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

All about the $$$

Especially with my new found knowledge about coaching, I can say that the similarities between recruiting and fundraising are plentiful! Particularly at a private school, I feel like I am constantly fundraising. Because the school is tuition driven, the only way to keep the money coming in is to raise enrollment or at least keep it constant. This is actually not even similar--this is fundraising. However, for the sake of the article, there are a few other similarities. The most prevalent similarities that I see are in collecting "recruits" and "selling the program". In both instances, it is important to go after the right demographic. If fundraising to save an endangered species, do not go ask a poacher! Similarly, I do not try to recruit students who are looking to go into the medical field. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE! The way that I have found the most success with recruiting can be expanded to fundraising and almost anything dealing with humans for that matter: I am genuine. The reason that athletes respond to my recruiting is that I am not trying to sell them. Those who I think are making a mistake going elsewhere, I will tell them. However, I have told young ladies before that Tiffin may not be the right place for them and they should look elsewhere. Some people may have me try to sell them at all costs but this genuine care for the cause is what sells people. When fundraising, if it is all about money, people will sense that. You must have a real commitment to the cause and people will sense that as well. That passion will come through and that passion is what will cause you to go the extra mile and ultimately sign the recruit or get the donation.

Money Down the Dwayne?

Dwayne Wade is certainly one of the most acknowledged athletes when it comes to a sports figure who does more than just produce on their playing field. Wade has done a fantastic job of bringing his popularity over from sports and using his name as a way to market products. Wade has endorsement deals with companies such as Gatorade, T-Mobile, and Converse. Mind you, he did back out of his Converse deal before it had expired. However, this is just an example of Wade knowing where he wants to put his name and where he does not. In fact, Wade even gave ideas on how to improve the T-Mobile phone that he was marketing. Wade's brand name brings with it a sense of sophistication and suaveness. However, he also knows how to be a jokester so there is a certain amount of humor involved as well. Watching the following commercial sums up what I am talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QIH8NrNeso

The video is funny but also shows the many sides of Wade's life and that he is, in fact, a businessman as well. This may seem like a stretch but that is really what is conveyed to me through this advertisement. Wade is always on the go and has so much to do and Charles Barkley just will not leave him alone. It is safe to say, Wade is the face of a franchise (Miami). Due to this, when he puts his name on a product, he has the ability to significantly increase revenue. However, Wade has done an excellent job of standing by good products in order to help with his name brand and let people know that: with the name Wade, they are getting quality.

Not In Kansas Anymore

a) Introduction and Audience
The area that I am choosing to focus on is recruitment. The system that is being evaluated is Scoutware. Scoutware is a recruiting database that is used by a University to sort and keep track of recruit profiles. This system is made solely for athletic departments and more specifically coaches to use. There are many free systems on the Internet that are similar to Scoutware. One of these systems is Berecruited.com. Any comparisons that are made in this analysis will be between Scoutware and Berecruited.

b) Purpose and Goals for the System
"Scoutware is a relationship management tool that coaches and administrators at more than 230 universities use to successfully recruit athletes, raise money, sell tickets, foster support in both local and corporate communities, and demonstrate compliance within the guidelines of the NCAA" (Full Contact Recruiting). The goal is to save time and money by organizing the recruits into one system and making their information easy to access and utilize in value-adding ways. The biggest difference here is that profiles are created OR entered into scoutware and on Berecruited profiles are only entered and then the coaches are able to view and bookmark them. Also, the information cannot be utilized in quite as many ways.

c) Product
A database system that organizes information and keeps track of things such as emails being opened and the number of times a link has been clicked on.

d) Features
Keep track of calling, emails, and paper mail; Create banners for emails to improve attractiveness; Quickly upload information through excel files; Attachment tracking and # of clicks counter; send mass text messages to current athletes or recruits; phone log printouts for NCAA compliance..

Almost literally none of those things are done by Berecruited. Berecruited is more geared towards viewing the information and then using it if you desire. However, the site does not give you much utilization for the information. Scoutware is the kind of software that you would take information like Berecruited over to.

e) Benefits Claimed
The biggest benefits of using this software are an increased number of recruits reached, a better sense of organization for information, and an added value to the information that is being sent out. Whether it be graphics in the email or a personal greeting in a mass email, Scoutware allows coaches to do more than they would be able to with a normal email system or a database system not made primarily for recruiting.

f) Analysis of Performance
The performance of the software is very good. There are still some technical difficulties here and there (i.e. the 3rd event entry for a profile resets sometimes). Another issue is the customer service. The customer service is very good for questions that are asked and known issues. However, there is still a lot that can be done with this site and none of that is explained by the company. Looking on the general Scoutware site I saw a lot of things that can be done that are not currently utilized here at Tiffin University. If I had not does this research, we would have never known about them. I would like to see the company continue to try and make our jobs easier and suggest things that we are not utilizing.

g) Recommendation.
I would recommend that any University that is serious about recruiting get a system like Scoutware. The benefits far outweigh the cost. The advantages over a generic site like Berecruited are amazing when it comes to customization. Part of what is being paid for is that customer service and that personal touch on everything that is sent out. This year alone, female distance recruiting at Tiffin University has tripled and the men is matching its highest in school history. The impressive thing is not just these figures but also that these figures were hit while saving time and money.

