during the meeting but I did value the experience.
LA Fitness
Journal 16:
My third and final internship was with LA fitness in Cincinnati, Ohio. My direct supervisor name is Jackson Davis. Jackson is Former Tiffin University graduate and is currently oversees seven LA Fitness locations in the greater Cincinnati area. I spent the majority of my first couple of days getting to know the employees When I first started my only responsibility was to clean off the workout equipment after the members was finished using them. This was is a frustrating time because I was hoping for a little more responsibility. I recently spoke with Jackson and he ensure me that I will get more responsibility once I get more experience. After speaking with Jackson I am excited to see whats best.
Journal 17:
I'm approaching my 20th hour with hour with LA Fitness and i'm started to be trusted with more responsibility. The other day I spent about five hours swiping in the members that were coming in to workout. I also got the opportunity to go on a tour of the building with a sales agent and potential customer. LA Fitness hires sales agents to give potentials customers a tour of the building and sell them on why they should purchase a membership with LA Fitness.
Journal 18:
LA Fitness also hires personal trainers for its members. When customers purchase a membership they have the option to pay more and be provided with a personal trainer. I got the opportunity to spend a full day with a personal trainer. I was shocked at how busy he was throughout the day. His clients had to schedule a time with him a week in advance. During his sessions he pretty much was like a motivational speaker for his clients. He spent the majority of the session encouraging his clients to do their best. His clients ranged from professional athletes to 55 year old woman.
Journal 19:
My favorite thing about this job is the sales aspect of some of the positions. The company depends on these sales agents to help grow its business. I learned that the sales agent promotability is contingent on sales performance and customer service. I was not granted the opportunity to try to convince a potential customer to purchase a membership. However, I did do a lot of work for the sales agent before the customer arrived at the building. Once a potential customer expresses interest in becoming a member it was my job to call the potential customer to schedule a time for a tour of the facility. I also used this time find out whats important to the customer and what are their expectations. After the call was over I would then relay the message to one of the sales agents.
Journal 20:
During the final hours of my time here at LA fitness I wanted to spend my final few days doing something I haven't done. I decide to spend the last few days working with the yoga teachers. Every other night the gym hosted free yoga sessions for any members that wanted to attend. After speaking to some of the members I learned that most of them only have a membership because of our yoga sessions. After the yoga sessions was over it was my responsibility to pick up the workout maps and reorganize the rooms.
In the month of March of 2014 I started my internship at the Tiffin YMCA. On my first day I really didn’t do much. The purpose of the first day was to introduce myself to the staff that I will be working with over the next couple of months. What I learned about the staff is that a lot of the people are born and raised in Tiffin, Ohio. A good percentage of the staff are volunteers that are only there because its there way of giving back to the community that they grew up loving. After I met the entire staff I was then given a complete tour of the building. I was surprised how big the building was on the inside. The building holds three basketball courts, an indoor pool, workout facility, and class rooms. During the week the YMCA also offers a pre school service and after school programs.
Journal Entry 2:
One of my first duties as an intern was to help plan the annual golf outing. Every year the YMCA hosts a golf outing in efforts to raise money for daily operation expenses. Eric decided that we should send invitations members all throughout the community. In efforts to reach out to the majority of the community I spent the next two days mailing people in and around the community a friendly reminder of the date and time of the outing. By the end of the two days we had sent invitations to over 500 people throughout the Tiffin community. During this process I learned that it takes a lot of work to plan an event that success in contingent of the participation of other people.
Journal Entry 3:
Throughout the year the YMCA host many leagues for the kids and adults of the community. I was lucky enough volunteer for the indoor soccer league and the 5 on 5 indoor basketball league. The first league I contributed to was the indoor soccer league. Just like the golf outing we sent out friendly reminders to people in the community about the league. The soccer league started in March and started with about 10 total teams. The games were held every Saturday morning . The first game started around 9pm and the last game ended at about 3pm. I usually got there 1 hour before the teams to set up. On most days I left about thirty minutes after the last game was over. Once the league started in was my responsibility to make sure that the gym where the games were played was set up properly before the teams arrived. During the first two weeks it was my job to control the scoreboard during the games.
Journal Entry 4:
After the first couple of weeks I had to referee a couple of games because the normal volunteer referee decided to stop showing up to the games. I really enjoyed this experience because it allowed me to look at the game in a different perspective. I was surprised how passionate the team members were about the sport and their teams. I had some of the team members scream at me because they thought I made the wrong call. At first I would get upset because I wasn’t comfortable being in that position. I ended my 40th hour of my internship thinking to myself that I need to get better with dealing with people.
Journal entry 5:
At the moment I’m at the end of my 50th hour with the YMCA. So far I have learned how to plan events, how to work scoreboards, and I’m working on dealing with people during uncomfortable situations. At this point of my internship I challenged myself to learn how to handle situations without the help of my superiors.
Journal 6:
During the 60th hour of my internship at the is around the time that we started the five on five basketball league my role with the YMCA changed. My primary responsibility during the basketball league was to keep up with teams to make sure they al know what time they were playing. It was also my responsibility to make sure the teams and fans were respectful to the referees.
Journal 7:
As I’m approaching my final hours at the YMCA I’m using this time to reflect on everything I’ve learned since I first started volunteering at the YMCA. First and foremost I have gotten a lot better working with people. When I first started I was very standoffish and pretty much stayed to myself. I’ve made a lot of progress and I feel like this experience will help me later down the road.
