Daily journals
May 2nd
Day one on the job I was introduced to all of the staff. Along with that I learned how to operate throughout the area that I was working which was the gym. I had to learn where all of the keys were that I needed how to adjust rims on the court, as well as shutting down the gym and learning how to close. I think this was a beneficial day as my supervisor really thoroughly showed me how to do everything that I needed to do.
May 4th
Today I worked with kids in the gym and made sure the gym was in working order. While at work I got to work with kids and interact with them. I played kids one-on-one as they really enjoyed it. I still was trying to get familiar with the building and where everything was. Along with that I asked a lot of questions to my supervisor and other people who were familiar with the building and how things were ran.
May 5th
Today I continued to do the same things as I have been doing in the previous couple days. I was becoming more and more familiar with how things were going to be ran. My supervisor pretty much left me alone and wanted to see how I would solve problems on my own. I had to learn some things myself like how to clean the backboards as well as how to close the gym while different people were still in the gym. Week one I thought was beneficial as I learned a lot about what I would be doing in the next three months.
May 9th
On this Monday I had to begin to organize different things for our annual T-ball league for the younger children. As my supervisor already had been promoting this event, majority of the kids had been signed up by today. I had to separate the kids evenly and assign them to different teams. We ended up having about 8 teams and we decided to arrange them by different colors. We also had to make sure all of their t-shirt sizes were correct as well. All parents who requested multiple kids on one team I had to do my best to make that happen while I made teams and the playing schedule.
May 11th
Today I actually went more in depth with the schedule making sure every team had an 8 week schedule for the kids to practice on Monday’s and have games on Wednesday’s. This was challenging, but I managed to figure everything out. My supervisor Alex said that he wanted to help me as little as possible because he thought that I would not learn how to do these things if he continued to help me. At this time flyers were made for the event as I posted them all throughout the building.
May 12th
Today was a much slower day than yesterday. Today we did not have T-ball so I mainly worked in the gym. I helped set up for a lot of different aerobic classes as well as kickboxing, cycling, and zumba. These events happened in small rooms near the gym or in the gym. As these events were going on I had to make sure kids were not interrupting. When these events occurred in the gym I had to let the curtain down and be prompt that no kids were running on the other side of the gym. When everything was done I closed the gym, cleaned, and turned off all the lights.
May 16th
As week 3 began the pace began to pick up as the kids began to come in for T-ball practice. My supervisor set up a practice plan for the kids to work on some of the fundamentals of baseball. We had stations for catching, catching ground balls, throwing, and hitting and running to first. As the kids were so young we had to break everything down and make everything so simple so the kids would stay interested. I worked with kids at the hitting station as we conducted an hour practice.
May 18th
Since it was the first week we decided to have two practices on Monday and Wednesday so the kids could get used to us as their coaches and get used to the different things that we would be doing. The young kids that we were dealing with, age 3-8, needed a lot of direction. Also today we taught sportsman ship and having fun while competing with your peers. Along with that I had to continue to watch the gym in between T-Ball and other random activities that the gym attendants had to do.
May 19th
Another slow Thursday came by and I watched over the gym again. Today was a very active day as there were a lot of kids starting to come around as the weather began to get very nice. I was very interactive with the kids today as I threw the football around in the gym and played one-on-one basketball with some of the middle school kids. I realized that once I told the kids I was a college athlete they looked up to me a lot more and wanted to interact with me more asking questions more and more. Ending the day I again had to shut down the gym as the Kroc closed.
May 23rd
As the week began we had another quick practice for about 45 minutes. The kids were becoming more familiar with how to play the game as they were having lots of fun with their friends and families. After the short practice I was told that I needed to prepare to plan for the baseball league. For the rest of my shift as I watched the gym I brainstormed on how I was going to work on the different demographics for the baseball league. I had all the paperwork for the teams and such, so I then would need to put all the scheduling together.
