Last Day

Yesterday morning was my last day at Tekulve. Over the summer, I completed 400 hours. It's sad to think that I might never see these kids again. I wish all of the athletes the best of luck.

Overall, I think that I learned a lot about Tekulve, what they do, and why this program works. I learned everything such as scheduling, Active Dynamic Warm-up, plyometrics, spotting athletes on the treadmill, weight machines, pre-tests and post-tests, and a little bit about Quickbooks. I know have a better understanding why this program works and why athletes continue to come back to us to make themselves faster, stronger, and more agile.

I could see myself doing this as my first job, however, I would have to consider some other things such as location, salary, benefits, and gas. I like the people that I work with and that's a big deal in my book. Salary and benefits are obviously the most important, but location and gas are also something to think about. Would I really want to drive 1 hour everyday, 5 days a week? Do I want to put about 300 miles on my car every week? Is the salary going to cover these expenses? These are questions that I think about when deciding what I want to do with my life.

FLASH week # 2

The third session has been the hardest on the kids so far. They had to do run #2 and this is one of the hardest runs. There are two 30 second runs, four 20 second runs, four 15 second runs, and four 10 second runs. Each of these runs have different speeds and elevations as well. The 15's and 10's are the hardest for them because the speed is faster and elevation is higher, not to mention these are towards the end of the run when the athletes are tired.

The kids almost didn't make it through this run. I had one kid almost faint and puke on me. A lot of these kids looked like they were in shape and could handle this run but obviously I was wrong. I ran 4 kids in one group and then ran the other 3 kids when they were finished with their weights. One kid had to do run #1 since he missed one the week before.

The fourth session was a plyometric. The kids were pretty happy to find out they were doing a plyo instead of running again. I don't think they like to run at all.
It was straight forward and to the point. The kids whipped through the plyo and then did their weights. There are only 3 machines the kids can use, which leaves some kids standing around. Instead of standing around, they would work on different core drills. They would lean back, feet in the air, and pass a medicine ball back and forth with another teammate. These tend to get to after a while.

The kids have a tournament this Friday, so they won't be working out with us. But they will be back on Monday for another hard run.

FLASH week # 1

Recently, there has been a baseball team coming to Tekulve at 8:30am to train with us. The coach agreed to pay for the whole team, which is expensive if you have 11 kids going through the program.

The very fist session, all the kids had to go through a pre-test just like every other person that goes through the program. There were three workers, and each one had a seperate station. Nicki took the vertical jump station, I took the broad jump station, and Sean took the pro-agility station. Each kid would start at the one of the stations and rotate around until they were done with the beginning of the pre-test. After that, the kids were split into groups of 3, 3, and 3 to finish the plyometric part of the pre-test. There was one kid that wasn't there and had to do his pre-test a different day.

The second session, all the kids had to do run #1, which is the easiest one of the 12 they have to complete throughout the whole session. This run went well for most of the kids. Some of the kids felt sick to their stomach, but didn't puke as far as I know. There can only be at most 5 runners on the treadmill at one time, so the other kids were doing their weights. I had to show all the kids how to the machines, as well as write down all their numbers (weight, platform, lever arm). One kid missed this session and had to do run #1 at a different time.

Hectic Week

This week is going to be a long week. There is a baseball team that wants to train all together. The only way for the team to be together is to come in an hour earlier than our normal hours 9:45 to 6. Nicki, Chris and I have to be there at 8:15 in order to get the everything ready for these guys. They came in last week and went through the pretests. The pretests didn't take as long as I expected. We divided the guys up into groups of 3 and 4. We each had a seperate station. I took the broad jump, Sean took the pro-agility drill and Nicki took the vertical jump. Each guy would go through the tests and then rotate around. When they were finished we went through the plyometric part of the test. After everyone was finished with that, they had to do 30 crunches and 30 pushups. Then I had to show my group how to get on the treadmill. This took all of 3 minutes. We had to show them how to get on the treadmill so they are ready to go to run this week.

This team will be going through the program for the remainder of my internship.

Athlete of the month

Every month an athlete of the month is put up on the wall. This is picked based on the athletes hard work, determination, and progress they have made throughout the month. There are a series of questions that the athlete answers, we type the questions and answers, laminate a photo with the answers and then post it on the wall. This is put up on a wall where everyone can see it and can read about their accomplishments.

Treadmill and Plyometric Pictures

This is a picture of one of three formations of plyometrics at Tekulve. The "Four Square" formation is pictured here. This formation has boxes 1, 2, 3, 4 as well as 5, 6, 7, 8 along the outside of the formation. Most athletes start on the "Four Square" formation because it's the easiest. The better the athlete, the more challending the formations get. The "Krumrie" and "Munoz" formations are not pictured here, but they are more in depth and harder than the "Four Square" formation. The boxes are further apart and at an angle rather than just front to back or side to side. Kids tend to stay low, jump over the lines, keep their nose over their toes, and need to stay balanced the whole time.



