Running, Eating, Repeating

As Internet is non-existent out at the Team Camp of Champs, I am only able to post while in town. The second week of camp went so much better than the first. It is difficult to understand how well behaved the second week's coaches and campers are until you have the 1st week's to compare them to. One of the most enjoyable things about the second week's camp is the close relationships we have built with the campers and coaches. Part of the week was spent having a water balloon fight with one of the teams and then planting a ventriloquist dummy in their cabin for them to find when they went to bed. While this is certainly not helping them to become better runners, it gives them a common "enemy" to join forces against. I saw one of the best example of this to date when we played one team's entire varsity in volleyball. The teamwork and communication that they were displaying was clearly being put to the test against six males in their early twenties. They ended up losing but showed a lot of character in the game and came back to win the second game before losing the third as well. As crazy as it sounds, a pickup game of volleyball may have been the most worthwhile thing that they did all week.

Little of this...

It occurred to me that I did not take the time to explain a little about myself and my situation. I am a graduate student at Tiffin University. I am entering my 2nd year in the program and will be working at the Team Camp of Champs for 3 weeks for a sports mentorship. The director of this camp is my superior at my day job coaching the Tiffin University Cross Country Team. His name is Ron Martin and he has been having this camp for a number of years. Three years ago, Ron extended this camp to allow more teams to take advantage of it. My hope is that I will be able to assist him and make each week run as smoothly as the camp did when there was only one week.

Mentorship: "Running Smooth"

Before my mentorship began, most of the work needed was simply getting camp ready, getting preliminary numbers, and making sure not to forget anything that would necessitate us coming back into town once the camp began. For the most part, I was just following directions from Ron and my duties did not really extend past taking down information and making sure we have enough camp shirts, food, etc. However, I am proud to say that I did bring a significant change to camp this year. I suggest to Ron that we use the cereal dispensers in the TU Cafeteria and bring some of the older ones out to camp. I figured that this would allow us to be more organized and minimize the mess. A few days in, I will admit that we were not correct! Everyone really felt like the dispensers would help but for some reason that have resulted in more of a mess. Also, Ron made the decision to keep cereal out all day but did not follow that up with the other necessary changes. Cereal is out all day, though bowls and spoons are not. This resulted in cups being filled up which are a big reason for the mess. This issue has been somewhat addressed and hopefully things will begin to go better! Thus far, the biggest change from last year to this year's experience is that Ron is putting much more trust in me. The owner of the camp came the other day and during lunch (one of our busiest times) Ron just told me that I needed to run things and he would be back later. It was definitely a little nerve racking but obviously we made it through!!!

Athletics: The Final Frontier

As we have discussed in this course, sports communication has significantly changed over the past century. This trend will continue and we will see more and more changes with the sports communication industry and companies and consumers try to find the perfect balance that makes both parties the happiest and most successful. Rather than rest on the success that has been established, companies are constantly looking for the next popular trend and consumers are becoming a bigger and bigger part of this process. As consumers drive these changes more and more, we may see sports communication go in directions it would not have otherwise. The two largest changes that I see happening in the future of sports communication are the continued intrusiveness of sports reporting and specificity of reporting in sport.

The required reading did an excellent job of showing the trend that has already begun. Sports reporting has become more and more narrow to the point that there are stations for college conferences and some things even more extreme than that. Chad Ochocinco has created his own show that reports on him. When Terrel Owens was holding out before the NFL season, reporters came to his home and filmed him answering questions while he did sit ups. I do not think this is the end of this trend. On the contrary, I believe this will only intensify in the coming years. Ben Roethlisberger is an excellent example of this. It seems like there is always something going on with him. Steelers fans are die hard and he is their franchise quarterback. A reality show following him around in his everyday life would absolutely sell in areas where the Steelers are popular. With the expansion of ways in which the media can reach consumers, this would take less and less work. Mark Cuban has a blog about the Dallas Mavericks but there is no reason that could not be taken a step further. A weekly show where the coach personally addresses the fans and lets them know how practice is going could be an option. A live webcam overlooking practice so that someone can see everyday what the team is up to. None of this would take anything more than the start up costs and then it would simply have to be streamed or posted on the team's website.

However, more and more narrow reporting means that smaller details will become more important. Whereas it used to be irrelevant what an athlete did off of his or her respective playing arena, even these small details have become a thing of interest. Tiger Woods' marriage should have absolutely no bearing over what kind of a golfer he is. He is not using enhancing drugs; cheating on his wife did not improve his putting or lengthen his drive. Every aspect of an athletes life is now monitored and he or she must live accordingly. With this narrow reporting we could very easily have channels or shows dedicated to one athlete or team. With the spotlight burning so bright, players will have to be mindful of their actions.

Perhaps the New Orleans Saints are eating a pregame meal and it is being televised. One player stops to say a prayer over the food and Drew Brees continues to eat. This turns into an issue with his religion. The Saints play in the south which is historically bible country. Now, there is public pressure to get rid of the franchise quarterback because he does not meet the expected value set of the area. This may seem extreme but this is where the sport is headed. When someone is paid enough to support a third world country to play with a ball, there are going to be some expectations. These expectations will continue to grow and athletes will see less and less personal space as a result of this narrow sports reporting.

