Week 5 Post 3

Ah. Finally. The last but certainly not least blog of my SCORE career. What a great feeling. Actually, it is kind of bittersweet. I am glad it is over, but I really did have a lot of fun and will miss all of the people I have met over the past month and a half or so.

I would just really like to thank everyone who helped me with my internship. I really had great time. I want to thank Mr. Blagden for being so nice to me and helping me every step of the way. He was a really great leader and got me very involved in the process. He is really just a nice guy and managed to teach me a lot about the Manchester Soccer Club.

I would also like to thank the international coaches I met along the way. I really enjoyed learning from them both about coaching as well as their lives outside of soccer. They worked really hard and were always so nice to me.

Unlike many kids who dreaded going to their internship, I personally loved it. At least most of it. Teaching the kids was definitely my favorite part, and I really would not have changed much.

I could see myself getting involved in event planning in the future as well as marketing which is what I went into my SCORE project thinking about as a possible career path. But I really enjoyed being around all the kids and seeing them grow, so I could definitely see myself doing something down that path. All in all, this was a great experience and I will have a lot of memories to look back on once I have graduated.

Thank you Dr. Burgess for helping me with this project. I really appreciate everything you have done to support me.

Week 5 Post 2

Things are looking good. I have learned a lot from this experience. I have played sports all my life but have never been in any position but the player. I enjoyed being the coach. I felt as though I had good things to say although I have not played soccer in a few years. I learned not only from the other coaches (Diego and Leonie) and Mr. Blagden, but also from the kids. I learned what are effective ways of getting through to their seven to eight year old minds. I learned what works and what does not work.

Today I was able to coach my team and tell them where to pass the ball. I knew how to organize them to make sure they were finding the open player and looking up. All of them have improved over the course of these 6 weeks. I liked seeing them smile when they scored a goal, or high five each other when one of them made a really good block on defense. There skills for little munchkins amaze me.

Like I said before, I have learned a lot from the international coaches. All of them have played on very good teams back in their home country. They all know a whole lot about soccer and a whole lot about coaching. I really enjoyed getting to know them as coaches and as people. These are the kind of connections you need in this world. I now have friends from England, Spain, and Ireland. This is networking at its finest.

Week 5 Post 1

I have used the clinic as a jumping off point to do research on Special Events as a marketing tool. The Manchester Soccer Club uses the Soccer Academy (the clinics with the international coaches) to draw in their customers with an exciting and engaging event. Then by using strategic marketing and management techniques in Event Planning, the overall value of the product increases. If an event is successful a customer takes away a good experience and aligns it with the business and the products. Events are a worthy investment and an essential part to any marketing mix. My dad who just so happens to be one the board of the Manchester Soccer club as one of a few age group cooridantors agreed to a interview. Jeffrey Mastendino states, “Events encourage potential customers to come be a part of a business, be informed, and generate excitement surrounding the business. The more events a business has, the more activity and awareness a customer now has for the brand”. What I have learned is that when executed using management techniques special events like the Soccer Academy offer a unique and engaging way to reach your target market and prospective customers. They have vital roles in a businesses marketing and in the long run can increase brand recognition, customer satisfaction, and increase edge on competitors. Keeping all these advantages in mind the final goal is to increase the profit for the business. If an event can do all this, it could possibly outweigh many costs a business would spend to increase profit. All in all, special events can be a very successful way of growing revenue.

Week 4 Post 3

This afternoon and evening was much nicer than last week. Last week I had to work all four sessions today which meant I was standing around on the turf for six and a half hours straight. It was also raining last week, which was just bad all around. Today was much nicer weather, like sixty five degrees or so. I got there fifteen minutes before the kids began arriving and got everything set up. We checked everyone in and set up cones. We then had the kids do a couple of shooting and passing drills to warm their little feet up. They are all really getting much better. The first week I had really no hope for most of the kids, but they have really all come a long way. These coaches have done wonders with their soccer skills. 

