Oliver Jones

July 27, 2015

Internship Experience
1. I feel that I have exceeded the expectations that I set for the overall
internship experience. I have indeed gained a better understanding for the
field of athletic performance training, through my time with trainers and
clients alike. Acceleration Sports Institute has a very knowledgeable staff and
competent clients that were able to give me feedback throughout my
experience. I prepared and implemented training programs for both
seasoned athletes and members of the general population. Also, ASI has
summer athlete training programs, which are different from the training
programs for members of the general population. This difference has allowed
me to develop a greater understanding of the needs of the clients. I learned
how to properly gather base measurements and use the information to
develop a program for an individual or a specific group. The block training
method at ASI required testing every month, which required me to learn how
to frequently do base measurements.
2. I gained a better understanding for the field of athletic training through my
daily practices as a member of the Acceleration Sports Institute staff.
Additionally, the staff played a huge role in my success. As a member of the
team, I was constantly around learning opportunities. This allowed me to get
to know my clients on a personal basis, which taught me the need for a
variety of training methods. Next, I was able to observe the staff interacting
with their clients, so I was able to learn by just simply watching the staff, but
also through the staff explaining the best way to do certain things. One of
the most beneficial ways I learned about athletic training was through the
articles and research documents provided to me by the ASI staff. With their
help, I was able to understand the importance of new research in the field
and the importance of learning from set examples.
3. I was given the task to write programs for clients. These programs possessed
multiple workouts and exercises.
a. I accomplished this task very well. The staff members implemented my
programs for multiple clients and even used it for general workout plans
throughout several weeks. I dealt with the experience/task fairly well, yet in
the beginning, it was difficult because I had to make sure that the workouts
fit the skill level of the clients. I had trouble ensuring the workout was right
on target and not to hard or too easy. I also needed to focus on making the
language clear.
b. I used multiple skills while completing this task. I had to write and develop
the program, ensuring my language was clear and concise. I had to verbally
explain the exercises to the clients using the same type of language as well
as explain to the staff while I chose these particular exercises. Before hand, I

had to research the effects of different lifts and the combinations of lifts,
ensuring that the organization of the programs were applicable. Finally, I had
to help guide the clients through the programs. I learned to be understanding
and adaptable to the needs of the clients. The fact that I have an athletic
background was an extremely beneficial skill as it allowed me to relate the
clients, the workouts and exercises.
c. While my weakness was my lack of experience in creating programs, my
greatest strength was my background as an athlete. Although I had no idea
the amount of work and complexities that went into creating training
programs, my experience in personally executing programs as an athlete
proved itself to be very helpful. Additionally, I work very well with people,
thus I easily gained the trust of the staff and the clients.
4. I played a beneficial role at Acceleration Sports Institute. On a daily basis,
when the staff was overwhelmed, I would pick up groups of athletes, when all
other members were busy. Additionally, I would do daily housekeeping items
like putting the weights back on the shelf in order, organize equipment, put
out towels, fill up the cooler with wet towels, fill up the cups, and take out
the trash. Like previously mentioned, my greatest contribution would be the
programs I provided for the staff and the clients. My role was absolutely
appreciated at ASI.
5. Before going into this opportunity, I wasnt exactly sure what I wanted to do
with my careerI still dont. However, this opportunity knocked out the
possibility of being an athletic trainer, yet reinforced the fact that I am happy
with my degree choice. After this internship, I know for sure that I want to be
in the healthcare field and I know my future career will involve helping
people. I loved my internship, but just realized that I dont want to spend the
rest of my life as an athletic trainer.
6. Although I would argue that all the classes I have taken at Clemson were
applicable to my internship this summer, there are some topics that were
more helpful than other during my time at ASI: Health Care Systems (Health
2030), Health and Fitness (Health 2500), Obesity & Eating Disorders (Health
4150), Health Science Internship Prep (Health 419), Principles of
Management (Management 2010), and Principles of Coaching (Athletic
Leadership 3490).
a. Health Care Systems (Health 2030): This class helped me to understand the
complexity of ASI and its importance as a health care program. The Health
Care Systems Class discussed the need and demand for programs like ASI.
b. Health and Fitness (Health 2500): ASI focuses not only on fitness and
exercise, but also all components of fitness. The 10 components of fitness
were stressed not only during this class, but also during my internship. They
include: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility,
power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy.

c. Obesity & Eating Disorders (Health 4150): This class talks about the
prevalence, risk factors, consequence, and treatments of obesity and eating
disorders. Programs such as LoseWell, which is located at ASI and sponsored
by the Greenville Health System, are one of these treatment methods.
d. Introduction to Human Communication (Communication 150): This class
taught the best ways to communicate with individuals and groups of all kinds
including interpersonal, small group, intercultural, and public communication.
The methods of communication I learned in this class helped me to convey
my programs, workouts, and exercises to the clients, but also helped me
communicate properly with my superiors.
e. Principles of Coaching (Athletic Leadership 3490): ASI has a very important
and established philosophy--just like the philosophies stressed during the
Principles of Coaching. Principles of Coaching helped me face challenges
during my internship by covering topics such as sports psychology.
7. At ASI, we provided clients with different fitness models, so that they could
then make the best decision for their workouts. Everyday there are 3
different types of sheets: Blue for Muscle Strength, Green for Muscle
Endurance, and Yellow for Flexibility. If an individual wanted to gain a lot of
muscle mass (a.k.a bulk up), they would choose the Blue Sheet, the
program that focuses on muscle strength. These sheets provided make it
easy for all people to understand the important health information.