Write a final reflection and evaluation of your applied study experience. What did you learn from this experience? How did you grow? What skills did you gain? Do you feel that it was a positive experience, why or why not?
This experience has been valuable to me in several ways. I feel like having had an internship the previous semester allowed me to take advantage of everything it had to offer. I learned about operation of a privately funded, public school. I learned about how the school started and the vision for where it is supposed to go. I gained some team work and communication skills through my interaction with the other 25 coaches and faculty. I gained some technical skills with social media and organizational tools like our Google calendars. My PR and communication skills were probably the most developed in my time working. This was a valuable and positive experience for me because I was able to do so many things during my last semester and still have the time to be at this school 4 times a week. Having my last season as a collegiate athlete and the games each week coincide with the students own flag football schedule was a surreal experience for both of us I'm sure. I was able to basically intern for two companies, Champion Schools and ProVentures from Virginia. I've been offered a position next semester at the school along with a raise. The CEO and my mentor have proposed a paid trip to Virginia to work with the team there on an actual sports marketing project for me to interact a little more closely and develop the other skills of my major which is the business and marketing discipline. Perhaps just as importantly, I had the chance to look at what a career in coaching and athletics could look like shadowing the AD at Champion Schools. Maybe in 15-20 years I could return to my high school or ASU to assume an administrative position in athletics.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A Change for the Better
Champion Schools is almost 10 years old and the growth in the last few years has been exponential. Things are constantly developing so there are essentially countless areas for improvement in many different levels of function. The size and quality of the facilities and buildings are probably the first thing that you would notice if you spent a day around school. Summit Elementary shares a large building full of classrooms with the Phoenix School for the Arts. There are currently about 350 Champion School's students occupying 10 rooms and space is so limited that at every hour of the day there are students outside for either P.E. or lunch. This issue was addressed long ago and the delays in construction at the new campus are desperately close to being over. The new campus will make things a lot easier with the logistics for school bus pick-ups and organizing school wide programs, like sports. The square footage along with the surrounding community and what it has to offer will be good for the school but I'm sure there will be some negatives as well. The mass of the area around the school carries the same principle as businesses because the surrounding services and residential housing will start to have greater involvement with another educational institution running. After the space issue is taken care of the operating size of the staff is my biggest concern.
Right now, the school could use about 4-6 more coaches to ease the pressure off of the 6 teachers who teach and coach teams. Once the school moves campuses, they will probably increase enrollment by about 30%. I think the staff of 25 needs to do the same or more to stay productive and efficient. In my current position as marketing specialist I believe Champion Schools would be an ideal location for undergraduate students looking for teaching internship experience before certification. This would be an easy way to fill teaching hours and also attract attention from the large, local university. Keeping the social media friendly and updated will help Champion Schools to stand out among standard public schools. The small intimate nature of the school along with its focus and success in athletics will drive the enrollment steadily.
Right now, the school could use about 4-6 more coaches to ease the pressure off of the 6 teachers who teach and coach teams. Once the school moves campuses, they will probably increase enrollment by about 30%. I think the staff of 25 needs to do the same or more to stay productive and efficient. In my current position as marketing specialist I believe Champion Schools would be an ideal location for undergraduate students looking for teaching internship experience before certification. This would be an easy way to fill teaching hours and also attract attention from the large, local university. Keeping the social media friendly and updated will help Champion Schools to stand out among standard public schools. The small intimate nature of the school along with its focus and success in athletics will drive the enrollment steadily.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
A Look At CS Athletic Director, Junior Taylor
What daily challenges do you face?
To make sure everyone has what they need to do their jobs and operate efficiently. Pleasing everyone is difficult; from the JV to the varsity teams, from the players to the coaches. It can never be fair and equal for all.
How do you deal with deadlines, unhappy people and politics?
Working ahead and prioritizing duties. With playoff schedules that aren't announced until a short period before they happen, it's inevitable for some parents to be upset. It's important to bite your lip and listen to what they have to say. It's also important to tell it like it is and to be real with parents. The organizational structure doesn't leave too much serious internal politics. Teachers think the AD doesn't care about academics although he tries dearly to fulfill the mission statement of staying strong and disciplined in the classroom.
What do you like/dislike about the position?
