Sports Coach Research Paper

Sport Coach

I have been an employee for the Town of Richmond Hill for only a year now, which really surprises me because of how far I have come in this venture. From being a fellow student in swimming lessons, to taking lengthy, more advanced courses; I had finally reached my goal of being hired as a lifeguard/instructor near the beginning of grade 11. Little did I know, that was only the beginning of my journey that led up to me becoming a head coach of my own R.H.L.C team!

What is R.H.L.C? Well, the Richmond-Hill-Lifesaving-Club is a year-round program that introduces young athletes to lifesaving by placing them in a competitive sport-like environment. When we gather for practice on Monday nights, I like to begin with a team discussion

in order to maintain chemistry. Not only do these activities improve the athletes’ communicative skills, but also challenges my own abilities, such as planning out and participating in constructive team-based discussion topics. I believe that coaching R.H.L.C is a two way street, as the more effort I put in to improving others, the more experience I gain which in-turn can lead to further promotion.

Along with coaching multiple R.H.L.C swim groups, comes great dedication organization skills and responsibility. I have received countless salutations from parents about my dedication to the sport, and professionalism at such a young age. It is imperative that I have prepared detailed lesson plans before the start of every class with a distinct goal to achieve each and every time. Not only does this help me stay organized throughout the session, but also teaches me to balance school work and extra curricular activities which is crucial in any university path. Additionally, on my own time I am obligated to take my swim groups to various competitions that arise every season. Though, this may seem like a drag to some coaches, I am always more than happy to lead and participate in the scheduled R.H.L.C games.

One of my favorite things about coaching R.H.L.C. is transforming a more cautious or very shy child to reach their full upmost potential. Again, this goes both ways as the child benefits from breaking out of their shell, while I also benefit by refining my ability to adapt, through effectively communicating with a generation other than my own. Being the leader of a group, also allows me to appreciate teamwork, by ensuring all tasks are performed efficiently. For example, when setting up drills I often separate my group into smaller groups based on skill set and assign instructions from then on.

On paper, my mission as a coach is to help swimmers improve their strength, power and endurance while having fun and competing. However, in the eyes of my team I accomplish much more than this. I see myself as a coach with a passion for developing people, not just swimmers. Overall, coaching R.H.L.C has motivated me as a leader to always strive for and accomplish greater than the standard, while maintaining consistency.

Friends For Life

Having lost numerous relatives to Cancer, I am more than proud to be a member of the Friends for Life Fundraiser, in their efforts to raise money for the Princess Margaret Hospital foundation. For over 16 years, this organization has been dedicated to raising proceeds in the fight against Cancer. My involvement with this committee has been continuous for the past 4 years, as my responsibilities continue to grow each consecutive year. Most recently, my responsibilities within the fundraiser included setup, promoting donated items for auction, directing guests, ticket sales and of course clean up.

The fundraiser occurs every year around mid November and lasts one extensive night full of keynote speakers, catered food, live music, raffles and a silent auction. Preparation towards this special night however, is something that takes course for several weeks and requires both critical thinking and planning. For example, table seating was a very important task that must be completed two weeks prior to the actual event. Even though we did work as a large team, this was not an easy task as tables had to be formed based on groups of friends/family to ensure everyone got along and would have a good time.

Being promoted to chief of raffle ticket sales, it was my responsibility to monitor all other young committee members to ensure tickets were being sold properly.

Because of this, the committee and I were able to sell nearly all of the tickets for the 50/50 raffle. This is a huge accomplishment for myself, because I know that with a little hard work and dedication I was able to contribute towards finding the cure for cancer. Another task I appreciated doing was describing the donated items to those participating in the silent auction. I was able to combine my passion for generating sales and communication skills out of the goodness of my heart, knowing that for every dollar I raised was going towards the

fundraiser.

As the night went on, my hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed since the executive members acknowledged my ability to sell tickets and interact with fellow guests. In fact, the committee was so impressed that they asked for me to become a permanent member of the committee in the near future. Hearing this made my day, as I would be more than happy to contribute my time for developing a cure for cancer. Remembering the time where my mother was diagnosed and survived this awful condition pushes me forward to become involved in Friends For Life each and every year.

Overall, participating and eventually leading in this fundraiser has taught me to use my awareness and skill for the better sake of others. It has also allowed me to strengthen my commitment to something outside of school and work, which is important as well. Most importantly, this organization has provided me with an opportunity to make a difference one year at a time, while having an enjoyable night.

Q-lead

Following the start to a very intense senior year of high school, grade 12 students from across all schools are looking for a “competitive edge” to have when applying to programs of their choice. After hearing about Q-lead being passed down the high school grapevine, I immediately assumed it would be a great opportunity to experience a business school away from home. It turns out, this conference was much more than that is it allowed me to network with students across Canada, develop key leadership qualities, and get my first taste of the business world.

The Queen’s Leadership Excellence and Development (Q-Lead) conference is a weekend opportunity to challenge and strengthen one’s leadership skills, through workshops, keynote speakers and an introduction to case studies. The catch however, is that delegates must thoroughly apply and be admitted to this conference in order to attend. Out of the many grade 12 students who took the initiative to apply from my school, only four including myself were admitted as suitable delegates.

After a long yet exciting bus ride to Kingston, the conference kicked off with a predesigned commerce simulation, in which delegates were divided into CEO’s, headhunters, and famous companies. My role in this simulation was to locate a headhunter, and negotiate a deal with him/her to find a fitting CEO for the company Netflix, while remaining profitable. By participating in this simulation, I was able to network and meet with tons of new people while putting my business knowledge to the test in a real life scenario. The following day after was comprised of various keynote speakers who gave fundamental tactics in the art of communication, management and even investing. Fortunately, I was able to implement these tactics throughout the rest of the conference and even back at home.

We then participated in countless teamwork activities and competitions to acquire points that were redeemed for prizes.

I was the leader of the “Green team” and led my group towards placing first in the cheer contest by organizing an inspiring team chant. All of this, led up to the main event of the weekend, which was solving the business challenge using a case study approach sponsored by CIBC. The task at hand was divided into groups of six, to propose a solution for the problem of senior citizens neglecting online banking. I took the initiative to lead my group by assigning roles in order to complete the task and accurately present our information in front of real executives from CIBC bank. It was at this very moment when I discovered my love for case studies, as I immediately excelled using this hands on approach while incorporating all technical skills I have learned in the

past.

Overall, attending this conference has provided me with the essential tools required throughout my future endeavors in business and every day life. I can proudly say that out of the 300+ applicants, I was recognized to be part of the 150 delegates to attend and benefit from.