This is a picture of one of the treadmills at Tekulve. The speed of the treadmill can be as slow as 1 mile per hour, or as fast as 28 miles per hour. The elevation can be as flat as 1 degree or as steep as 40 degrees. The steeper the incline the harder it is for the athletes to run using the correct form. This is also when the athletes need the most help from the trainer spotting them on the treadmill. A lot of the runs are very intense and sometimes they make the athletes get sick. I've seen it happen a few times this summer.

June 19, 2009 and June 20, 2009

Yesterday was by far the busiest day we have had so far since I started interning at Tekulve. We had at least 4 people scheduled every hour except for one towards the end of the day. The first three hours were the busiest. We had 8 kids the first hour, and 10 kids the second hour. Nicki and I had to run everyone on the treadmill because you can't get 5 plyos done in 30 mins. Last week I had to run 5 kids on treadmill, so I have a little experience. Basically I called the kids up in groups of 3 and 2. The groups would come up together and wait on the platform until they had to run. We have to do it this way because we can't afford to waste time in between runs. We have to get through all the runs in 30 to 40 mins, and finish on time to start the warm-up for the next hour. We were so busy that we didn't even have time to sit down for a half hour lunch. Nicki went and picked up lunch and we had to split the time. It seemed like it was the longest day even though we were busy the entire day.

This morning I had to work from 10:30 to 2. The first hour I only had two kids scheduled for the first hour, but a girl showed up because she thought she was scheduled. This wasn't a problem, I pulled her workout sheet and we began the warm-up. All three kids were on plyos, and I through everyone on time, and still managed to have time to answer the phone. The second hour I had four people scheduled. All of the kids were on time and we started the warm-up. All four kids had to run on the treadmill. One girl hadn't ran before on the treadmill, so I had to show her how to get on the treadmill. Two of the runs were long, so I started with those two first. The last hour I lucked out and no one showed up. I filed the workouts from the day Friday and today, locked up and left.

My First Saturday

I wasn't thrilled when I was asked to work a saturday morning. However, it was the easiest day I've had since I started interning there. I had a total of 7 kids the whole day. All of the kids were on plyo workouts too which really made my day even easier. I didn't have to worry about anyone that was on the treadmill. The treadmill still makes a little nervous, especially with the bigger kids. I'm worried that my arm won't be able to handle the pressure and they might fall. My biggest fear is being responsible for someone getting hurt under my care.

The day went pretty smooth. The first hour I had three kids. I got them started on the warm-up on time and they got through it pretty quick. I know it was early, but these kids did not talk at all. I try to joke around and talk to them, but these kids have no personalities.

The second hour I had one kid. He has a personality so we got along great. He told me the sports he played, the positions, etc. I have to say this kid was very cute for an 11 year old. I worked on the sprint strides with him. I showed him how to break it down, starting with his legs and then adding his arms. By the end he was on a role.

The third hour I also had one kid. She's a little older so I can joke around with her. She plays soccer for Cincinnati Hammer.

The fourth hour I was supposed to have three kids, but only one showed up. I had one kid cancel, and the other was a no show. This hour went by very fast. I whipped through his plyo workout, he did his weights and he was done. I filed the workouts from that day, checked the messages, locked up everything and I left.

Monday Week #5

Today I ran a lot of kids on the treadmill. Nicki is trying to get me used to running kids on my own. I feel more comfortable the more I do it. I had one kid today, not very athletic, almost fall everytime he got onto the treadmill. This was making me nervous and scared me a little bit too. I'm hoping this kid will learn how to do this without scaring me as much.

I'm beginning to learn where to stand on the treadmill to spot certain kids at different inclines. The steeper the incline, the more support the runner needs. It's hard to do it on your own when the incline is at 40 degrees. Spotting people at this high of an incline hurts my back a little bit, but like I mentioned before, I'm still learning and I will get used to it after I keep doing it for a while.

I also did a couple pretests today. The pretest is something we give all the athletes at the beginning of the session so we can see where the athlete stands. The pretest includes: vertical reach, vertical jump, broad jump, pro agility, 10 yard dash and a 40 yard dash.

The vertical reach is pretty standard. First question I ask is, are you right handed or left handed. Then the athlete stands with their legs shoulder-width apart, raise your dominant arm, and push those bars forward. After that i raise the height, and then the kids bend their knees, use their arms and jump as high as they can and push the bars forward. They do this at least two times, and then I record the numbers.

After this we do a broad jump. There is a tape measure on the floor. The athlete uses their arms, bends their knees, and jumps out at far as they can. They do this three times, and I record their scores.

