Total Hours for Week 15:  7

This Saturday we were playing Grand Valley State at home so the schedule for the week was the normal schedule.  I helped Coach Ison with the conditioning workout on Monday and with the warm-ups and stretching during practices through the week.  I typed the weight training workout for the week and printed copies for all the athletes.

I helped the athletes in the weight room to make sure they were doing the lifts correctly and completed the entire workout.  I showed some athletes the proper technique for the band workouts and made sure they were doing the exercises slowly and with a controlled motion.  I cleaned the weight room on Friday and put the bands up for the next week.  I helped Coach Ison with the warm-ups and stretches before the game and with stretches after the game.  We lost the game against Grand Valley State.

Total Hours for Week 14:  7

Once the season started, my schedule was going to be very similar for most weeks.  The schedule was a little bit different this week because we played Michigan Tech this Saturday so we had to leave on Thursday night.  I helped Coach Ison with the conditioning workout on Monday and with the warm-ups and stretches during the week’s practices.  I typed and printed the weight training workout for the athletes.  I was in the weight room on Tuesday and Thursday to help with lifts and to correct the athletes’ exercise techniques.

On Thursday, I had to clean the weight room and put the bands up since we were leaving that night.  Coach Ison and I had to make sure all the athletes got their weight training workouts in early this week since we were leaving for Michigan Tech on Thursday night.  On Saturday, I assisted Coach Ison with the warm-ups and stretches before the game and with stretches after the game.  We lost the game against Michigan Tech.

Total Hours for Week 13:  8

This week was the week of our first game.  Since the athletes started classes this week and had different class schedules, the athletes had to come in to the weight room twice a week but the days differed for each athlete.  I had to make sure the weight room was ready each day and that the bands were available for the band workouts.  Coach Ison wanted me to be available for the athletes, to make sure they were doing the exercises correctly.  He checked on my mentorship hours and let me know his expectations for during the season.

I assisted Coach Ison with the conditioning workout on Monday and with the stretching and warm-ups through the week.  Coach Ison gave me the weight training workout and I would type it and make copies for the athletes for the week.  On Friday, I would clean the weight room and put the bands up for the next week.  On Saturday, I helped Coach Ison run the warm-ups and stretches before the game and do the stretches after the game.  We played McKendree University this Saturday and won. 

I experienced a success through my mentorship this week.  After the win on Saturday, I have several athletes come up to me and tell me that the hard work in camp and over the summer helped them during the game.  I told the athletes that it was their hard work that allowed them to be successful on the field and that they should keep working as hard as they did in camp throughout the season.  The players were able to have the endurance to play hard through the entire game which helped them win the game.  It felt good to be able to help the athletes in the weight room and camp to get stronger and have more endurance.

Total Hours for Week 12:  7

This week was a lot like the last week.  I helped Coach Ison with the conditioning workout on Monday and also helped him with the warm-ups and stretching.  In the weight room, I would set up the weight room and band workout stations.  I would also spot the athletes during their weight training and correct their form during the lifts if needed.  After each workout, I would make sure the weights were put back on their racks.

During the practices on the field this week, I helped Coach Ison with the warm-ups and stretching.  I also helped him with the drills that he ran.  At the end of the week, I assisted Coach Ison with stretching and band workouts.

Total Hours for Week 11:  7

This week was the first full week of camp.  On Monday, I helped Coach Ison with the warm-ups, stretching, and conditioning workout.  The athletes were going to be in the weight room on Tuesdays and Thursdays during camp.  On those days, I would set up anything that needed to be set up in the weight room and make sure that there were enough bands for athletes to do their band workouts.  We spotted the athletes during their workouts and showed them the proper technique if they needed instruction.  After each workout, I would make sure the weights were put back on their racks.

I would help Coach Ison with the warm-ups, stretches, and drills during the days we were on the practice field.  I would also help him when we did the stretches and band workouts to make sure the athletes were doing the exercises correctly.

One of the areas of improvement that I observed during my mentorship was that the location of the meeting rooms/coach’s offices/weight room and the practice field/locker rooms.  The weight room and coach’s offices are located on the Tiffin University campus and the practice field and locker rooms are located at the Paradiso Complex which is a few miles from campus.  One thing that I learned while I was working at Florida International University was that having all the facilities that the athletes use in the same building helped make a football program work well.  At FIU, the locker rooms, weight room, meeting rooms, and coach’s offices were at the football stadium where practice was held.  So, athletes could practice, lift, shower, and then come upstairs to meetings.  I think that the Tiffin football program could improve if all the facilities were located in the same place so athletes wouldn’t have to drive to a different location.

