Riverside C-Team Baseball

I am currently the Assistant Head Baseball Coach at Riverside Middle School. Riverside is Pendleton's middle school. I enjoy coaching at the best school in the State. I only say that because Riverside won the Carolina First Palmetto's Finest Award. Anyways back to the baseball team. This is currently my second year as an assistant for Riverside and I am really excited about this year's team. We are currently 10-1 and on a 10 game winning streak. The team consists of 11 eighth graders and 7 seventh graders. We are well balanced and play solid defense. One reason that we are doing so well is our ability to when close games. Last year we couldn't buy a win in a close game. We have won three 1-run games and won one 2-run game. Last year we lost four 1-run games and one 2-run game. Our only loss this year came at the hands of Greenwood in a 7-5 decision. Obviously we haven't lost since. I am excited to coach these boys because baseball is my favorite sport and I hope to some day coach college baseball. I know that is a lofty goal, but it is a goal nonetheless. We are one win away from matching our total from last year (11-7) and I hope we can surpass it this year. We certainly are in a good position to do so. The team is currently on Spring Break this week so I will have to wait until next week to get back to what I enjoy most, coaching.

Reflection on Resume Cheating

The article is a good example why cheating on a resume can hurt one's reputation and job. Cheating on a resume is unacceptable and wrong. This article reminds me of George O'Leary who used to be the Head Football Coach at Georgia Tech. O'Leary coached at Georgia Tech in the late 90's and early 2000's. He was an excellent football coach and was offered the Head Coaching job at the storied Notre Dame. O'Leary was named Head Coach at Notre Dame and a few days later he was fired. He was fired because he lied on his resume about a Master's Degree that he had never received. This was just like the example in the article. O'Leary was a successful coach at Tech yet that did not matter to Notre Dame because they felt like integrity was worth more to their program than fame or a name. O'Leary has rebounded from the situation and now currently is the Head Football Coach at Central Florida. This is just an example that even if one is successful and on the rise in his/her particular industry lying on one's resume can still hurt. In each case it damaged the reputation and immediate future employment of the person.
I conclude that lying on your resume is not worth the risk of getting caught. I also believe that lying on your resume shows your true colors and begs the question on what else you could lie about.

Favorite Presentation

My favorite presentation was "How to Show a Chicken" by Lindsey Hendrix. I thought the presentation was very interesting and insightful. I never new that one could show a chicken. I new about dog shows, but a chicken show was news to me. I enjoyed seeing the live chicken and the proper way to show a chicken. Showing a chicken seems to be a difficult task, but Lindsey did a good job. I also learned that there are many breeds of chickens some chickens are bred just for show. Overall, I thought that her presentation was the best because it was the most unusual. The live demonstration was just the topping on the cake. I will have to say no one else brought in a "live" demonstration.

Mock Interview Reflection

I had my mock interview today, Friday, February 28, at 10:30am. The interview went well and was an enjoyable experience. I was interviewing for accpetance into the Physical Education Graduate Program at UGA. I have always wanted to work in sports and I feel that this program would benefit my needs. Teaching and coaching in a high school atmosphere is a area that I would like to pursue. The interview was about ten minutes and was a good experience. There were no questions that surprised me, but I wish I had been asked about my greatest accomplishment in life to date. I won't mention it here, but if you want to know then you will have to ask. I also was thrilled to hear that I would receive extra points on the interview because Mrs. Rogers was running late. Overall the interview was helpful for future interviews and was just good for experience.

NCAA Basketball Tournament

March Madness is one of most exciting times for college basketball fans. In fact it is one of the biggest events in colllege athletics. The reason that I enjoy this event so much is the bracketology. I enjoy making brackets, filling the brackets, and placing brackets in different pools to see who gets the most picks right. The excitement of the NCAA tournament comes from the history of the tournament. The upsets and the dramatic cinderalla runs are enjoyable to watch. The NCAA tournament is the highest producing TV revenue for the NCAA. CBS purchased the tournament for $500 million dollars to air coverage of the games. As you can see this event is beneficial to the NCAA and any college basketball fan. I just hope that this year my favorite team will be part of the madness. Clemson currently sits on the bubble, but the should be able to break the 10 year drought and finally make the field of 65.

Cover Letter Tutorials

The college grad cover letter tutorials are very helpful. They clearly indicate what is expected and not expected in a cover letter. I would have to say that in general I agree with all the advice that is given in the tutorials. Each tutorial gives a different perspective on a cover letter. There were not any specific points that I disagreed with in the tutorials. The most useful tutorials for me personally was the sample cover letter and the cover letter checklist. The sample cover letter indicated how it should be formatted and how it should be written. The checklist helped inform what was expected in the cover letter. I will definitely tailor my cover letter towards the grad program that I will be interviewing for. I think that this piece of advice was most helpful in preparing for my interview otherwise I would not have known to be specific towards the position or company. These tutorials will be helpful for future resume builders.

Interview Articles

The two interview articles that I read were about answering the tough questions in an interview and telling stories in an interview.
The first article dealt with answering the tough questions in an interview. The article stated four tough questions which were: The "Future" Question, The "Salary" Question, The "Why" Question, and the silly question. In regards to the future question the article said that the best tactic would be to talk about your values and not to get specific on your career plan. Basically it says that you should talk about those things that are important to you. The article's advice for the salary question was to try and deflect the question by asking what the salary is for that particular position. If pressed though, one should give a range that is comparable to the industry-standard salary. When asked why they should hire you, one should give examples and reasons how one could benefit the company, be aggresive not boastful. The question that catches one of guard is the silly question, like what kind of animal would you describe yourself as? Be calm in the selection of the answer and give good reasons to your selection.
How to Answer the Toughest Interview Questions is a good article and gives good advice. I never thought that a interviewer would ask about the kind of salary one would want. The article gave me insight into some question that I will need to prepare for in my interviews down the road.
The second article talked about telling personal stories in interviews. This is a good idea because according to the article, interviews should be conversational. One should be prepared to tell 30-90 seconds stories that portray them in a favorable light. The stories should include examples of prior life experiences, either in a previous job or on a previous team, that will show the interviewer that one is capable of producing or saving for the company. I believe that stories have a place in interviews, but they can also ruin an interview in my opinion. The interview does not wont to hear long and boastful stories nor does he want to hear story after story. I believe that using stories should be used strategically and at the right times.
Overall I thought both articles were interesting and helpful for interviews and will help me along the way. The biggest piece of information that I learned was to be prepared to answer questions about salary.