Our first trip to the YMCA in Canton was quite interesting to say the least. Although I have lived around the Canton area all of my life, I have never actually entered the building. I was completely surprised that it so modern and clean looking. When I first got there I was happily greeted and soon met in the Reinhardt sponsored room with the rest of my classmates.
In the classroom we sat and listened to the membership director there, N. Lawson. She was very informative to say the least. I learned that the YMCA corporate offices are located in Atlanta and that even though all the YMCA’s of America are separate they all have the same common goal. She also explained all the different types of organized sports they offer. Those include: Soccer, volleyball, baseball, basketball, and cheerleading. She also informed us when those sports were offered. Soccer, since it's so popular in the community, is offered twice a year. It is offered in both the spring and fall. Baseball is a summer sport, and basketball and cheerleading are both offered in the winter. The sports games are based on learning and enjoyment more so than competition.
Since the YMCA is a non-profit organization, they have to put on fundraisers to make money to allocate to through out the organization to stay up and running. Mrs. Lawson stated that last year alone the Canton YMCA raised around 140,000 dollars. I was almost in shock. The reason for the money raising is for students and families that might need financial help. Their big marketing push for scholarship fundraising is from January-March.
Currently, the YMCA in Canton has around 9,000 members. The nationwide population has to in the millions. The YMCA was started in the 1850's and has been serving people since. Although the YMCA was first created as a Bible study group for locals but has evolved into a family friendly atmosphere where the physical and social needs can be achieved. It is a great place to enjoy physical activity and I look forward to donating and possibly becoming a member at the "Y".
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
ICE 1-5
The first 5 Intern/Career Explorations went well. The first job was an events manager position with the American Junior Golf Association. It had a lot to do with event management of golf tournaments all around the southeast. Responsibilities included setting up and monitoring activities. And also submitting tournament results to local and national media. The second job was as a Ticketing Sales Intern. It would be with the WNBA team Washington Mystics. Not much qualifications are required other than an undergraduate degree and some previous sales experience would be preferred. The third job is with the Atlanta Hawks. It is a more strenous job because it has to do with constructing and setting up various objects for the Hawks, Thrashers, and different concerts. The fourth is as an assistant basketball coach in Virginia. I have always wanted to coach so I think it would be good but I don't know if I feel totally ok with the location of the job. The fifth job is more local and has to do with helping young athletes to earn scholarships. I would be a recruitor for an online website. I think it would be very interesting.
Guest Speaker #2 Vic M.
On Tuesday, September 7th, our class was pleased to welcome the second guest speaker of the year, Mr. Vic M.. He is currently working over at nearby Shorter University as the Senior Associate AD and head women’s basketball coach. First he gave us a little of his background information.
He attended the University of Georgia from where he earned his graduate and undergraduate degrees. After graduating with his initial degree, he decided to become a graduate assistant of the men’s basketball to help pay for schooling. He landed in a great position because at the time two future NBA players were on the roster, one of them including the “Human Highlight” a.k.a. Dominique Wilkins. Upon graduating he landed his first full-time job at Reinhardt University as a head basketball coach. He worked six years before moving on to Shorter in ’90 and hasn’t left since.
He was hired on to be the head women’s basketball and softball coach. From there on, he busted his butt to become the administrator he was striving to be. He soon started the cross-country and golf programs, which still compete today. It was definitely a better situation for him to succeed at Shorter than Reinhardt because of money/scholarship issues.
He stressed that if a person wanted to work for an institution then you have to put your personal opinions aside and abide by the institutions guidelines for success. Also, he pointed out that before taking a job at any position, you should know the most details about it. That was one of the problems he ran into when taking the Reinhardt job, but he made the most of it and made it work regardless. He also mentioned that to be a good administrator you have to be able to do three things: 1) Be a great delegator. 2) Hire "good" people. 3) Trust that who you hire can get the job done without looking over their shoulder constantly.
Vic also gave us plenty of statistics of how Shorter has grown since he has been there and also talked about a lot of different reasons that it has been so successful. The backbone of the “success” was of course money but that is the backbone of any success in terms of organizations making and having to meet budgets. Vic helped me to understand a little bit of what a Sports Administers job are and its definitely doing more than just one thing all of the time. From just listening and talking with him for a short time, I can tell that he is a “good” person…maybe that’s why he is so successful!
He attended the University of Georgia from where he earned his graduate and undergraduate degrees. After graduating with his initial degree, he decided to become a graduate assistant of the men’s basketball to help pay for schooling. He landed in a great position because at the time two future NBA players were on the roster, one of them including the “Human Highlight” a.k.a. Dominique Wilkins. Upon graduating he landed his first full-time job at Reinhardt University as a head basketball coach. He worked six years before moving on to Shorter in ’90 and hasn’t left since.
He was hired on to be the head women’s basketball and softball coach. From there on, he busted his butt to become the administrator he was striving to be. He soon started the cross-country and golf programs, which still compete today. It was definitely a better situation for him to succeed at Shorter than Reinhardt because of money/scholarship issues.
He stressed that if a person wanted to work for an institution then you have to put your personal opinions aside and abide by the institutions guidelines for success. Also, he pointed out that before taking a job at any position, you should know the most details about it. That was one of the problems he ran into when taking the Reinhardt job, but he made the most of it and made it work regardless. He also mentioned that to be a good administrator you have to be able to do three things: 1) Be a great delegator. 2) Hire "good" people. 3) Trust that who you hire can get the job done without looking over their shoulder constantly.
Vic also gave us plenty of statistics of how Shorter has grown since he has been there and also talked about a lot of different reasons that it has been so successful. The backbone of the “success” was of course money but that is the backbone of any success in terms of organizations making and having to meet budgets. Vic helped me to understand a little bit of what a Sports Administers job are and its definitely doing more than just one thing all of the time. From just listening and talking with him for a short time, I can tell that he is a “good” person…maybe that’s why he is so successful!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Becoming Invaluable
After reading the well-designed article on "Becoming Invaluable" I became even more motivated as before. Although, I am a senior and already have a future planned out, I was still impressed. I was not fortunate enough to choose my major as a freshman, but I did as a sophomore.
As a Sports Studies major, I believe that you have to market yourself more than any other major has to. Like mentioned in the article, it is very competitive. I also think that if you're one dimensional, then you should probably look into finding another field of study. Along with being multi-dimensional, the student must know that upon finding a job, they have to be flexible when it comes to a working schedule. Also, for any college student, you must always stay on top of your grades and put in the work to have a good looking GPA. High GPA's are a good indicator of a student’s work ethic. Having a high GPA is good when competing for a job or entering grad school.
I wish I could have had access to this article long before this year but oh well. I feel as though I have put myself in good position for a bright future anyway. In the spring I will be completing my internship at a local golf course and am hoping to pursue a career in golf course management! Wish me luck!
As a Sports Studies major, I believe that you have to market yourself more than any other major has to. Like mentioned in the article, it is very competitive. I also think that if you're one dimensional, then you should probably look into finding another field of study. Along with being multi-dimensional, the student must know that upon finding a job, they have to be flexible when it comes to a working schedule. Also, for any college student, you must always stay on top of your grades and put in the work to have a good looking GPA. High GPA's are a good indicator of a student’s work ethic. Having a high GPA is good when competing for a job or entering grad school.
I wish I could have had access to this article long before this year but oh well. I feel as though I have put myself in good position for a bright future anyway. In the spring I will be completing my internship at a local golf course and am hoping to pursue a career in golf course management! Wish me luck!
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