As you know, hopefully, that part of my internship is coaching. I coach kids between the ages of 13 and 18 years old, from all different high schools in the state of Arizona. We practice every day between 4 and 6pm on Tempe Town Lake. I've been coaching now for almost three years, and started out as the assistant coach and then worked my way up to head coach. Part of my job is be a leader to these kids. To give them the confidence that they are capable of racing and participating at their fullest potential. I have to plan, organize, register, call, pay, and most importantly communicate with everyone and everything regarding the team. Whether it be with the parents or the hotel we're staying at for a race, I am the one in charge or ensuring that I am their leader and that I am doing everything in my power to give them the best experience possible.
Being a leader to these kids is important. If not me, then who? The assistant coaches I work with are great and they all have their own knowledge and skills that they bring to the table, but they are all either full time students (with majors that do not work with recreation), full time employees, or just flat out don't have the time to contribute anything once practice is over. All of the planning happens after practice- and that is why I am the leader/head coach of the team. I'm in charge of everything, and I can't do all of it between 4 and 6pm on a week day.
The leadership position to a group of high schoolers is important. You would not believe how much they take out of every word you say, or how you behave and handle situations. They pick up on your personality, your traits, your characteristics and they start to either portray those in their own way or just pick them up as their own. The way I handle things, say things, work with people always has to be the best way possible in case one of the kids is watching. If they see me do something wrong or unjust then they might lose faith in me or start to pick up on that and do it themselves- which is something I don't want.
In another aspect of my internship, leadership also plays a roll because I am often working individually with myself to get things done. When I think leadership, I think responsibility. When I am given a task and have to complete it with or without the help of other, I am responsible for getting it done. Usually when I do work with groups I am the source of leadership, and even when I have to work by myself, I am still (in my head haha) pushing myself to get it done because other people are counting on me.
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