Summit Basketball
Journal 8:
I started my interniship with my former high school coach Antonio Davis. He was the head coach for his son’s junior high school. I was really excited to participate because I wanted to experience sports for the coache’s stand point. My first couple of hours I spent most of the time introducing myself to some of the players on the team. I also got an opportunity to meet some of the players friends and family members.
Journal 9:
One of my first tasks was to organize the transportation for all of the away games. I first had to call around to see where we could get the best price. After a few hours of making phone calls I found that it would be the most cost efficient to rent 15 passanger vehicles versus using a standard yellow school bus. The good thing about the 15 passager vehicles was we didn’t have to hire a driver. Most of the time one of the coaches or volunteers drove to the games.
Journal :10
I Just finished my 30th hour as the intern/volunteer of the summit junior high school team. One of my favorite things about this job is seeing the growth and development of the players. Most of our players are playing on their first organized basketball team. When I first joined the team there was little team chemistry. I mentioned to the coaching staff that I thought it would be beneficial to the team if we organized some type of team activity not related to basketball. The coaches agreed. Later that week we cancelled practice in substitute of bowling and pizza. The activity allowed the student athletes an opportunity to get their minds off the game. I’m excited that the coaches allowed me to make a decision that I thought would be beneficial to the team.
Journal 11:
In my opinion the activity that we hosted for the student athletes is going to prove imperative later in the season. In my opinion it made them a much closer team. For the first time in the season the players had the opportunity to interact with each other outside of school and basketball practice. Within the last two weeks the team has won three out of for games. In my opinion the recent winning streak is directly related to the bowling activity we hosted for the players.
Journal 12:
As I mentioned earlier I was interested in the growth and development of the players on the team. I was shocked at how passionate some of these players were for the sport of basketball. As I begun to get more comfortable I working with players with simple things like off hand layups and free throws. Lately I’ve specifically been working one on one with this player name James. James is a good player but he has recently missed free throws that has costs his team some games. Everyday after practice we have been working on his technique while shooting free throws. One thing I liked about this kid was that he is supremely confident. I’m excited to see how James’s free throws improve over the course of the next few games.
Journal 13:
I’ve been having discussions with the players and they all want to do something to give back to the community. We decided as a team that we will collect can foods for some homeless shelters around the neighborhood. On top of collecting canned foods we also helped pass out dinner meals at a local Salvation Army.
Journal 14:
As I am closing up on my final hours with the team I am taking this to reflect on the progress that has been made since I first joined the team. I’m proud to say that I have helped this team both on and off the court. I’ve helped improve team chemistry by suggesting the non basketball related activities. I helped with the development of players by staying after practice to work on fundementals of the game.
Journal 15:
The final two days that I was with the team the coach did his mid season evaluatuations for the players. The players were called to the coaches office one by one to discuss overall performance in school and on the basketball court. I was granted the opportunity to sit in on most of the meetings. I didn’t speak much during the meeting but I did value the experience.
LA Fitness
Journal 16:
My third and final internship was with LA fitness in Cincinnati, Ohio. My direct supervisor name is Jackson Davis. Jackson is Former Tiffin University graduate and is currently oversees seven LA Fitness locations in the greater Cincinnati area. I spent the majority of my first couple of days getting to know the employees When I first started my only responsibility was to clean off the workout equipment after the members was finished using them. This was is a frustrating time because I was hoping for a little more responsibility. I recently spoke with Jackson and he ensure me that I will get more responsibility once I get more experience. After speaking with Jackson I am excited to see whats best.
Journal 17:
I'm approaching my 20th hour with hour with LA Fitness and i'm started to be trusted with more responsibility. The other day I spent about five hours swiping in the members that were coming in to workout. I also got the opportunity to go on a tour of the building with a sales agent and potential customer. LA Fitness hires sales agents to give potentials customers a tour of the building and sell them on why they should purchase a membership with LA Fitness.
Journal 18:
LA Fitness also hires personal trainers for its members. When customers purchase a membership they have the option to pay more and be provided with a personal trainer. I got the opportunity to spend a full day with a personal trainer. I was shocked at how busy he was throughout the day. His clients had to schedule a time with him a week in advance. During his sessions he pretty much was like a motivational speaker for his clients. He spent the majority of the session encouraging his clients to do their best. His clients ranged from professional athletes to 55 year old woman.
Journal 19:
My favorite thing about this job is the sales aspect of some of the positions. The company depends on these sales agents to help grow its business. I learned that the sales agent promotability is contingent on sales performance and customer service. I was not granted the opportunity to try to convince a potential customer to purchase a membership. However, I did do a lot of work for the sales agent before the customer arrived at the building. Once a potential customer expresses interest in becoming a member it was my job to call the potential customer to schedule a time for a tour of the facility. I also used this time find out whats important to the customer and what are their expectations. After the call was over I would then relay the message to one of the sales agents.
Journal 20:
During the final hours of my time here at LA fitness I wanted to spend my final few days doing something I haven't done. I decide to spend the last few days working with the yoga teachers. Every other night the gym hosted free yoga sessions for any members that wanted to attend. After speaking to some of the members I learned that most of them only have a membership because of our yoga sessions. After the yoga sessions was over it was my responsibility to pick up the workout maps and reorganize the rooms.