Columbus vs. New Zealand; the not so common comparison

The two sites that I chose to look at were websites for The Columbus Dispatch and The Ashburton Guardian. Right away, the differences are obvious. When it comes to sports coverage, these two sites are far from similar. In the Dispatch, there is a section for OSU Sports and then a section for "More Sports". It is not hard to see where this newspaper states its allegiance. More or less every professional team in Ohio is covered in the "More Sports" section as well as high school sports and the Columbus Clippers. In the Guardian, there are simply stories posted rather than sections to click on. I did not need to search any further than the first few stories to see how different this newspaper was. The first story deals with bowling, the second with netball, the third with rugby, and the fourth with hockey. Rugby can be argued as a growing sport in America but the first two headlines deal with sports that are rarely covered in mainstream newspapers; certainly not as top priority.

The advertisements on the Dispatch were for a new Ford Fusion, Audi A6, local classified ads, monster.com, columbuscars.com, columbusrealestate.com, and the opportunity to follow the dispatch on facebook, my yahoo, and twitter. In the Guardian, the only real advertisement was for other publications. These included Other than that, the only non-stories on the website's page were a weather gadget and polls on a bridge that was built and an anthem.

The links on the Guardian are essentially to get around on the site and really nothing else. The Dispatch does have some links that take you to other sites (Ohio Summer Fun Guide, BuckeyeXtra.com, Scholar Athletes) but it appears that all these sites are sponsored by the Dispatch itself. If I had to guess, it appears that the Dispatch site is simply the site for a more well known newspaper with a larger reader base. There is not the need on the Guardian's site for some of these things because it does not reach out to quite as many people. However, it was a good visit and if I am ever curious about the New Zealand Secondary School's netball team I know where to go!

If you don't bill it, they will come

In today's society, it is important to be diversified but also specialized in those things you wish to succeed in. Confused? You should be! We are told to try a little bit of everything but it is evident in this competitive job market that you must be an expert in your field. That being said, when would an student have free time if he or she is trying to be the very best in his or her field? There is classes, extra credit, internships, related clubs, and a number of other opportunities. There is certainly no time to go to a sporting event, particularly if the school being attended is not a household name.

A study conducted by Mark Lyberger, Kent State University; Anne Zakelj, Kent State University; Katie Goldring, Kent State University; Sangkwon Lee, Kent State University; John Harris, Kent State University; and Larry McCarthy, Seton Hall University found that students would be more likely to attend these games if there were an incentive program in place. I think this is a great idea for two reason. The first reason is that an increased number of students (however this much be achieved) does a lot of team morale and makes the athletes feel like they are playing for more than just themselves. The second reason that an incentive program would be a good idea is that once the initial increase took place, I believe that there would be a solid retention even if that were removed. For many of these students, they simply have not attended an event. By creating the incentive program and getting their "foot in the door", there is a likelihood that they would realize how enjoying the event is and be more inclined to return.

Why I Want To Be A Coach

I would like to be a coach because I have found a job that I care about regardless of money. If I learned one thing from my parents, it was to do what I love and then worry about money. While this may seem backwards, I believe it makes all the difference in the world. While I may never have a nice car or amazing house, the only reason I look forward to weekends is because that is when track meets are held. I do not have to "make it through" the week because I enjoy what I do. Even while I was an athlete, I was still helping coach. I have rarely done a sport where I was not a vocal leader on the team. As I grew older, I became a student of my sport and was able to couple my ability to be vocal with a know how about the sport. When I was a junior I was already making tweaks to athlete's training and giving them attention that might be seen as excessive to some coaches. As an official coach, I still give that level of attention to my athletes regardless of how it impedes on my personal life. A large reason for this is that the sport I coach is such a large portion of my personal life. I do not see this as work because I am passionate about running and was doing this even before I was coaching it. As a result, the long hours and hard work that is needed do become difficult. However, I am willing to put in this work to continue to progress and allow myself to have what I consider to be a "dream job".