Blog 16: Advisory Meeting #2

“I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed; and the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can fail and keep on trying.” -Tom Hopkins

Answer #2: Teamwork! (were you really surprised?)

• Although there are many sports, softball in high school is the ideal sport that teaches teens the importance of teamwork because of the specific jobs each position has.

3 details to support the answer (a detail is a fact and an example)

• "Talent without teamwork = trouble," said Jeff Jenssen, a well-team known expert in the area of team-building that done a lot of work with folks coaching softball. This is very true and it goes for all sports, teams don't win on talent alone. Talent gives you a greater chance of winning but doesn't really guarantee you anything. 
• Success is built on talent and teamwork. The team as a whole have common characteristics such as: 

1. Common goal shared by all like winning C.I.F.
2. Commitment
3. Complementary roles (various individuals taking pride  in filling specific roles)
4. Clear communication
5. Constructive conflict
6. Cohesion (players like and respect each other)

Success is not random, it just doesn't happened like this. It's the results of many things and one of them is: good and successful coaching.

• Learning to work as part of a team is essential to success in many other areas. Children have to learn to cooperate both at home and school. In school students are expected to work together without conflict and many teachers use cooperative groups to teach just that. At home children are expected to be part of the family team and help with chores that need to be done. And when they are older, these children may have a job that requires teamwork, only rarely does a person work in job that does not require working with others. Office workers have to work together to accomplish the tasks given to them. Construction workers have to be part of a team effort to finish buildings on time and on budget.

The research source (s) to support your details and answer.

• "Coaching Softball - What Makes A Championship Team?" Coaching Softball - What Makes A Championship Team? N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. <http://www.softballperformance.com/coaching-softball-what-makes-a-championship-team/>.
• "The Power of Teamwork." Competitive Advantage: Sports Psychology and Mental Toughness. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. <https://www.competitivedge.com/power-teamwork>.
• "Teamwork in Sports | Fullerton ASA Softball League." Fullerton ASA Softball League. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <http://www.fullertonasasoftball.com/2013/06/13/teamwork-in-sports/>.

Concluding Sentence

• Teamwork is something that must be a high priority and given constant attention. Every player needs to understand how important it is for them to work smoothly together if they want to be successful. Each player must be dedicated to the whole team and be willing to act unselfishly. When challenges arise (as they always do), the team needs to have the resources, accountability and commitment to deal with them in a constructive and positive manner. A sense of teamwork will play an integral part in this. T.E.A.M. - Together Everyone Achieves More!

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

"Its supposed to be hard, if it wasn't hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

• I'm currently trying to get in contact with the softball coach at Southland's because I want to have more than one mentor in the subject i'm focusing on. Basically what I would do with the coach is what i'm planning to do with my main mentor Jenny which is help the coach out with practice, like an assistant, and practice with the girls, except not be on the team because I can't. I'd be asking questions to try and understand his method of coaching as well as his philosophy and compare it with Jennifer's. What I find cool about this is that Southland's coach is a guy and my mentor Jennifer clearly stated in my first interview that she hates when guys coach a girl sport because they don't understand the strengths and weaknesses of girls and hopefully I will get to experience that for my own.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

• It's exactly what my topic is and I'm basically just finding another mentor to help me compare coaching philosophies as well as methods.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

• Seeing the perspective of a guy coach on a girl sport and comparing it to a girl coach on a girl sport can help me see what girl coaches do differently than guy coach. I want to compare these two because maybe I would agree more with what the guy coach is doing and I would ask my main mentor Jenny why she doesn't do this certain drill like the guy coach and knowing her she'd give me a really long explanation as well as a book recommendation.

4.  Post a log on the right hand side of your blog near your other logs and call it the independent component 2 log.

• Done.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

"Great teamwork is the only way we create the breakthroughs that define our careers."

LITERAL

(a) Statement saying: “I, student name, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”

I, Darlene Good, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work. (More to come though) 

(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.

My sources are the coaches at Southland's for the girls' varsity basketball team: Julius Johnson, Monica Martinez (a close friend of coach Johnson with prior experience), and Trish Milhiser (JV coach).

(c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours).   Post it next to your mentorship log.

Make it easier when checking this post: click here

(d) Explanation of what you completed.  

A huge thing that I feel must be said is that I filled in my first play for a game as well as told the girls which position to play and really play the role of a coach. 

INTERPRETIVE 

Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work. Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.

Mainly what I did was go to practice and lead a few or help the coaches with drills. When I say help the coaches with drills I mean, there are two main coaches, Johnson and Trish, and we'd split the girls into three groups so each coach and I had our own set or girls and we either had competitions on which group can do drills faster or actually split the girls so we each can do whatever we wanted with them.

When it came to the weight room I actually worked out with them because it's a way for the girls to see me as part of the team rather than just helping the coaches out.

All the schedules for practices and games are on a googledocs that's shared between the coaches and I. That to me is like another class blog that I need to be constantly checking on everyday to see if I agree with the schedule and/or if there's anything I would like to add or replace.

APPLIED

How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better?  Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 

My independent component really helped me see the different perspectives on coaches for different sports and it gives me answers to research and pay more attention to during practices and at home. With two coaches involved now it helps me see the different coaching types within the same sport and I know for my actual mentoring it will give me a third perspective on coaching.

A specific example is the idea I call "C.T.C." which basically stands from "Character. Teamwork. Commitment." I came up with this because Character forms a Team and a team must be committed to the same goal. Not quite sure if the order will be that but my independent component actually helped me for this concept so I feel like this is a perfect example i've gotten out of being part of the basketball team.