There are a few things that hinder and facilitate the ability for a sport reported to meet deadlines. The major things that hinder a reporter are travel and quality. Due to the nature of a reporter's job, a lot of travel can be involved on top of the deadlines for stories. If he or she has to be on a plane to the next game by the next morning, the story must be done that night. Furthermore, the story will more than likely be needed that night anyway so that it can be run the next morning. That being said, it would not be difficult to write a story in a short time. However, it becomes more difficult to right a GOOD story in a short time. Effective leads and solid structure within a story is a great talent in itself and even more so when it is done in a short about of time. These writers must be able to put a great story out while also adhering to difficult deadlines.

The things that allow these reporters to do this are versatility, flexibility, and devotion. Versatility is needed because the reporter may very well have to be writing the story while he or she is still viewing the contest. That kind of multi-tasking is difficult for some but necessary for these individuals. Flexibility is important because there may be an amazing event at the end of the contest that completely changes the story. The reporter must understand that the most important thing is to have an interesting story and if this means starting over and writing a better story that includes all the facts, that is what must be done. Finally, devotion is invaluable to these individuals for all of the reasons that have been previously listed. These positives could not be achieved nor could these hindrances be overcome without an enormous amount of devotion.

I was able to meet the deadline for my game but I absolutely suffered for it. I was going to write a story on the Ohio High School State Track and Field Meet. However, I was travelling back to Tiffin and missed the 11:00 P.M. deadline. Instead, I was forced to report on a small mini-meet at the end of a track camp that the university puts on. Due to my lack of meeting the deadline, the story suffered and a less captivating sports event was reported on. In order to write the story, I needed to know the events that were being run, the individuals that were competing in them, and the results on the competition. The meet took place at the end of the camp so many athletes left as soon as they were done competing. However, one thing that I regret is not getting a quote from one or two of the athletes. Again, this comes back to the difficulties facing reporters and I clearly have a lot to learn!

Yep, Track Again!

For my live sporting event, I stayed in my comfort zone and attended a track and field meet. During the summer, Tiffin University puts on a summer camp for high school athletes in an effort to give back to the sport. This summer was no different and around fifty athletes from the ages thirteen to eighteen attended the camp. The camp takes place over the course of two and a half days and culminates with a track and field meet. The campers are asked to apply what they learned and try to see some tangible results before they leave.

The main events that I will be speaking about are the pole vault and throwing events. I worked with the pole vault for much of the week and so I was very close to the development of these athletes. Zach and Shannon were the two vaulters that we worked with over the few days. Zach’s biggest issue was keeping his elbow in and getting drive on his takeoff. Shannon is an absolute beginner so we focused on taking off with the right foot and keeping her hands in place when planting the pole. At the meet, both Zach and Shannon did a great job of working on the things that they needed to. Neither of them cleared any impressive heights but they had also been vaulting less than 20 hours previously. Zach was getting some great drive but his speed was lacking and he was noticeably fatigued. He had a couple good attempts but ultimately called his day short for safety purposes. Shannon got her steps on very well and was consistently driving her knee much better than I had seen all weekend. However, she still had a lot of trouble with keeping her hands firm on the pole. She lets them drop and as a result looses a lot of bend in her pole. The nice thing is that she is aware of what she needs to work on and is really receptive to coaching.

The throws were a bit of a circus this afternoon. As is often the case with Adriane Blewitt, the throws were high energy and everyone seemed to be having a great time. The highlight for me was a pair of throwers from Logan, Ohio and a young lady named Megan. Megan is a discus thrower and took 4th in the state this past year. Her coach brought her here to learn some new techniques and she did just that. She picked up on things really well and had a couple of throws over 100 feet this afternoon. The two gentlemen from Logan pretty much stole the show. Ralph Robinson had a great showing in the discus and the hammer (after only one day’s practice). Ralph’s teammate, Kyle, won the shot-put but did not come close to his season best of 58 feet. That being said, this was a summer camp and the athletes should just be starting their time off. The point was mostly to instruct and build for next year. However, it was still very exciting to see people apply what they had learned and have some fun in the process!

Tiffin University To Host Cross Country Open In September

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tiffin University will host the 2010 Tiffin University Cross Country Open on Saturday, September 4, 2010 at the Tiffin University Athletic Fields. The meet schedule is below. We have already received interest from several coaches regarding our meet and it looks to be another great year. We are confident that this will provide a level of competition suitable for teams as they prepare for the beginning of the season. The course is fairly flat with a few rolling hills, an excellent cross country experience without excessively taxing competitors. Packet pickup and coaches meeting will be at 9:00am. We will run a 2 Mile (11:00am) open race and a 4 Mile (11:30am) open race. The Entry Fee is FREE. Results will be issued after the race. If you are interested in any additional information, please e-mail me back at BuxtonTM@tiffin.edu so that I may provide you with additional meet and entry information. Feel free to contact me should you have any questions.
"When Excellence is in sight, good is not good enough" Thomas Buxton Assistant Track & Field/Cross Country Coach Tiffin University (419) 448-3329
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In addition to this, the media kit will include a course map, a summary of the teams competing, and results from past years. Last years results are provided below as an example and the course map is at the top of the blog due to placement limitations with pictures on this site.
http://www.tiffin.edu/athletics/men/crosscountry/schedule/Home_Meet_2009_1_.pdf