May 25th
Wednesday came and we began our games with T-ball. There were always 4 games held at a time. We had a lot of youth staff like myself helping out with the madness. The kids were so excited to play. They all got opportunities to hit the ball and run the bases as everyone hit and scored. The joy on their faces was a great experience. I was a coach so I made sure that everyone got a chance to bat and helped the kids stay on task when they were in the outfield. On this fine Wednesday we also began to plan for the baseball league for the older groups. This league was for the kids who were 9-13. This league was going to be a lot more competitive as we had older kids. I started making a schedule on excel once all of our T-ball games were done.
May 26th
This would be a little more competitive league so I had to organize a week of practice first that would be on Monday Wednesday and Thursday and then split up the teams. I still had to make the schedules this week for the next 6 weeks and a 2 week tournament. Next week is when I put the kids into different teams. On top of this I had to watch the gym, set up for zumba classes, and cycling classes. When it came to scheduling this time it was a lot easier as I only had 4 teams to deal with.
May 30th
As we wind down our opening month of May I began to get in a groove with things. I was very familiar with the people in the building and where things were. I learned where I could roam to find different keys for different parts of the building. I pretty much did the same thing as every Monday. Monday’s were filled with T-ball practice and lots of aerobic classes. I had to close the gym down and clean everything as well.
June 1st
On Wednesday we had T-ball games that we had to coach. Team purple (my team) did great as we had a lot of cooperation and participation from everyone. Also today a personal trainer rented the gym out one day this week for a military training class so I was responsible for putting mats down, splitting the court in half with a large curtain, and setting up for that. After T-ball games the older baseball kids came in and we had practice. We decided to let them practice and watch them hit, catch, and run bases before we split up the teams.
June 2nd
As Thursday came around this week we had another baseball practice watching the kids hit and catch for about 30 minutes. At this point my supervisor Alex wanted to finally split up teams. We did this at the end of the practice trying to split the teams up evenly. Once this ended I went back in the gym and watched over that. Today there were two kids fighting over a basketball game. As the gym attendant I had to break them up and come up with a resolution. Once I sat them down I ended up kicking them out of the Kroc center for the rest of the day. My supervisor felt that I handled the situation very well. I also had to write an incident report of what happened and what I did.
June 6th
This week became very repetitive as on Monday we had baseball and T-ball practice. We were outside for almost 2 and a half hours for these events as we helped coach players in these practices. I was in charge of a team for both groups as I coached to the best of my abilities. We began to have a lot of fun as we became good friends with the kids and started learning about them.
June 8th
Today we had more games as pretty much everyone in T-ball was a winner and had fun doing so. Today we had some kids who became angry as they felt they were not doing things correct. We as a staff made sure we gave that kid more attention and helping him feel more welcome to just try his best. I think at this job I learn how to be a better leader while still managing to market our leagues.
June 9th
Today I watched the gym and made sure there were no more fights and arguments between the kids. I played a bit of basketball with the kids as my supervisor encouraged me to be more interactive with the kids. The marketing strategy we used at the Kroc was having staff become so good friends with our consumers who had memberships so they would spread the word about the great place we were. I think this was a word of mouth type of advertisement as well.
June 19th
This week was pretty much like the last one as we finished our 5th week of T-Ball and 3rd week of baseball for the older kids. By now the younger kids are becoming very comfortable and are known by name. They are getting the grasp of baseball more and more. The older kids are also having lots of fun with the league we have put together.
June 20th
In previous weeks my boss put together a kids basketball camp and I unexpectedly took these shifts in the morning as I normally work in the afternoon. This was a pretty busy week as I work a double 3 times. In the mornings I helped with a youth basketball camp and put kids through drills, got to cheer them on, and talked to them about the importance of school and being respectful to adults. I found this week to be one of my most enjoyable because I got to relate my life back to some kids who are in the same positions that I were once in and growing up in the same neighborhoods as I did. I still attended the gym and closed as well as coached T-Ball and Baseball.
