Mock Interview

So i had my mock interview experience last week, and it was really laid back.  I wasn't sure what to expect so i went in a little apprehensive.  I had told her that i already had a job offer and so she thought it was kind of pointless to do the interview.  But, she asked me some questions and she liked what i had to say.  I wanted more feedback about my body language and if she noticed any nervous traits or anything.  So, she said i did well and i had clear answers.  The one reminder she gave was that i need to finish the answer with the question...for example: Who is your hero? My brother is my hero because blah blah blah, so that's why he's my hero. Good thing to remember!

video games in cycling

I never would have thought of this idea. I have arguments for both sides of this idea.  First, it makes me sad that we have to result to using video games installed into exercise equipment to get kids to exercise.  Why aren't parents sending their kids outside to play(which always ends up in some sort of exercise) like my parents always did.  I also can't see any kids saying hey, there's video games in a stationary bike? well, then, i think i will go and use that stationary bike. No. They don't want to exercise and if their parents make them use these bikes, they can't make them peddle and put in any effort.  It's a tough task to get kids involved and exercising, and i don't think that video games is the answer.  With that being said; the same kind of idea is currently working.  Every gym has tons of TV's lined up in front of their treadmills.... It's working for adults, so it must work for kids too, right?

Wheelchair Basketball

So, this was difficult to read: it wasn't attached, just copied and pasted into the message box on blackboard, and there were a lot of typos....a lot! so it made me question the authority of the article and where it was taken from...
I have always loved the idea of self efficacy and i think it plays a major role in confidence which results in performance levels.  I can see how it would be harder for those with disabilities to find self-efficacy in sport since it can be a challenge for them to participate in most sports.  To be able to self regulate thoughts and emotions does play a significant role in the emotional well-being of an athlete.  Other players, people in the crowds, the envrionment...things like this can throw an athlete off, and it's important to keep that idea of self-efficacy in the back of your mind and not let others get to you.

Autonomy supportive coaching posted by Matt

I liked where the article said that sports have been identified as an important part in identity exploration and formation.  Then it says, "youth who play for coaches trained to alter the quality of their interactions by behaving in more supportive, nurturing, encouraging, structuring, and nonhostile ways show greater changes in self-esteem".  With information like this, i would hope that coaches and practitioners alike would find out how they could become trained to alter their interactions with their team members.  I also thought the relationship between percieved competence and initiative and the important role they both play in motivation was a big part of this article.  It's important for coaches to help their players along and let them know they have high standards that they know are possible for them to complete.

Changing perspectives of being "cool" posted by Taryn

I liked at the beginning of the article where it talks about what defines at risk for youth and i think it's important for a practioner to know what situations their participants are coming from so they know how best to work with those youth and know how best to help them.  Then it talks about the benefits of adult-youth relationships and how positive relationships produce positive youth development.  For a lot of at-risk youth there are trust problems with adults, so i think it's important again for practitioners to know where their participants are coming from and try to figure out how to build a healthy, trusting relationship with them and hopefully help the youth steer clear of risky behaviors.  I think it's important for employers to hire those with character strengths and find the right fit for the program and for youth. I didn't really see the connection with the title of the article and the article itself, but i did find it useful and informative.

Trust Development

From personal experience, i can say that trust is a big deal in outdoor recreation.  The leader of a trip plays a critical role in the learning and growing process of outdoor education.  I may trust a leader's knowledge on a subject, but i may not have trust for them personally.  I've been on a few different outdoor educational trips and there have been leaders that i have trusted as a person and as an educator, and there have been leaders who i trusted as educated on the matter, but that i wasn't comfortable with.  The difference between the outcome of the trips was immaculate.  I couldn't agree more with the idea in the article from Mitten, "healthy leader-participant relationships are necessary to accomplish course goals". Again, I've had rough relationships with leaders and the trip outcome was not a positive one; whereas trips with leaders that i was close with were positive experiences that i would want to repeat.  I like that the article poses the questions to outdoor leaders of what can they do to establish and strengthen relationships with participants.  I liked where it said, "If a lack of trust in one's supervisor hinders performance, then it is reasonable to suggest that a lack of trust in one's outdoor leader could hinder the accomplishment of course goals." I do believe that a lack of trust in an outdoor leader hinders goals.  If i don't know that a leader believes in me and my ability, then i probably won't work as hard and I'll be extra cautious about what i say and do on the trip instead of working to my full potential and having that ability realized and recognized.  I think it's great that trust is being realized as such an important part of outdoor leadership.  All outdoor leaders should be taking a course on building trust and relationships so that they can learn to work with others and learn to work with all personality types too.

What the program is lacking...

1. More on budgeting: Maybe more scenario assignments in program planning
2. The Ropes Course class: we've heard this class was cancelled because of lack of interest, but there's a whole new batch of students, and we've all wanted to take it
3. More community recreation classes; the outdoor requirements are great, but because there isn't a degree for community rec, i would have liked to see the effort to help those out who aren't as into the outdoor rec life
4. The rec admin class could be more hands on; have a way for us to experience rec admin instead of just testing our knowledge and writing papers on it.