When we were kids and in school, whether grade school, middle school or high school, groups are how we defined ourselves. Some of us were in the "cool" group, some in the "jock" group, while others were "geeks" or "math nerds". I bet there are even a couple of us that were "pot heads".
But the real test of our inner worth, was whether we got picked first or last for "team sports" in gym class. Yep, phys ed really made or broke us. Admit it, if you were not athletically enclined, the mear thought of putting on your tennis shoes and gym shorts made your stomach flip flop.
For me it was no different. Although I didn't define myself as any one of those group (maybe a little of each one) my grade school and middle school years were just torture. Not only was I NEVER the team captain, but I was a chunky little girl and usually picked last or toward the end on "team games" in gym class. And man did I hate it. Until one day...
For some strange reason, one Saturday morning in 5th grade my one friend encouraged me to come to her intermural basketball game. I went and because at that time I was one of the tallest girls and maybe one of the bigger ones, too (5'3" and 125lbs) the coach of the team suggested I try out for the basketball team. Well I went to a Catholic Grade school, and everyone made the team, so I did it. I couldn't dribble the ball, I had no real talent, but at that very young age, I discovered what will be my drive through life - I had HUSTLE! So for the next seven years I turned that hustle into skill until I was no longer the last picked, but the captain of the team.
I would not have been able to do any of it without my coaches. These coaches believed in me enough to pick me for their team to begin with (or so I thought) and then they took the time to develop my techniques both on the court and off. They showed me how to lead by example and instilled in me a believe in myself - a belief that if I hustled, I could compete with those "talented" girls. I even won an award in my junior year of high school at Bobby Knights Basketball Camp in Indiana for my hustle efforts!
My point of this post is this - it is really hard to divide people into groups as adults. The feelings that the campers get in the pits of their stomach when we say they are going to be divided are very similar to those we felt as kids. So as the coach, I have to constantly try to make sure that I never make anyone feel like they are not good enough to be in a group and once they are broken up to make sure that each of us that leads the group never uses words like slow or out of shape to define our group. We need to build the members of our group up. Even in the group of campers with faster PT times, there will always be a back.
As instructors we should draw from our experiences as kids and make sure to use our encouragement and understanding of how each camper feels to help them find their inner "hustle". If you really look past the fact that many of our campers are out of shape, often times you can see their desire. You can see how bad they want to be the first one picked.
And that is how we change their lives.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
What boot camp means to me...
Cone sprints and friendship. Today's workout reminded me why I LOVE BOOT CAMP. Back many years ago when I took my first outdoor group workout, I was afraid to run, had little self confidence, very few friends and hadn't discovered my true calling. Until one day.
That day we did a workout where we raced each other. We lined up with small groups and had to race doing suicides - out back, out back, ouuuuuuuuut baaaaaack. And all of a sudden I remembered why I loved sports - competition, laughter, hustle. I think those are the most fun, most rewarding feelings in the world - and in the 20 minutes that I raced against the guy that would become my nemisis, my buddy and at times my support, my inner boot camp instructor was born.
Today we do a workout very similar to that at Blackburn, but add in the elements of boot camp that I only discovered after starting my own business at Blackburn - Friendship, Fun and Support! Now don't get me wrong, our cone sprints workout is hard. After a grueling warmup trying to get the quads and hamstrings ready to sprint, we start with a plain old suicide. They call them suicides for a reason, you know.... Then we add in the "fun" elements of squat thrusts, pushups and many other exercises taking your body from full on forward movement to full on verticle or horizontal movement and back to full on forward movement just in time to do it all again, but with a longer run.
But the actual physical part of this workout isn't what is special. As I was cheering for my team and running next to the campers, and even against my fellow instructors, the whole reason we do boot camp struck me. I looked around and noticed that not only did I have friendships on the field, but the campers did, too. I looked over at Regina and Dawn and down to Karen and Renee. And then thought about how many new friendships would be discovered this year. And then I took a moment to listen...