After this, they go through a pro-agility run. There are three black lines. One is on the right side of the floor, one on the left side of the floor, and one in the middle of the floor. The athlete starts on the middle line, with their legs straddeling the line, right hand on the line. They sprint down to one black line and touches it with their right hand, then they sprint down to the other line and touches that it with their left hand, and then sprints through the finish line where they originally started. They go through this run twice, and I record their times.

After this we go outside and do the 10 yard dash, and 40 yard dash. The kids run this twice. After all these tests, the kids go through a plyo on the Four Square formation. I explain the numbers of the boxes, and I have to count how many times the kids get back to the first box. For example, if the the kids are jumping from box 1 to 2, then I would count how many times they got back to one without touching the black lines.

This seems like a lot, but the kids do great and it doesn't take very long either. These tests are crucial to see how much they improve at the end of the session. They go through a post-test, the same as a pre-test, and we compare the results from the beginning to the end.

Week #4

Last week was the fourth week that I have been at Tekulve. It was quite a long week to be honest. I worked 40 hours, not to mention I also worked at my real job for 15 hours. I am still getting used to that schedule.

There was a mandatory meeting last Thursday that I attended. We basically went through the Active Dynamic Warmup that the kids or athletes do before every workout. We changed some things, took some things out, and added some things as well. Most of the kids did well with the new changes. One change included keeping the kids moving at all times. We want to keep their heart rates up and keep them from being lazy.

The other part of the meeting was to discuss the dress code, work ethic, and summer hours. The dress code is pretty straight forward. Khaki pants, Tekulve tee shirt, and gym shoes. Your shirt has to be tucked in at all times, pants have to be neat with no cargo pockets.

Work ethic is a major part. You have to be dedicated and be enthusiastic the whole time. No matter what happens outside of work, you leave it at the door before you walk in. You don't want to be in a bad mood because that wears off on to everyone else, and that's not something you want when you are working out. My supervisor also mentioned that if he catches the workers not doing their job correctly, will be terminated. There are other people that want to work there and will do the job correctly. This makes me nervous because I'm still in training, and sometimes i'm not sure how to do stuff.

Summer hours are a little bit different than the school hours. The school hours started at 2:45 and went until 8 Monday through Friday. Now, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays our hours start at 9:45 and go until 6, and 11:45 to 8 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is a big change for me considering I didn't have to be there until 11 or 11:30. Although it is a bit earlier, I do get out two hours earlier, which is nice to be out before its dark.

Treadmill Work #2 and #3

The last couple of days that I worked at Tekulve I got to work more on the treadmill. Most of the days I'm there, I do the plyometrics, pre-tests, and post tests. All of these do not require any running on the treadmill. Last Friday, there were 5 kids for one session. I started with all five kids, and then once the other treadmill opened up, I had 3 kids. At first I was still kinda nervous being by myself, with no help, but I did it and now I feel more confident. The older kids knew what they are doing for the most part, so I didn't have to spot them, unless the incline was really steep. The younger kids are a bit different. Most of them are not as athletic and require more work. The one kid I had was pretty good though. He knew what to do, he listened to what I was telling him to do, "high knees, arms chin to pocket, shoulders back, etc." I was very happy to see that the kids were making my job easier.

Today, most of the kids that I worked with were pretty good. Some of them were older and knew what to do, which means less work for me. There was one kid that was having problems keeping his knees up, so I moved to the side and held my arm out to make him bring his knees up high enough to hit my arm. It worked for the most part. He thought it was hard, but it will only get easier from here on out.

Starting next week is the summer hours, which means we will be very busy! I'm sure I will be doing a little bit of everything!

Friday, May 22

Last Friday, the same clients came in. One athlete is in rehab because he had knee surgery back in November. He comes in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to do his rehab workout. He has to do a number of exercises to build up the muscles in his knee. I had to work with him on his weight exercises because Nicki was meeting with a potential client, and Rocky was out of town on business. This was the first time I had ever worked with him before because he's normally with Nicki or Rocky.

They did the warm-up that Brian and I told them to do. For the most part we weren't very busy. The first hour wasn't busy at all. There were three kids, two did treadmill workouts and one did a plyometrics workout. It was my job to run the plyo and the girl did great. She listened to what I was telling her to do. She kept her knees bent, her hips square, feet even and shoulder-width apart. She's been through the program before in the past so she knew what she was supposed to be doing.

I learned how to read the results of a post-test and compare it to the pre-test. A pre-test is given to see how athletic a client is ir isn't. A post test is given when the athlete completes the twenty sessions and this basically tells us how much progress the athlete made. I take the pre-test and compare it side by side to the post-test. You subtract the old results from the knew results and that gives you a number. You then subtract that number from 100% and that is the athletes percent increase in athletic ability.

