My first week on the job and I was able to dip my toes into a few different
sides of what the sports and recreation industry has to offer. My first day on the job I was able to be a part of a tradition that Tiffin's Baseball League holds every summer; the Opening Ceremonies. Through this event I was not only able to meet several influential people in the Tiffin Parks and Recreation Department and throughout the town but I was also able to work in my photography skills. The Opening Ceremony consisted of the Color Guard coming out and lining the field, the singing of the National Anthem, and then the throwing of the first pitch. During this event it was my job to take photos of the ceremonies so that they could be placed on the Parks and Recreations website and some photos were sent to the local newspaper as well. 
    My second day was short and sweet. I had a meeting about some of the upcoming events.  We discussed items we needed to get for the events and times we needed to work. 
    The next day I was able to make some elementary school kids very happy! I went to Calvert Elementary school and partook in their Awards Ceremony. During this ceremony I handed out ribbons, water bottles, and T-shirts to the winners of the Calvert Elementary field day competition that was held earlier in the spring. I enjoyed this event because I was able to put a smile on so many kids faces when they received their awards. Also to see so many children exceeding and participating in sports as such a young age is always exciting. 

    A few days later, I helped work the first Color Run, held at Tiffin's
Hedges-Boyer Park. I showed up early to help set up. We had to place road blocks up to ensure the safety of the runners, then I took a walk about the course and placed volunteers at certain points throughout the course to help guide the runners. Once the race started it was exciting to see everyone having such a good time, whether they were walkers or runners everyone had a smile on their face and were enjoying them selves. After the runners finished the race I went and around to the stations that the water and powered paint was placed and cleaned those stations up. I removed the road blocks so that people could leave at their leisure while awards were being calculated and passed out. It was an exciting event that I was glad to be apart of. This was the first Color Run that
Tiffin held and they had over 400 participants! I can't wait to see how the
turn out will be in years to come and the improvements that will be made in
order for the event to continually succeed.

This the Tiffin Volleyball Leagues started! These leagues play on Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, and Thursdays and include an all woman league as well as two co-ed leagues split into a "Power" league and a "Recreation" league. I am in charge of the "Power" league, in other words it is the high competition league. In 
preparation for the first week of volleyball I had to collect the team fees, put
together the 10 week playing schedule, and email both the schedule and the set
rules to each team captain. On the night of first games I showed up to the
courts and set out the equipment, such as the scoreboards and score sheets. I
also racked the sand on both of the courts. Throughout the night I stayed and
watched the games to ensure the rules were being followed and make sure
arguments, if any, did not get out of hand. The morning after the league plays I
take the results form each game and put the teams in order from most to least
amount of wins. I also include the scores from each teams games and the next
weeks game schedule. This results sheet gets emailed out to all of the team
captains as well as the local news paper so that sponsors as well as community
members can see how the teams are doing. 
    The other event I worked this week was the annual Fishing Derby. The Fishing Derby was held at the Isaac Walton League. This event was held for children only and they were categorized into three age groups. These groups consisted of 7 and under, 8-10 year olds, and then 11-17 year olds. Kids and their families started showing up for registration around 8:15 am. The Legion was in charge of the up keep of the pond, stoking the pond with certain fish, and also taking the fish off the hooks for the kids and measuring the length of each fish. My job during the event was to record which child caught which fish and how long the fish was. This was to ensure the prizes for each child at the end of the event. The day before the event I was in charge of going to Wal-Mart and choosing the door prizes that each child would receive at the end of the event. This was interesting because the prizes had to be in relation to fishing. Now I have been fishing before but I was not very good or knowledgeable at it. So I was able to put some prizes together such as bobbers, tackle boxes, fishing poles, and nets. The event started at 9:00 and ran until 11:00, any child seen with their pole in the water before hand was disqualified. Over all I would say the event was successful and everyone had a good time. We had about 25 participants.

