This week I only had to work with Elliot because Sam also plays soccer at Gahanna Licoln High School and he had his banquet on Tuesday night. I could tell Elliot had been working hard on his own because his swing looked awesome. I noticed a few things he still had to work on and he corrected them instantly. His dad was there to see the session and was amazed at Elliot's progress. His dad walked up to me afterwards and told me how much fun Elliot was having and at how well he thought I was doing. I can't even put into words how much this meant to me. It is one thing to be doing what you love, but to know that your being successful and other people recognize that is as amazing of an honor as anything. I had such a passion for the game when I was a player and I miss playing the game more than anything in the world, but the passion I have for coaching is just as extreme and I can't wait to start my future as a college coach. On the left is a picture of Elliot during our session.
Kevin told me I was in for a suprise, and to make sure that I came in on Saturday. This week just dragged along and I had completely forgot about something cool happening on Saturday. I absolutely love this internship, and working with young baseball players is such a passion for me, but it is so hard balancing all of that and staying on top of my academics at the same time. I know that this industry is what I will be in for the rest of my life it is just a bunch of work while I am at school. So when Saturday rolled aorund I was exhausted and ready to leave but Kevin told me to stay a little longer. All of the sudden a bunch of camera crews came into the facility and I was just trying to figure out whats going on and all of the sudden Donald Brown walked in. For those of you who do not know Donald Brown was the first round draft choice last year of the Indianpolis Colts, and their starting running back. I was now star struck for the second week in a row. I tried to stay professional since I was an employee and did not ask for a picture, but I now regret it. However, my little brother was there and got a picture with Donald. This immedietly raised my spirits and was just a reminder of how great the world of sports is.
I am really starting to feel comfortable around the rest of the staff at Next Level. It is a weird dynamic because there are very few people on staff that actually work for Next Level. Most of the people making money there are personal trainers that pay kevin to use the gym. However, I am starting to become comfortable around them and as a result I am learning a lot more. For example this week I got the honor of watching Butch Reynolds train sprinters. Butch is an ex olympian runner for the United States. Just getting to sit next to him was an honor, and I was kind of star struck to be honest. I also am learning strength exercises from some of the other trainers. Trainers are very willing to tlak to you about what they belief, because weight lifting and fitness in general is based a lot on what an individual believes. What I mean by this is that there isn't one exact way that everyone should work out, so different trainers believe different things and by talking to people about their beliefs they get a sense of satisfaction. I love it because I get to hear all the different ideas from all of these professionals, and I am learning a ton.
This week was much better from the stress standpoint. As I previously stated I now have two regular clients, Elliot and Sam. This week Elliot had a family event on Tuesday which is the day I hit with him, so I called him to talk about his swing and how he was doing practicing on his own. After that I then went to the facility to work with Sam. To the left is a picture of Sam that I took from my video camera. I am getting very comfortable with the video analysis now. Same progressed a lot this week and I am starting to get the emotional benefits of teaching the game of baseball as well as the financial benefits.
The rest of the week was relatively simple. For the most part I just shadowed Kevin and watched him do speed and agility training with high school athletes that ranged from age 7-18.
