|
This week was my last week, I continued with the same schedule Sarah has given me but this week I did my final project where I took a more leadership role and led the whole class on my own. Along with this, this week I got a lot more comfortable in the space and my students got more comfortable with me. Majority of my classes are girls beginner with Reiley and something that I've noticed during these is the girls are a lot more comfortable and open now that I'm working with them. They give me hugs when they see me and always love working with me. This is for sure a highlight of my experience. Over the weekend I dyed my hair and I thought it was the cutest thing that some of the kids noticed and complimented it. BLOG PROMPT 1 I'm excited to go back to school because I miss my friends but i'm also going to miss the gym and all the students I see on a daily basis a lot. I don't think my school-life will change because of the work experience but it'll be a bitter sweet feeling of being back. BLOG PROMPT 2 & 3 A lot of my coworkers are students at the local colleges and this has inspired me to follow that path and get a job as a gymnastics coach when I'm in college. This has made me think more about college and what time of classes I'd be taking, how I can fit my school and work life in time with still being able to finish all the thingd I need to get done, etc.
This week I continued to shadow coaches and coach students. This week in particular has been a interesting one because I've began to see myself and my role develop more. Since it's a new month, there are some new students who are either just starting gymnastics or it's there first time in this particular gym. This is interesting to me because they're new kids I haven't met yet, and it's kind of hard for me to help them because the coach-student trust isn't just there yet. On the other hand now that it's been almost a month of me interning there a lot of the students recognize me and I've began to build a bond with them. This is the main development I've noticed working there and along with this I've also gotten used to a lot of things and way more comfortable at talking to other coaches, taking leaderships, and other things like that around the gym. BLOG PROMPT 2 After my internship, Sarah told me to send in an application and I have very high chances of getting hired there, this is 100% something I'm looking forward to because of how much I love my internship! These plans developed during my mentor interview last week where Sarah asked if I'd be interested in actually working there. If I were to get that available spot I'd continue coaching but because I've been shadowing for a month already and I've done all the trainings, I'd be able to start coaching on my own.
This week was my first full week in the gym! Choosing this location to intern at really helped bring out my social side. Not only do I use certain communication skills with my students but I also have to be able to communicate things with a lot of other adults. Being the youngest and newest on the staff is kind of a challenge for me, at first I felt very misplaced and was nervous the other coaches weren't going to be welcoming towards me but i quickly learned this was not the case. Almost every day i'm working with a new coach and they're all really nice and get good at communicating to me the lesson plans for the day, their experience with each student, who needs more help and who needs a little bit less, etc. I'm extremely grateful for this experience because it continues to teach me lessons every day i'll need later in life like patience and communicating. Two things I sometimes struggle with as well. BLOG PROMPT 2 My mentor interview went extremely well, some of the highlights I took from this experience were the discussion Sarah and I had about how passionate we both are about the sport. We agreed this is a big part of following this career path. Another highlight of this was Sarah offering me a job position after my internship! BLOG PROMPT 3 The following pictures are my highlights from my photo essay, I chose these to highlight because this was one of my most interactive classes, this was one of the classes where I felt the most useful because since the kids are so young they tend to get distracted easily and forget things quick. I had to keep them entertained, safe, engaged, and doing what theyre supposed to be doing. This class kind of frustrated me a little bit but showed me more that it wont always be easy.
This was my first week working and it was VERY confusing. To begin, when I first arrived I was very confused along with everyone else because I was supposed to be in the gymnastics department as a coach but no one knew who I was or that they were even having an intern! This took a huge toll on my day and instead of being at the gym I was put at the front kiosk checking in members by greeting them and scanning their membership card, all day. At first I was really understanding and did my job happily but as the days went by they had me doing only this job all day. I was confused and beginning to get dread going into work each day because this was not what I signed up for and a lot of my fellow coworkers would always complain about this job so I felt as if they only put me there because no one else wanted to do it. Because of this I called Carli, my cohort teacher to come and help me. She had a meeting with Susie (my mentor) and we found out I was put into the wrong department! Luckily this was easily fixed and they finally moved me to the gymnastics department Saturday(today) and I was so happy! I got to coach 4 preschool classes today and it was so much fun. I would say this whole week of figuring out where I was supposed to be at has been the biggest challenge I have/will face but hopefully I can grow from this and finish out my internship loving what I do. |
 A picture of me when I first put on my coach shirt Saturday morning! |  One of my students, Jasmine, doing her practice rotations, this one is a pushup practice. |  One of my preschool classes in a line to go to the next event. |
Before being able to actually start my internship I had to do a series of different trainings, paperwork, and exercises in order to be able to begin. These trainings included safety training, harassment, and child abuse. To me this was very important because now I'll already be certified in these topics and in the future it'll be something I can use in other workplaces. Along with this, my mom and I went to go drop off some last minute paperwork to the site where questions were asked for further preparation before Monday comes. In this internship I hope to be able to experience a good bond with my students how my coach had with me. The relationship and trust I had with my coach growing up really impacted how I view the sport today and inspired me to choose a possible career path in this field.
 |  |  |
