Kaitlyn Burson

Major: Kinesiology and Health
Minor/option/emphasis: -- Select a Minor --
Company/Organization: Iowa State Olympic Strength and Conditioning
Destination: Ames, Iowa
Timeframe: Fall 2024
Advisor/Coordinator Email: dpower@iastate.edu

Responsibilities

When I started my internship, I mostly observed. I stayed out of the way and watched as practices carried on. Afterward, the coaches and I would discuss what I saw during the session, and if I had any questions, they would answer them. Going into later weeks, I started providing feedback to athletes during their workouts, correcting anything wrong, cleaning, helping set up, and having open conversations with coaches about why athletes were doing their exercises. Towards the end of the internship, I had the privilege of running sessions (supervised) while other coaches were traveling with teams or had conferences.

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment during my internship came from the relationships I built with all my athletes. As a student-athlete, I see other athletes in passing but never get to talk to them personally. During my internship, I had the privilege of getting to know them while coaching them. I even attended some of their games and or matches. The look on their faces when they saw me in attendance made everything worthwhile.

Learning experience

The greatest lesson I learned from my experience is keeping an open mind. Every coach might have a different style or way of doing certain things. Combine what you learned, put your twist on things, and come up with your coaching style. What you learn from an internship is experience to aid in future jobs, internships, or, in my case, graduate positions. The internship is what you make it to be and take from it what is essential. In my case, I have added so much to my "toolbox" that it feels like it's about to overflow. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

What advice would you give?

A piece of advice I would offer to future students would be to keep an open mind for learning and getting to know the athletes. Every person's story is different. You don't know what home is like for everyone, and sometimes the weight room is what someone needs that day to escape for an hour. Be a part of that escape and immerse yourself in the knowledge you gain. Whether from a coach or an athlete, you will learn something new daily! Add what you learned to your toolbox! It will only help you in your future endeavors.

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