There are a lot of clients who go through Tekulve Acceleration Training to make their knees stronger. The different exercises work different parts of the knee to help strengthen those muscles that they need in order to walk, go up and down stairs, and even play sports.

Treadmill Work

Today was a fairly slow day. When I first got there I had to stuff envelops with pamphlets and letters that were for a particular sport. These envelopes are to be mailed to the coaches around the tri-state area. These packets are full of information about Tekulve and what the program is all about. There is information about the rates, locations, hours, and everything else that you might need to know about the programs. There are even sport specific flyers that explain how each sport is executed through the protocols.

I was the only worker besides my supervisor. Basically I was in charge of doing the plyos for all of the athletes, and Nicki was in charge of spotting the runners on the treadmill. The first couple hours, there were only a few kids. The third hour was the busiest. There were five athletes, three were running and two were on plyos with me. The first girl is on a in-season protocol, meaning that she is training during her season. Her workout is different than most of the other athletes. She does part of a plyo and part of a run. Most athletes either run OR do a plyo.

The last hour there were three guys that have been going through the program for a couple of years. They know all the warm-up drills, core, quickness, etc. Nicki decided that I would train to spot people on the treadmill. I was hesitant at first, but she reassured that they all know what they are doing, so I shouldn't have to do much. There were only a few times when I had to put pressure on the lower back of one of the kids. Although I didn't have to spot that much, my wrist is still sore because I don't normally use those muscles. Once I get familiar with it, it won't be so bad.

Day 2 and Day 3

Last Friday was my second day at my internship. I pretty much did the same thing I did on Wednesday. I filed the workout sheets from the previous day, and then I pulled the new workout sheets for those athletes that were going to work out Friday afternoon. I observed the warmup again because I'm still not familiar with all the drills they go through. The majority of the athletes had run workouts, therefore there wasn't much for me to do. I stood and watched the athletes run, I read over the workouts so I know what to do when I'm spotting the athletes. I listened to what the employees were telling the athletes, "stay tall, high knees, shoulders back..." These are all things that the athletes should be doing on their own without someone telling them what to do. Friday flew by compared to Wednesday. It was a shorter day since we got out at 6 instead of 8.

Today, I did a little bit more than I did on Friday. I filed and pulled the workout sheets like I did the past two days. I observed a post-test, which shows the progress the athlete's made from the pre-test they take at the beginning of the session. I also read over some information about the program, frequently asked questions, and the rate sheets. After that I had to get some lunch before the first two athletes got there to start their workouts at 2:45.

I led the Active Dynamic Warmup. I still had the cheet sheet that showed me all the drills, but I had to tell them what to do, and if they didn't know one of the drills, I had to demonstrate. The time went by pretty fast even though a few athletes cancelled their workouts due to a sickness, homework, etc. At the end of the day, I wiped down the treadmill, and grabbed my stuff and left. I have to be back there tomorrow at 12 noon, hopefully I'll learn something new.

My First Day

Today, I started my first day at my internship at Tekulve Acceleration. I arrived about 15 minutes early because I wanted to make a good impression on the employees and my supervisor. I was nervous to meet the girl that was going to train me on how to do everything. I knew my supervisor already since I went through the program about five years ago, and because he's friends with my mother. After we introduced ourselves to one another, Nikki (my trainer) explained to me about how to do some of the paperwork. I learned how to pull files (not that I didn't know how to before), I read over the warm-up drills, and then observed everything else. At first, I just observed the warm-up and read over the sheet of drills. When I went through the program 5 or 6 years ago, we didn't do any of the drills that they do now. We only had to run a lap or two around the track to get your heart rate up, and then you got stretched individually. The whole warm-up is totally different now. Eventually, I will have to lead the warm-up, so I have to become familiar with all of the drills.

After the warm-up, the kids were allowed to get a drink until they were sent to do either plyometrics or running on the treadmill as their workout for this particular session. I stood behind Shawn (employee/trainer) and watched him go through the different numbers on the formation. I remembered what they were so that wasn't a problem for me. There was the Munoz and Kromrite formations that I wasn't familiar with at all. They looked pretty hard compared to four square formation that I was used to. I just listened to what Shawn was saying to the athletes as they were going through the plyos. He kept saying, "bend your knees...keep your hips straight...keep your eyes down..." These are things that I'm going to have to learn to look for when I go through the plyos with the athletes.

At the end of the night, I got to actually run through the plyos with two athletes. I had to be loud, tell them what they were doing, and what they needed to work on. It wasn't too bad. I had two kids that were coordinated and knew what to do for the most part. I only had to say a few things. It wasn't too bad at all.

All in all, for the first day it wasn't too bad. I didn't feel overwhelmed at all and I felt like this isn't going to be bad at all. I have a feeling that I will be leading more plyos on Friday when I go in for my second day.