Total Hours for Week 10:  7

Coach Ison and I went through the plan for the weight room workouts during the team camp.  Coach Ison wanted to give a weight room orientation for any of the new players and to let all the athletes know what he expected of them in the weight room.  He went over the information he wanted to provide to the athletes.  Coach Ison gave me the workouts he wanted to do during camp and had me type them up.  He reviewed the workout and gave me some corrections to make.  I made the corrections and printed the weight room workouts and made enough copies for all the athletes.

August 9th was the first day of the team camp.  Coach Ison gave the weight room orientation.  We gave out the workouts and went through the lifts and exercises to make sure that all the athletes knew how to do them correctly.  We helped spot the athletes during the workout and made sure their form was correct when they were doing the lifts.  After the workout, I cleaned the weight room and put any weights that were left out back on their racks.  During practice this week, I helped with the warm-ups, stretches, and cool-downs.

The experiences during my mentorship relate to my academic studies because I have been able to work on my communication and management skills that I learned in my classes.  I have learned new skills during my mentorship like instruction of exercises in the weight room and then instruct athletes to do those exercises properly.  The management and communication skills I learned during my courses have helped me manage the weight room activities and communicate more effectively to the athletes I have helped train.

Total Hours for Week 9:  7

On Monday of this week, I met with Coach Ison to go over the upcoming team camp and the schedule of workouts that he wanted to do during camp.  We also went over my mentorship hours and what he wanted me to do during this week.  He wanted me to review online videos of stretches, drills and lifts that we could incorporate in the team camp. 

After I looked at some videos and got some ideas we talked about what we wanted to do in camp and what would be the most beneficial to the athletes.  We went over the drills and stretches to make sure that we could effectively teach the skills and explain them so the athletes could understand them.  I also reviewed some videos that demonstrated deadlifts and power cleans since these were two exercises that the athletes would be doing during their workouts.  Near the end of the week I cleaned the weight room and sanitized the equipment.

Total Hours for Week 8:  10

The second summer football camp that I had to help Coach Ison with was this week.  Coach Ison went through his presentation of the importance of weight training, stretching, and proper nutrition.  Again, I helped him with demonstrating the stretches and drills that he had at his station in the camp.  We ran the warm-ups and stretching at the start of each day and did the stretching after the last drills were run.

I went back into the weight room at the end of the week to do my usual Friday cleaning of the weight room.  I made sure that there were enough bands available for the band workouts.  I didn’t see any athletes in the weight room this Friday.

Total Hours for Week 7:  10

This week was the first of two summer football camps I had to help Coach Ison with.  I assisted Coach Ison with running his portion of the camp.  He spoke to the athletes about the importance of weight training workouts, stretching, and proper nutrition.  I helped him demonstrate the stretches and drills as he went through them.

Coach Ison and I helped with the warm-ups and stretching at the beginning of each day.  We also helped with stretching after the final drills were over.  At the end of the week, I went into to weight room to check on any athletes that were there on Friday.  I also did my usual Friday cleaning and straightening up of the weight room equipment.

Total Hours for Week 6:  8

When Coach Ison got back into the office from being out of town for the fourth of July, we met and discussed the upcoming camps and what drills he wanted to do during the camps.  Coach Ison also wanted me to go over stretches and the benefits of the band workouts with the athletes. 

All the athletes were instructed to do weight training three days a week and speed training and flexibility training two days a week.  Coach Ison wanted to make sure the athletes were doing their stretches and ensure that they were warming up and cooling down for their workouts.  The band exercises needed to be completed slowing ensuring the exercise was controlled and not rushed through.  The band exercises can be used for stretching and also for shoulder exercises.  I did my usual cleaning of the weight room on Friday.

Thinking about how it feels to be in a new place, I can tell that the athletes know that I am in the process of learning more and more about strength and conditioning.  I had a general understanding of the exercises and concepts of a strength and conditioning program since I played in college and have been working in college football since 2007 but the role that I have as the strength and conditioning coach’s intern is totally different than what I have experienced before.  Compared to how the athletes respond to me when I am working with them as a defensive coach, how they respond to me while I am in the role as the strength intern is different.  The athletes like to joke around with me about being Coach Ison’s intern.  I am learning new skills and am trying to develop my skills as a strength and conditioning coach so I am not always as confident with my abilities as a strength coach and I know the athletes can see that.  They joke with me but I know that they still respect me because I show them respect and joke with them too.  It’s a give and take and the rapport I have built with most of them over the time that I have been at Tiffin has helped build their respect for me as a coach in general.  It feels good to learn new skills and I think the best way to do that is when you are able to use the skills in a real-life setting.