June 22nd
This Wednesday I helped again with the youth basketball camp. Doing this I spoke with kids about the importance of school, getting good grades, and working hard at everything you do. The kids really looked up to me and my supervisor thought that the words I gave them in the 15 minute segment I had was very useful.
July 3rd
After the long week I had I went back to my original schedule and now I was given more responsibility within the Kroc Center. I was asked to watch over the gym as well as the turf field we have outside. There was another party at the center who needed more workers for their men’s soccer league. While helping with this I had to set up goals and bring them whatever things they needed from our shed. This was only two days of this week though. I still coached T-Ball and baseball in the evenings before closing and cleaning the gym.
July 10th
This week we wrapped up the T-Ball league on Wednesday. We gave the kids more shirts that all said champions. We also gave them certificates with their names on them. Many of the kids enjoyed the league and the parents did as well. This was the 3rd or 4th year for having this t-ball league and it has been very successful. Also this week I helped my boss plan for a Men’s Basketball league that many college athletes, professionals, and random guys who wanted to play get teams and play organized games. I had to call local refs and hire them to come referee games every Sunday from 4pm to 9pm. Along with that we had to put together a schedule and email them to all of the team captains. This was being advertised for the last couple weeks and is probably the 5th year doing this league. Teams were $300 to enter a 12 man roster or less and play at least one game per Sunday evening.
July 17th
In my last couple weeks baseball with the older kids was coming to an end and we began the two week tournament. As we had 10 teams we had a bracket by using the wins and losses from the teams first 6 weeks. We made the tournament 2 weeks so that teams would only play one game a day. The league is Monday and Wednesdays.
July 24th
In my last week at work the Men’s Basketball league got under way. During these games I ran the shot clock and score board. I made sure transitioning from game to game was smooth and everyone followed the league rules that my boss made. I still was working my regular shifts attending the gym as well as finishing up baseball. As the last couple games of baseball came we had trophies for the first, second, third, and fourth place winners of the league. All teams received an additional shirt as well. I was excited to see how much fun they all had and the impact I had on my community over the summer helping put together all these leagues.
Day one on the job I was introduced to all of the staff. Along with that I learned how to operate throughout the area that I was working which was the gym. I had to learn where all of the keys were that I needed how to adjust rims on the court, as well as shutting down the gym and learning how to close. I think this was a beneficial day as my supervisor really thoroughly showed me how to do everything that I needed to do.
May 4th
Today I worked with kids in the gym and made sure the gym was in working order. While at work I got to work with kids and interact with them. I played kids one-on-one as they really enjoyed it. I still was trying to get familiar with the building and where everything was. Along with that I asked a lot of questions to my supervisor and other people who were familiar with the building and how things were ran.
May 5th
Today I continued to do the same things as I have been doing in the previous couple days. I was becoming more and more familiar with how things were going to be ran. My supervisor pretty much left me alone and wanted to see how I would solve problems on my own. I had to learn some things myself like how to clean the backboards as well as how to close the gym while different people were still in the gym. Week one I thought was beneficial as I learned a lot about what I would be doing in the next three months.
May 9th
On this Monday I had to begin to organize different things for our annual T-ball league for the younger children. As my supervisor already had been promoting this event, majority of the kids had been signed up by today. I had to separate the kids evenly and assign them to different teams. We ended up having about 8 teams and we decided to arrange them by different colors. We also had to make sure all of their t-shirt sizes were correct as well. All parents who requested multiple kids on one team I had to do my best to make that happen while I made teams and the playing schedule.
May 11th
Today I actually went more in depth with the schedule making sure every team had an 8 week schedule for the kids to practice on Monday’s and have games on Wednesday’s. This was challenging, but I managed to figure everything out. My supervisor Alex said that he wanted to help me as little as possible because he thought that I would not learn how to do these things if he continued to help me. At this time flyers were made for the event as I posted them all throughout the building.