Like I keep on saying, I continue to get to know these kids better and better each week. The kid is named Austin who is six years old has become a good friend of mine.He is very funny and always has the wittiest of remarks. Some of the things he says to me, the coaches, and his friends are absolutely hilarious. Their is also an extremely animated little girl named Katherine. She hates soccer but is forced to attend each week. We discuss the usual seven year old topics and I encourage her to keep trying to improve. They are all really pretty good sports, but all of them love to win. There is always competition. 

Week 4 Post 2

It is Wednesday and I am looking forward to the weekend. I am really just doing small menial tasks all week to get ready for the clinic. I really love the clinic. As I have said in the past the kids are just so cute. I have learned from this SCORE project that I really do love children. I have three sisters and many little cousins so I already knew I could deal with the little kids, but I never fully realized how much they can entertain you. Some of the smallest things they do can make me laugh so hard. I love seeing them interact with their friends as well as the coaches and with me. On the first day of the clinic many of the little kids were very shy, quiet, and reserved. They were all very well behaved and listened intently at what the coaches had to teach them. However, after being with them for what? Six weeks. They have certainly come out of their shells and have definitely started expressing themselves. I have noticed especially in the eight to nine year olds that they all love the attention of their peers and have started to make jokes to make their friends laugh. They have become a little more rambunctious and extraverted as the weeks have progressed which is both good and bad. I constantly have been having to tell them to quite down and listen. When they do listen though, they are really starting to learn.

Week 4 Post 1

Monday, the start of another great week of SCORE. Like I said Saturday was great fun with the kids at the clinic. I think they learned a lot of good skills this week. Anyway, today I familiarized myself with the website that Mr. Blagden set me up on. I read a lot of articles and watched a good amount of instructional videos. I actually learned a lot about the whole process of registration for the Soccer Club. I learned that Korrio provides Organizations with the capability to easily manage registration and team building for the competitive level of play. Korrio allows teams to be made by selecting players based on a tryout selection process. This means that players can register, go to tryouts, then be put on a team based on their skill level. Korrio functionality supports both recreational and tryouts based programs which makes it easy for the Manchester Soccer club to switch off between the two. The program also allows you to set up family discounts, volunteer registration, donations, and handles late sign ups and fees with ease. The website also gives helpful tips to successfully use the program for optimal success later on in the process. It is a really interesting process and I am very glad I got to learn about it from the back end of the registration. That is about it on Korrio, now I think I will go work on my paper some more and add some really great things that are sure to impress everyone. 

Week 3 Post 3

This Saturday was kind of brutal. I had to work all four sessions today which meant I was standing around on the turf for six and a half hours straight. To make matters worse it was suppose to thunder which would have cancelled the clinic for the day but I was just a constant sprinkle of rain. I think the weather had some strange effect on the children’s behavior because we had three criers in one session alone. The day was typical other than these small factors. We checked everyone in, set up cones, had the do some drill, then scrimmaged. We got these new mini soccer nets that we had to assemble also. They were pretty cool and me and the other coaches raced to assemble them.

I continue to get to know these kids better and better each week. One kid is named Austin and he is six. I ask him his name all the time just to hear his witty remarks. The names he come up with are hilarious. Another boy named Henry is probably the cutest kid I have ever seen. He has the sweetest little voice. Both of these kids are smaller than the rest of them and lack concentration. I do not see their soccer careers taking off anytime soon. Other kids though are really showing their skills. Arthur can dribble the ball from one end of the field to the other and score without help from any of his team mates. I really like all the kids though, they are so funny to watch.  

Week 3 Post 2

Today I woke up and went over to the soccer barn. I forgot the combination so I had to text my advisor to get it. Once I figured it out I opened up the sliding garage door thing, and went in. I did a little more organizing. I finished up with the soccer balls; organizing sizes into their correct bags. I also checked the med kits to make sure everything was included in the pack. I finished up there with doing an inventory of some miscellaneous things. I then added the finishing touches to the barn by sweeping the floor. Let's just say I left it looking the best it has ever looked.