    It is the first week of June and finally feeling like summer! This week consists of four events in three days. 
First, the Parks and Recreation Department put on a two day baseball camp for children ranging in age from 6 to 8 and 9 to 10. This baseball camp was held from 9-11 in the morning, we taught the kids how to properly field a ground ball, what foot to step with when throwing a ball, the different positions on the field, and how to bat properly. The younger kids hit off of a tee but they still learned the proper technique to holding and swinging the bat such as "squishing the bug" with their back foot when following through and keeping their eye on the ball. The second day of camp we went over the game and techniques to refresh the kids memories. Then we put all the kids together, split them up evenly between two teams and had them play.
    After the baseball camp on the second day the Parks and Recreation Department organized a Play Day. These Play Days are throughout the whole summer and they are in place to teach kids why we should keep the community clean of liter and also about nature all in itself. The first Play Day of the year was about keeping our earth clean and the importance of it. We had a woman named, Andria Marques come from the Seneca County Water and Soil Department, and she brought crafts and games to teach the children about waste and recycling. This Play Day and all others throughout the summer are about an hour long and anyone is welcome to come and participate at any age. Before we started with the games we first went around the park with the children and picked up all the trash we could find. Showing the kids the importance of keeping the local parks clean.
    The last event I had for the week was Volleyball. I supervised once again to ensure there were no conflicts. My duties for this league have been stated in the previous posts.

    This week of events were both fun, educational, and new to me. Even though I have worked with children through a coaching stand point of sports, this weeks
camp involved nature! The first day of the two day camp we brought in a woman
named Beth from the Seneca County Water and Soil Department, who brought crafts, games, and other teaching tools about nature. Some of the crafts included soil paintings, coloring a bird seen in nature, and a nature book. I was most intrigued by the soil paintings because I did not know that you could take soil and mix it with water to make paint! We also took the kids on a bird hike, this
let the kids go explore the park with binoculars. They were able to figure out
what kinds of birds are around the area. Lastly, Beth brought in the fur hides
of several different animals that could be and have been seen in the city of
Tiffin. Some of these animals included skunks, squirrels, ground hogs, foxes,
coyotes, and even minks. Once Beth was done showing her fur hides, the kids
ate lunch and then we took them swimming at the community pool for the second half of the day. 
    The second day of camp focused less on nature and more on camp games, but the kids had just as much fun. We played dodge ball, Pac-man, and capture the flag. But other than the games we also had the kids make cards for their fathers, since Fathers Day was that Sunday. While the cards were drying we ate lunch and then took the kids swimming once again. Throughout this day of camp I was in charge of taking pictures of the activities and the campers so that we could add them to the Parks and Recreation Department's Facebook page. 
    Beyond the two days of camp I also had my weekly duties of Volleyball on Wednesday evening.  

    These last two weeks were pretty laid back for the interns. I had my weekly duty of Volleyball on Wednesday night. I have not had any issues with teams or
players when it comes to conflict on and off of the courts, which makes my job
easier. It seems that everyone is enjoying themselves very much and the
competition seems to be increasing with each week. This makes the league even more fun to watch because the games and rallies are so close to one
another. 
    Besides having volleyball on Wednesdays the only other  camp we had was a World Camp for 8 to 9 year olds. This camp was all day starting at 8 am and ending at 4:30 pm. We have had several of these camps through out the summer, ranging in age from 5 year olds to 10 year olds. I would have to say that I enjoy spending time with all of the age groups but the 9 to 10 year olds are definitely more interactive when it comes to the activities and crafts that we plan. During these camps we put together activities in the form of games and crafts that will teach the children about the land and creatures of the World. Some of these activities are painting, making rock animals, putting wildlife books together, going on bird hikes, and scavenger hunts. 
    We do a few activities with the kids and then we sit down for snack, we do a few more activities and then sit down for lunch, after lunch we try to play a camp game such as kickball or tag, then we go to the community pool at Hedges-Boyer park to swim for a few hours. While at the swimming pool the kids must check in with us (counselors) once every hour to ensure their safety. After the pool it is around 4:00 and the kids are usually worn out and tired. So we set out some puzzles and coloring supplies, sometimes chalk, to keep the kids occupied for the last 30 minutes until their parents pick them up. 
    After all the campers leave, us interns sweep the barn, put all of the supplies back in their containers and into the storage unite. Then we are able to lock up and head home. Even though the World Camps are only two days long, I have had a blast being able to be a part of their summer. Matt had received several emails from parents through out the summer thanking the interns and the Departments of Parks and Recreation for the great job we have done and telling us how much their child enjoyed the camp. Even though it is something so small as a Thank You, the showing of appreciation goes a long way in my eyes and it makes me feel good that I was able to contribute to a child's summer fun!  