Being able to see things grow from not having any teams at all when he first started three years ago, to state titles and several levels for various sports. He enjoys having a hand in many managerial duties for all of the sports. Usually, in an athletic department there would be a much larger staff taking care of all the things he has to do which makes it difficult but also more satisfying. He is fulfilling his own vision and plan, and doing it his way.
What would makes things more easy?
The new campus. A gym, a field and all the needs of the teams available in one place. A larger staff would help because right now they are operating with less resources than they would like and the quality of programs is important.
How do you deal with depending on others?
Having people with the same vision as him helps. He has the personality trait of a control freak which makes him want to control things and not depend on others all the time. He needs to build more trust which he is doing as the year goes along.
Who are your mentors?
He speaks to the head coach of his high school football team about twice a week. He taught him the value of student athletes working hard and giving them opportunities. He has coached for over 40 years and taught as PE teacher.
What is your vision for your LLC, Taylor Made?
Helping to keep kids on track, prepared for college academically and athletically, providing them with all the tools they'll need. He envisions his company being able to come to any school and get kids ready with tutoring and training that is more useful than what they can get in their current situation. The programs are tailored to every athlete. His company was created last year and the first year was very successful.
To make sure everyone has what they need to do their jobs and operate efficiently. Pleasing everyone is difficult; from the JV to the varsity teams, from the players to the coaches. It can never be fair and equal for all.
How do you deal with deadlines, unhappy people and politics?
Working ahead and prioritizing duties. With playoff schedules that aren't announced until a short period before they happen, it's inevitable for some parents to be upset. It's important to bite your lip and listen to what they have to say. It's also important to tell it like it is and to be real with parents. The organizational structure doesn't leave too much serious internal politics. Teachers think the AD doesn't care about academics although he tries dearly to fulfill the mission statement of staying strong and disciplined in the classroom.
What do you like/dislike about the position?
Being able to see things grow from not having any teams at all when he first started three years ago, to state titles and several levels for various sports. He enjoys having a hand in many managerial duties for all of the sports. Usually, in an athletic department there would be a much larger staff taking care of all the things he has to do which makes it difficult but also more satisfying. He is fulfilling his own vision and plan, and doing it his way.
What would makes things more easy?
The new campus. A gym, a field and all the needs of the teams available in one place. A larger staff would help because right now they are operating with less resources than they would like and the quality of programs is important.
How do you deal with depending on others?
Having people with the same vision as him helps. He has the personality trait of a control freak which makes him want to control things and not depend on others all the time. He needs to build more trust which he is doing as the year goes along.
Who are your mentors?
He speaks to the head coach of his high school football team about twice a week. He taught him the value of student athletes working hard and giving them opportunities. He has coached for over 40 years and taught as PE teacher.
What is your vision for your LLC, Taylor Made?
Helping to keep kids on track, prepared for college academically and athletically, providing them with all the tools they'll need. He envisions his company being able to come to any school and get kids ready with tutoring and training that is more useful than what they can get in their current situation. The programs are tailored to every athlete. His company was created last year and the first year was very successful.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
AD for a Day
I chose to shadow one of my mentors at Champion Schools who I interact with on a daily basis. His name is Junior Taylor and is the Athletic Director for our school. Mr. Taylor was one of the three people that initially influenced me to be a part of CS. I felt like I had a lot in common with him, which I do, and this would make the work atmosphere a little lighter. At the same time, he is the head of athletics so I call him "Coach Taylor" along with the rest of the students and employees.
Coach Taylor is an extremely busy individual which hasn't made the beginning of the year the easiest around school. Along with the birth of his baby daughter, he also spent some time testing the waters of the UFL, a start up football league. The Varsity flag football team, which he coaches, has only lost one game which was the one he missed while trying out for a team in Florida. In the mornings Coach Taylor gets to school usually around 10am. He has two phones, both email capable, which he has on him at all times to keep up with schedule changes and questions from the many parents that he has to deal with. He is responsible for overseeing the scheduling of all practices and games, (soccer leagues, football leagues, volleyball) and forecasting the sport seasons ahead. He has many associates such as league commisioners, other coaches and city officials for negotiating permits. Since CS has two separate campuses, he also is responsible for logistics of transportation especially for competitions.