May 12th
Today was a much slower day than yesterday. Today we did not have T-ball so I mainly worked in the gym. I helped set up for a lot of different aerobic classes as well as kickboxing, cycling, and zumba. These events happened in small rooms near the gym or in the gym. As these events were going on I had to make sure kids were not interrupting. When these events occurred in the gym I had to let the curtain down and be prompt that no kids were running on the other side of the gym. When everything was done I closed the gym, cleaned, and turned off all the lights.
May 16th
As week 3 began the pace began to pick up as the kids began to come in for T-ball practice. My supervisor set up a practice plan for the kids to work on some of the fundamentals of baseball. We had stations for catching, catching ground balls, throwing, and hitting and running to first. As the kids were so young we had to break everything down and make everything so simple so the kids would stay interested. I worked with kids at the hitting station as we conducted an hour practice.
May 18th
Since it was the first week we decided to have two practices on Monday and Wednesday so the kids could get used to us as their coaches and get used to the different things that we would be doing. The young kids that we were dealing with, age 3-8, needed a lot of direction. Also today we taught sportsman ship and having fun while competing with your peers. Along with that I had to continue to watch the gym in between T-Ball and other random activities that the gym attendants had to do.
May 19th
Another slow Thursday came by and I watched over the gym again. Today was a very active day as there were a lot of kids starting to come around as the weather began to get very nice. I was very interactive with the kids today as I threw the football around in the gym and played one-on-one basketball with some of the middle school kids. I realized that once I told the kids I was a college athlete they looked up to me a lot more and wanted to interact with me more asking questions more and more. Ending the day I again had to shut down the gym as the Kroc closed.
May 23rd
As the week began we had another quick practice for about 45 minutes. The kids were becoming more familiar with how to play the game as they were having lots of fun with their friends and families. After the short practice I was told that I needed to prepare to plan for the baseball league. For the rest of my shift as I watched the gym I brainstormed on how I was going to work on the different demographics for the baseball league. I had all the paperwork for the teams and such, so I then would need to put all the scheduling together.
May 25th
Wednesday came and we began our games with T-ball. There were always 4 games held at a time. We had a lot of youth staff like myself helping out with the madness. The kids were so excited to play. They all got opportunities to hit the ball and run the bases as everyone hit and scored. The joy on their faces was a great experience. I was a coach so I made sure that everyone got a chance to bat and helped the kids stay on task when they were in the outfield. On this fine Wednesday we also began to plan for the baseball league for the older groups. This league was for the kids who were 9-13. This league was going to be a lot more competitive as we had older kids. I started making a schedule on excel once all of our T-ball games were done.
May 26th
This would be a little more competitive league so I had to organize a week of practice first that would be on Monday Wednesday and Thursday and then split up the teams. I still had to make the schedules this week for the next 6 weeks and a 2 week tournament. Next week is when I put the kids into different teams. On top of this I had to watch the gym, set up for zumba classes, and cycling classes. When it came to scheduling this time it was a lot easier as I only had 4 teams to deal with.
May 30th
As we wind down our opening month of May I began to get in a groove with things. I was very familiar with the people in the building and where things were. I learned where I could roam to find different keys for different parts of the building. I pretty much did the same thing as every Monday. Monday’s were filled with T-ball practice and lots of aerobic classes. I had to close the gym down and clean everything as well.
June 1st
On Wednesday we had T-ball games that we had to coach. Team purple (my team) did great as we had a lot of cooperation and participation from everyone. Also today a personal trainer rented the gym out one day this week for a military training class so I was responsible for putting mats down, splitting the court in half with a large curtain, and setting up for that. After T-ball games the older baseball kids came in and we had practice. We decided to let them practice and watch them hit, catch, and run bases before we split up the teams.
June 2nd
As Thursday came around this week we had another baseball practice watching the kids hit and catch for about 30 minutes. At this point my supervisor Alex wanted to finally split up teams. We did this at the end of the practice trying to split the teams up evenly. Once this ended I went back in the gym and watched over that. Today there were two kids fighting over a basketball game. As the gym attendant I had to break them up and come up with a resolution. Once I sat them down I ended up kicking them out of the Kroc center for the rest of the day. My supervisor felt that I handled the situation very well. I also had to write an incident report of what happened and what I did.