    This week was not busy, but it was fun! Volleyball was cancelled because of the storm so I had to call all of my team captains to let them know and for them to spread the word to their teammates. This only took about ten minutes to call
everyone and if they did not pick up I left a voicemail and then tried calling
them again 5-10 minutes later. Usually I stay in contact with the captains
through email, but since it was the day of volleyball, telephone was a faster
way of getting the word out. 
    The next day the Parks and Recreation Department schedules a Play Day at Nature Trails Park. This has been our fourth Play Day of the summer. These are always fun for me because the activities that are given to the kids really make them think, yet they are also fun for them. It shows the kids how important it is to
keep our Earth clean and they also get to make crafts such as bracelets made of
pop tabs and string and drink coasters made from gluing felt on an old CD. 
    

    Saturday and Sunday we held a baseball tournament. The kids playing
in the tournament ranged in age from 6-8 years old. These teams were coach pitch which means that the coach is the one who tosses the ball for the better to hit. My job, after helping with set up, was to help umpire the games. Now I played softball in high school and I have watched my fair share of baseball games. But having to umpire definitely gave me a new perspective on the game. I had to stay focused and watch the pitcher, batter, and runners all at the same
time! The first couple of innings I was apprehensive and shy, but once I warmed up and made a few calls I was really able to get into it. Doing all of the hand motions with the calls instead of just verbally saying "out" was my favorite part. Since this was a two day tournament, when I came back on Sunday I was pumped and ready to make some calls! And they were the semi-final and final games so I had to be on top of my game. Since it was coach pitch the coaches were able to help verify any calls that I or the other umpire called. All of the teams, including the coaches and kids, had a lot of sportsmanship and were just excited to be out there playing a sport that they loved. That is what made the
weekend enjoyable to me, being able to watch these kids have the time of
their lives playing sports and no politics or rowdy out of control parents
were around. I am happy to be able to put another skill such as umpire under my
belt!   

    These two weeks were very busy for the Parks and Recreation Department. We had several events going on such as World Camps, Play Day, Golf Camp, Dance Camp, and Volleyball. Since some of these camps overlapped one another on days and times, we as interns could not be at all of them so we split them up among us. I was in charge of the World Camps and then our weekly volleyball league. I have already worked three or four World Camps before this so I did not have to learn anything new, such as golf, which I know nothing about. The World Camp was set up like all of the others that we have had throughout the summer. Beth from Seneca County Water and Soil Department came in with her usual activities and crafts. They might be slightly altered for the change in the age group of the kids. This week we had 5-6 year olds and I've been used to having 9-10 year olds. But the structure for the camp stayed the
same. 
    Then Wednesday we had volleyball league from 5:30 to 10:30. This was the first week back in three consecutive weeks because of the 4th of July holiday, and then there were two weeks that had been rained out. So when I tell you that this week for volleyball was by far the most intense, you can understand why. They were not showing any mercy on the courts that night!

    This week was a lot like last week, that I had to put on another World Camp and we had our weekly Volleyball league. But we had a weekend scheduled for a huge baseball tournament, called the Bo-Reid Tournament that was being held at Hedges-Boyer Park. The tournament was supposed to start Saturday and end
Sunday, but with the weather that we have been getting throughout the summer, we had to cancel Saturday all together. This meant that the tournament was going to have to be played all in one day, Sunday! Me and the other interns showed up to Hedges-Boyer at 7:00 am so that we could help Matt and Steve prepare the fields and put more clay down so that some fields could be playable. This took about an hour and a half to make sure that all 4 fields would hold for the day. We then set up the scoreboards, passed out the score books to each coach, and lined the field and batters boxes. The first round of games kicked off at 9:00am. Each team was guaranteed two games. Then from their the single elimination was set in place. While the games were going on a was placed at a field and kept the official book for all of those games on that field. 
    This was exciting and a great learning experience because I had never done that before. I was really able to get into the game because I had no other choice but to pay attention to what was happening on the field so that I did not mess up. Just like learning how to umpire, I was able to add yet another skill to my belt. 
    It was a long day, being at the park from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, but despite the rain we got the day before it was a beautiful day to play baseball!