Experiences and Impressions to Date

     I have lived in a tiny town in Arkansas my entire life and now I am living in South Florida.  Enough said? Amen.  First impressions:  1.  U-Turns are legal and used all over the place.  2.  It's January and it's 76 degrees and sunny outside.  Absolutely wonderful.  3.  Swimmers are awkward on land.  4.  FAU is much more liberal than my private Baptist school in Arkansas  5.  People frequently ask where I am from...what's the deal? I have all of my teeth AND I wear shoes. : )
     Seriously though....
     I am thoroughly enjoying my experience as an intern with Florida Atlantic University's Strength and Conditioning Department.   The program is very well structured and designed so that the interns have the opportunity to learn exactly what it takes to be a Strength Coach at the college level.  I love the curriculum that is assigned each week.  The assignments are very applicable and I believe the notebook that I am developing will be extremely beneficial as I further my career in the field of Strength and Conditioning. 
     In addition to the curriculum, I have already gotten thrown into hands-on learning with the athletic teams.  So far, I have had the opportunity to work with Swimming, Golf, Soccer, Football, Softball, Volleyball, Track/Cross Country, and Basketball.  Starting next week the teams I have been assigned to for the rest of the semester are Football, Women's Basketball, and Women's Golf.  I am very excited to get to work more closely with these teams and really get into coaching.  I have already had the opportunity to create a workout for the Women's Golf team and am looking forward to designing a progressive and encompassing training plan for these women. 
    I know from my past experiences as an employee and an intern that it is extremely hard for me to come into a new environment and be confident enough to get out there and be hands-on.  I am naturally a fairly quiet person so it is hard for me to get out of my comfort zone and be loud in the weight room.  However,  I feel that I have been successful in my previous jobs as a gymnastics coach, group fitness instructor, and physical therapist technician, so I know that I can also be successful in this setting.  I think one thing that has made it hard is that I was not introduced to most of the teams, so they don't know who I am and even if they do know who I am, I'm not sure if they do so it feels out of place to go up to them and start coaching them.  Of course eventually they will know who I am, however I think it would be helpful to future interns to make a point of introducing them to the athletes. 
    In conclusion, I am really enjoying my experience so far.  I am looking forward to the new experiences to come and learning as much as I possibly can over the next few months.