As I said previously, he was one of the three main people that make up CS. Ms. Sawyer and the VP, Ms. Fagan are the other two. That being said, Coach Taylor helps with school events like their "Fall Festival" after school holiday, "Going to College" interstate trips and other miscleanous happenings. Coach Taylor finds small openings in his day to settle stirs between teachers, coaches and his players. As the head coach, he has to keep his athletes accountable in the classroom by calling them into his office for "motivational" speeches every so often. Everyday after school, after I've left, his team either has practice or a game which he has to go to. He contributes to the school photo albums and blog entries when he has the time also.
Coach Taylor is an extremely busy individual which hasn't made the beginning of the year the easiest around school. Along with the birth of his baby daughter, he also spent some time testing the waters of the UFL, a start up football league. The Varsity flag football team, which he coaches, has only lost one game which was the one he missed while trying out for a team in Florida. In the mornings Coach Taylor gets to school usually around 10am. He has two phones, both email capable, which he has on him at all times to keep up with schedule changes and questions from the many parents that he has to deal with. He is responsible for overseeing the scheduling of all practices and games, (soccer leagues, football leagues, volleyball) and forecasting the sport seasons ahead. He has many associates such as league commisioners, other coaches and city officials for negotiating permits. Since CS has two separate campuses, he also is responsible for logistics of transportation especially for competitions.
As I said previously, he was one of the three main people that make up CS. Ms. Sawyer and the VP, Ms. Fagan are the other two. That being said, Coach Taylor helps with school events like their "Fall Festival" after school holiday, "Going to College" interstate trips and other miscleanous happenings. Coach Taylor finds small openings in his day to settle stirs between teachers, coaches and his players. As the head coach, he has to keep his athletes accountable in the classroom by calling them into his office for "motivational" speeches every so often. Everyday after school, after I've left, his team either has practice or a game which he has to go to. He contributes to the school photo albums and blog entries when he has the time also.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
My Show
Here is the link to my portfolio showcasing my work and experience through college:
https://sites.google.com:443/a/asu.edu/brians-bis-portfolio/Home
https://sites.google.com:443/a/asu.edu/brians-bis-portfolio/Home
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Future
Thinking about your future
My recent work experience has all revolved around business and marketing. I've worked in a sports performance company, a fitness club and with youth at a community center and now at Champion Schools. I know that in the future I want to stay in business and as much as possible I would like to stay in a field that is related to sports. I can see myself 3 months from now as a full time employee at Champion Schools but right now my goals are much further than that. I don't feel like my full set of skills are best suited for working at a school. The coaching and supervision of children is something that I am completely capable of doing but it's not what I want to do for a living after I get my degree. Sports marketing is what I want to do and what I think I would excel at immediately. I've learned more about budgets, marketing plans and time frames since working at Champion Schools. The construction schedule for our new campus will play a big part in whether or not I have returning as a high option come January. The professional skills I've learned and developed, including my work on the blogs and marketing coordination efforts are becoming valuable to my repertoire. It wasn't until just last week at a flag football game that I pictured myself working full time as a coach/teacher like most of the coaches back at my high school in Hawaii. Again, right now I want to focus on business and I would like to work for a professional team or a sports marketing group in the near future. I can see myself in 10-15 years moving home to coach and teach at my alma mater in football or basketball. I never envisioned an opportunity like this until recently because I'm finally beginning to realize my athletic background and knowledge as a senior playing division I football. It's also only been a couple of years working with kids everyday.
My recent work experience has all revolved around business and marketing. I've worked in a sports performance company, a fitness club and with youth at a community center and now at Champion Schools. I know that in the future I want to stay in business and as much as possible I would like to stay in a field that is related to sports. I can see myself 3 months from now as a full time employee at Champion Schools but right now my goals are much further than that. I don't feel like my full set of skills are best suited for working at a school. The coaching and supervision of children is something that I am completely capable of doing but it's not what I want to do for a living after I get my degree. Sports marketing is what I want to do and what I think I would excel at immediately. I've learned more about budgets, marketing plans and time frames since working at Champion Schools. The construction schedule for our new campus will play a big part in whether or not I have returning as a high option come January. The professional skills I've learned and developed, including my work on the blogs and marketing coordination efforts are becoming valuable to my repertoire. It wasn't until just last week at a flag football game that I pictured myself working full time as a coach/teacher like most of the coaches back at my high school in Hawaii. Again, right now I want to focus on business and I would like to work for a professional team or a sports marketing group in the near future. I can see myself in 10-15 years moving home to coach and teach at my alma mater in football or basketball. I never envisioned an opportunity like this until recently because I'm finally beginning to realize my athletic background and knowledge as a senior playing division I football. It's also only been a couple of years working with kids everyday.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Connections
A couple of weeks ago I sat down with my supervisor to inquire about some figures on a demographic fact sheet for our marketing partners in Virginia. Ms. Sawyer, our Principal and CEO gave me the financial layout and development plan for Champion Schools which was enlightening for me because I joined the team without knowing much of that information. It was a good thing to hear her explain what type of school CS was and what they’re goals are since I am a key in the marketing of this institution to the public.