I also did the usual email sending to coaches and spreadsheet making. Typical soccer stuff, you know?  I also met with Mr. Blagden today to discuss the way people register for soccer in Manchester. The model they used in the past seemed to be disorganized and hard to use. Mr. Blagden said many parents had trouble using it and often times there were mistakes and errors in the sign up process. However, their new system that they will be showing me is Korrio. It is supposedly a very efficient and effective registration browser. I have been added to the back end of their Korrio account so I can take a look at how things work. In fact, I should be receiving an email any minute now giving me a username and password to log on and check it out.

Week 3 Post 1

Saturday is always the busiest day of SCORE for me. The clinic started at the regular time at two thirty, so I arrived early to help set up the table and the sign in sheet as usual. Last week we handed out tee shirts and this week we would continue to do that so all kids were assigned to the right teams. The kids love getting their shirts. After the majority of the kids were checked in, I set up some cones for drills they would be doing. This week they were working on shooting and ball control. They were taught that control and power are two essential parts of the game. Anyway, after the warm ups the kids split into teams and did some competitive drills. They were broken into two teams, had to dribble around a cone and take a strong shot on net. The kids love working on their shots and scoring goals. I can already see some of them really improving.

After the drills, I got to manage a team for the scrimmages. I was basically their coach and instructed them to stay spread out and make good passes. Since we worked on power and control in the drills this was what they were focusing on in the scrimmages. I always like going and had a good time with all the kids. Some of them are really cute and funny. I have loved getting to know some of them and having their personalities come out as they are becoming more comfortable. It was a good day.

Week 2 Post 3

Today, I had to finish my job at the soccer barn. I headed back over to its top secret location, unlocked the doors, and got ready to finish the organizational job. I stacked more things on shelves. Rearranged boxes of who knows what, and reassembled Med Kits. I had to stack about 12 boxes of field spray paint in the corner and move big bags of sand. Let's just say I was getting a nice workout. Anyway, after all the equipment was organized to my liking, I had to do inventory. It would be much easier now that everything was in its rightful place. I took inventory of the soccer shirts, goalie shirts, goalie gloves, socks, paint, nets, and med kits. They had plenty of everything. This inventory was key, especially for next year, when they need to know what they have to buy new, and what they already have. They bought a lot of new equipment this year without even knowing what they already have. My inventory should save them a decent amount of money, seeing as though they have about thirty five goalie shirts all stored up and enough socks to cover the feet of every player twice. I was happy with what I had done, so I went home. Tonight, I have been emailing Mr. Carter who is on the business end of the club, to try and set up a time that we can meet. I am hoping to learn a little more about the management aspect of the club.

Week 2 Post 2

Today, I went back to the soccer barn (soccer equipment storage area). I love that place. I was warned about the bees, so when unlocking the doors I had to kick the walls to scare any hornets away. Anyway, I went to the soccer barn with the task of organizing. It was my job to clear everything out and then put it all back, so that one could find their way around that place. This place was a big mess. First, I removed the twenty ball bags full of soccer balls that were sprawled out on the ground. Then, I removed all the goal shirts, gloves, and any black soccer socks I could find. I spent an hour folding the goalie shirts and putting them in size order. Then I put them in their corresponding bins and stacked them up against the wall. I did the same thing for the gloves and socks. After, I moved all the tents and big signs to one of the corners to free up space in the middle. I put all the pennies in the bags and rolled up any soccer nets that had come out of place. This was a big job. Luckily I have very good organizational skills. After finishing with the shirts, gloves, socks, nets, and tents. I had to tackle the ball bags. Each bag is supposed to contain ten or so balls each the same size. I had to remove all the balls and sort them into their proper bag. After that I was done in the soccer barn for the day and locked up and headed back home.

Week 2 Post 1

Saturday was a busy day for me. The clinic started at the regular time at two thirty, so I arrived early to help set up the table and the sign in sheet. Today, we would be handing out the tee shirts to the kids. This is always an exciting part for them. Each session would be broken down into four teams of four or five, for the purpose of scrimmaging. The kids began arriving and the teams were made based on the previous week's rating for each child's skill. This ensured that one team would not be stacked with all the best seven year olds.

