Self+Evaluation

While I did not meet some of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the semester, I met or am in the process of meeting most of my goals. The one goal that I did not meet was to film the U11 Storm practices. This did not work out because the weather was very fickle this fall, and many of the practices were cancelled due to rain. However, I replaced this component of my project with videotaped interviews with different swimmers, and this goal I accomplished. Putting this video together, and editing the clips was another one of my major goals, and this I did accomplish. I also managed to write my paper earlier than I usually would have, another one of my goals and I believe this project has helped me grow mentally as an athlete and a student, as well as become a better coach. One of the things that I have struggled with as a student is asking for help when I need it. I really feel like the many components of this project forced me to do that, especially with mentor interactions. For me this was a major challenge. It was also difficult for me to ask someone what to do. It made me feel as though I was losing control, something I definitely do not like to feel. However, reliquinshing some level of control by asking my mentor what steps I should take to complete my hands-on really helped me complete my project. I personally feel that this growth was one of the most important aspects of this project. However, I also know that I grew as a coach and as an athlete, two things that are very important to me. Using motivation to connect my own performance and my coaching techniques, helped me to recognize certain flaws in both. For instance, I am harsher on myself than I need to be when it comes to expecting peak performance. I also learned some of the mistakes I had been making as a coach, such as asking players to look other players as a good example. The weather was one of the major problems I encountered with my hands-on. But I also encountered an unexpected problem. Most of my research was about how to motivate, rather than the effects of certain types of motivation. Searching through this information to find that of real worth was difficult but, I believe, worthwhile. Both of the things I would do differently relate to my hands-on project. I would have started filming earlier, this would have allowed me to actually tape Storm practices. However, I would have liked to interview my soccer players as well as the swimmers to see if answers varied over sports. I believe that I have applied myself, analytically, creatively and through evaluative judgments to this project. While I made certain mistakes, I believe the steps I took to correct them have made me worthy of an A as a final grade.