What every entrepreneurial endeavor needs to get rolling is a value proposition. This is a business marketing strategy that involves assessment of the company (our school), the customers (the students) and the competition (other schools, private and public). Ms. Sawyer and her business associate, Patrick McGee, had the vision for a public charter school founded on principles of academic and athletic discipline. They have found a market niche of their own to build a competitive advantage over other public schools because they offer many things that Phoenix public schools don’t. The value proposition compiled by Mr. McGee’s marketing team is also essential for investors like the construction company building our new campus.
In consumer markets, customer retention is an important concept to implement especially in newer, smaller businesses. It’s a little more difficult and usually expensive to find new customers and much easier to focus on quality of service to influence customers to spend their dollars in the same place while spreading a good word for you. At CS, the quality of their service could be called the quantity of their service. Transportation, school supplies and several organized teams and leagues are all apart of a cost free education. I work with teachers on their facebooks to try and build awareness of CS through networks which relates back to the relationships we have with the students and their families. The schools facebook, twitter, blog and website are also tools we use to keep the CS family informed and intimate with what’s happening.
The Theory of Play is something anyone working with kids should know. A handout in one of my PRM courses explained that play is essentially behavior that humans and animals participate in to explore and learn about their environments. Having physical education with a game everyday gives the CS students the chance to play and develop motor skills, sensory knowledge, exploration of different roles, cognitive, problem solving and social skills which is the best indicator of success in schools.
Sport is the other recreation management concept that applies to CS. Cooperative competition is a term used to explain sport which I believe speaks a lot to the mission and goals of our school. Sport brings together physical athletics, which all kids love, education and professionalism. I think the patience and capacity of our first through fourth graders to board buses every morning and for our fifth through eighth graders to switch class rooms every hour speaks to this notion of professionalism and maturity.
What every entrepreneurial endeavor needs to get rolling is a value proposition. This is a business marketing strategy that involves assessment of the company (our school), the customers (the students) and the competition (other schools, private and public). Ms. Sawyer and her business associate, Patrick McGee, had the vision for a public charter school founded on principles of academic and athletic discipline. They have found a market niche of their own to build a competitive advantage over other public schools because they offer many things that Phoenix public schools don’t. The value proposition compiled by Mr. McGee’s marketing team is also essential for investors like the construction company building our new campus.
In consumer markets, customer retention is an important concept to implement especially in newer, smaller businesses. It’s a little more difficult and usually expensive to find new customers and much easier to focus on quality of service to influence customers to spend their dollars in the same place while spreading a good word for you. At CS, the quality of their service could be called the quantity of their service. Transportation, school supplies and several organized teams and leagues are all apart of a cost free education. I work with teachers on their facebooks to try and build awareness of CS through networks which relates back to the relationships we have with the students and their families. The schools facebook, twitter, blog and website are also tools we use to keep the CS family informed and intimate with what’s happening.
The Theory of Play is something anyone working with kids should know. A handout in one of my PRM courses explained that play is essentially behavior that humans and animals participate in to explore and learn about their environments. Having physical education with a game everyday gives the CS students the chance to play and develop motor skills, sensory knowledge, exploration of different roles, cognitive, problem solving and social skills which is the best indicator of success in schools.
Sport is the other recreation management concept that applies to CS. Cooperative competition is a term used to explain sport which I believe speaks a lot to the mission and goals of our school. Sport brings together physical athletics, which all kids love, education and professionalism. I think the patience and capacity of our first through fourth graders to board buses every morning and for our fifth through eighth graders to switch class rooms every hour speaks to this notion of professionalism and maturity.
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