After the majority of the kids were checked in, I set up some cones for drills they would be doing after they warmed up. I also got a chance to talk to the two European coaches a little more. I am doing some pretty good networking. Anyway, after the warm ups the kids split into teams and did some competitive drills. Seven year old love those kinds of things.

After the drills, I got to manage a team for the scrimmages. I was basically their coach and instructed them to stay spread out and make good passes. They were really cute and I think they all had a good time. After finishing with the boys session, the girls came on and I did the exact same thing. Handing out shirts, setting up cones, then coaching a team. I had a good time and got to know the kids better. I am excited for next Saturday.

Week 1 Post 3

Today I was at the High School turf working at the Soccer Academy. The Soccer Academy is a youth clinic for both boys and girls. They work with international coaches for an hour and fifteen minutes for eight weeks.

I got there at 2:15 and met the coaches. One was from Dublin, Ireland; one was from Barcelona, Spain; and the other was from somewhere in England. The first session was the boys session. The kids started arriving at 2:30. I signed them in and gave them numbers to tell them apart. The coaches would use these numbers to give each a score based on their ability which would later be used to determine fair teams. The kids were all really cute in their soccer outfits. They did drills to warm up, then later broke off into 3v3 games. I helped keeping all the kids in order and listening. I also got to set up some cones.

I did the same thing for the girls at 4:00. I signed each one in, gave them a number, and got them organized. I got to talk to the coaches for a little bit as well. After the girls session, I had to clean up everything. I picked up the cones and the balls. I disassembled the mini goals that I had set up, and I carried them to Mr. Blagden's car. Although it didn't feel like I did a whole lot, I was actually pretty busy the whole duration of the clinic. I am excited for next Saturday, when I am back at the clinic.

Week 1 Post 2

During this week I spent time finishing organizing the goalie shirts and gloves. I emailed the different coaches letting them know when I would be around for them to come by and pick the gear up. I met a few of the coaches and talked to them about how they organize and schedule their teams, and keep everything running smoothly.

I was also taken to the "Soccer Barn" as my dad calls it. The name is misleading though as it is merely a storage area that holds all of the Manchester Soccer Club equipment. I felt pretty lucky to have been taken there, however, it was a huge mess in there. This will be another task I will have to take care of over the course of my internship. Luckily, I am very good at organizing soccer equipment.

After finding out how to access the Soccer Barn, I had to deliver a bag of soccer balls to a coaches house. They had accidently grabbed the wrong balls for their U8 team, but I fixed the problem. Throughout the week, I did similar tasks. I also got in contact with another director of the Manchester Soccer Club. We are discussing possibly setting up a Facebook and Twitter page for the Soccer club. This would be a very efficient way to communicate scheduling changes, game updates, and other important information to parents and players. I am just waiting for the okay, and I will be setting up the Social Media pages.

Anyway, Saturday I will be working at the Soccer Academy with the U6 and U8 teams. Should be good!

Week 1 Post 1

Tuesday was my first real day of SCORE. I met with my internship advisor to discuss what I would be doing in preparation for the weekend. I am working with the Manchester Soccer Club, managing, organizing, and coordinating the Soccer Academy. This is a youth soccer clinic that the Manchester Soccer Club runs annually. Coaches from around the world come to run this series of weekly clinics. Each Saturday consists of four two hour sessions. Each session is made up of twenty or so kids who all belong to a team. I will be managing one of these teams specifically for the duration of the clinic. I also hear I get a free tee shirt, which I am pretty excited about.

Along with working for Mr. Blagden and the coaches in the Soccer Academy, I will be doing general work for the regular spring soccer teams. This week I have basically been tasked with organizing equipment. I spent time Tuesday sorting through Goalie gloves and shirts and organizing them for distribution to coaches. I sent a fair share of emails and have been in contact with the Age Group Coordinators of regular season youth soccer. I have let the coordinators for each specific age group know about the equipment that needs to be distributed amongst the teams. Meeting with some of the coordinators has been great and has allowed me to get some tips of the trade. 

I am excited to start working with my team this weekend. I will be observing how other teams are managed as well as how the Manchester Soccer Club as a whole is managed. 

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