June 6th
This week became very repetitive as on Monday we had baseball and T-ball practice. We were outside for almost 2 and a half hours for these events as we helped coach players in these practices. I was in charge of a team for both groups as I coached to the best of my abilities. We began to have a lot of fun as we became good friends with the kids and started learning about them.
June 8th
Today we had more games as pretty much everyone in T-ball was a winner and had fun doing so. Today we had some kids who became angry as they felt they were not doing things correct. We as a staff made sure we gave that kid more attention and helping him feel more welcome to just try his best. I think at this job I learn how to be a better leader while still managing to market our leagues.
June 9th
Today I watched the gym and made sure there were no more fights and arguments between the kids. I played a bit of basketball with the kids as my supervisor encouraged me to be more interactive with the kids. The marketing strategy we used at the Kroc was having staff become so good friends with our consumers who had memberships so they would spread the word about the great place we were. I think this was a word of mouth type of advertisement as well.
June 19th
This week was pretty much like the last one as we finished our 5th week of T-Ball and 3rd week of baseball for the older kids. By now the younger kids are becoming very comfortable and are known by name. They are getting the grasp of baseball more and more. The older kids are also having lots of fun with the league we have put together.
June 20th
In previous weeks my boss put together a kids basketball camp and I unexpectedly took these shifts in the morning as I normally work in the afternoon. This was a pretty busy week as I work a double 3 times. In the mornings I helped with a youth basketball camp and put kids through drills, got to cheer them on, and talked to them about the importance of school and being respectful to adults. I found this week to be one of my most enjoyable because I got to relate my life back to some kids who are in the same positions that I were once in and growing up in the same neighborhoods as I did. I still attended the gym and closed as well as coached T-Ball and Baseball.
June 22nd
This Wednesday I helped again with the youth basketball camp. Doing this I spoke with kids about the importance of school, getting good grades, and working hard at everything you do. The kids really looked up to me and my supervisor thought that the words I gave them in the 15 minute segment I had was very useful.
July 3rd
After the long week I had I went back to my original schedule and now I was given more responsibility within the Kroc Center. I was asked to watch over the gym as well as the turf field we have outside. There was another party at the center who needed more workers for their men’s soccer league. While helping with this I had to set up goals and bring them whatever things they needed from our shed. This was only two days of this week though. I still coached T-Ball and baseball in the evenings before closing and cleaning the gym.
July 10th
This week we wrapped up the T-Ball league on Wednesday. We gave the kids more shirts that all said champions. We also gave them certificates with their names on them. Many of the kids enjoyed the league and the parents did as well. This was the 3rd or 4th year for having this t-ball league and it has been very successful. Also this week I helped my boss plan for a Men’s Basketball league that many college athletes, professionals, and random guys who wanted to play get teams and play organized games. I had to call local refs and hire them to come referee games every Sunday from 4pm to 9pm. Along with that we had to put together a schedule and email them to all of the team captains. This was being advertised for the last couple weeks and is probably the 5th year doing this league. Teams were $300 to enter a 12 man roster or less and play at least one game per Sunday evening.
July 17th
In my last couple weeks baseball with the older kids was coming to an end and we began the two week tournament. As we had 10 teams we had a bracket by using the wins and losses from the teams first 6 weeks. We made the tournament 2 weeks so that teams would only play one game a day. The league is Monday and Wednesdays.
July 24th
In my last week at work the Men’s Basketball league got under way. During these games I ran the shot clock and score board. I made sure transitioning from game to game was smooth and everyone followed the league rules that my boss made. I still was working my regular shifts attending the gym as well as finishing up baseball. As the last couple games of baseball came we had trophies for the first, second, third, and fourth place winners of the league. All teams received an additional shirt as well. I was excited to see how much fun they all had and the impact I had on my community over the summer helping put together all these leagues.