What I heard was the next chapter in the Blackburn Park story...a whole group of boot camp instructors coming into their own. And I realized that this team of instructors are not just random people plooped into a group - we are now officially a force to be reconed with. Our friendships, support for each other, cheering during the race, chatter at coffee and everything in between is what makes the stories that make The American Boot Camp Company so different than every other company out there. And these stories are what get us through tough days, what make us laugh and what inspire us to greatness.
Let's keep kicking "grass" Blackburn!
That day we did a workout where we raced each other. We lined up with small groups and had to race doing suicides - out back, out back, ouuuuuuuuut baaaaaack. And all of a sudden I remembered why I loved sports - competition, laughter, hustle. I think those are the most fun, most rewarding feelings in the world - and in the 20 minutes that I raced against the guy that would become my nemisis, my buddy and at times my support, my inner boot camp instructor was born.
Today we do a workout very similar to that at Blackburn, but add in the elements of boot camp that I only discovered after starting my own business at Blackburn - Friendship, Fun and Support! Now don't get me wrong, our cone sprints workout is hard. After a grueling warmup trying to get the quads and hamstrings ready to sprint, we start with a plain old suicide. They call them suicides for a reason, you know.... Then we add in the "fun" elements of squat thrusts, pushups and many other exercises taking your body from full on forward movement to full on verticle or horizontal movement and back to full on forward movement just in time to do it all again, but with a longer run.
But the actual physical part of this workout isn't what is special. As I was cheering for my team and running next to the campers, and even against my fellow instructors, the whole reason we do boot camp struck me. I looked around and noticed that not only did I have friendships on the field, but the campers did, too. I looked over at Regina and Dawn and down to Karen and Renee. And then thought about how many new friendships would be discovered this year. And then I took a moment to listen...
What I heard was the next chapter in the Blackburn Park story...a whole group of boot camp instructors coming into their own. And I realized that this team of instructors are not just random people plooped into a group - we are now officially a force to be reconed with. Our friendships, support for each other, cheering during the race, chatter at coffee and everything in between is what makes the stories that make The American Boot Camp Company so different than every other company out there. And these stories are what get us through tough days, what make us laugh and what inspire us to greatness.
Let's keep kicking "grass" Blackburn!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Welcome to Boot Camp Season 2008
Welcome to everyone that is reading this blog to our newest method of communication between your boot camp instructors and campers and friends and family of The American Boot Camp Company. We have many exciting things going on this year and one of my fellow instructors suggested I start to blog everything. I was planning on it, but her email pushed me over the edge, and what better time to start blogging then on the first day of our 4th season at Blackburn Park.
February 4th, 2008 - Season 4 Blackburn Park
Today was a glorious start to 2008 and hopefully is an indicator of things to come this year. The weather was about 50 degrees and although the weather man said it was 100% raining, the raindrops barely made it to the ground.
So with wet pavement and a great group of 33 campers we started the year! "How's everybody doing today? Are you ready to have some fun?"
So what a great group, too! This is our second season operating in February and we have smashed our 2007 numbers. Last year, we had only 24 at Blackburn - most of which were Veterans. Today we topped the scales with 15 new people! And they were all awesome! I can't wait to see them make progress and reach their goals.
Stay tuned for a day by day, play by play to February!
February 4th, 2008 - Season 4 Blackburn Park
Today was a glorious start to 2008 and hopefully is an indicator of things to come this year. The weather was about 50 degrees and although the weather man said it was 100% raining, the raindrops barely made it to the ground.
So with wet pavement and a great group of 33 campers we started the year! "How's everybody doing today? Are you ready to have some fun?"
So what a great group, too! This is our second season operating in February and we have smashed our 2007 numbers. Last year, we had only 24 at Blackburn - most of which were Veterans. Today we topped the scales with 15 new people! And they were all awesome! I can't wait to see them make progress and reach their goals.
Stay tuned for a day by day, play by play to February!
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