Joshua McMillin

Bountiful, Utah

Biology

Leadership Track

 

High School Football Camp

 

My EDGE project was completed during the summer of 2018. During my project I had the opportunity to work with many different kids from multiple states. There were multiple camps that I was able to help with including an individual skills camp as well as a team camp. During the camps, I got to do multiple tasks including working and teaching the kids, helping to facilitate the camps, and work as a referee during scrimmages. I worked at the camp every morning for the week of the team camp and the skills camp was only for one night.

 

One of the most rewarding portions of my EDGE project was being able to personally tell kids things I wish I would have known while I was in high school and to learn from some of the mistakes I had made. I enjoyed interacting with the players, being able to help them and congratulate them when they made a good play are some examples of the interactions. There are so many different types of personalities that make participating in the camp fun for everyone. Being able to work alongside my coaches is a fun opportunity as well. This camp occurs annually and will be something I want to participate in every year.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

The inspiration for my project was wanting to work with high school kids and experience what it is like to be a coach. My current plans for the future are to either attend graduate school or start a career in coaching. My hopes with my EDGE project were to gain some perspective of what it is like to coach and to see if it’s something I would want to do. After the conclusion of the camp I found coaching is something I find enjoyable and rewarding. I’m glad I had this opportunity to experience it and it will aide me in making a decision for my future plans.

 

Some of the challenges I faced with my EDGE project were trying to find the time to make it to the scrimmages and practices. Playing football here at SUU, my schedule can become busy and difficult to coordinate around. Another challenge I faced was trying to create a positive environment for the players while having little help. Most of the time we had only one player and one coach at each field. This sometimes made it difficult to run the scrimmage effectively.

 

My EDGE project was able to benefit multiple people other than myself. I think the players were able to learn more about the game of football with me helping them. I may not know everything there is to know about football, but I have had many years of experience playing the game and have been able to share what I have learned with others. My project benefitted the SUU football staff also since they need as many people as possible to make sure the camp runs smoothly. I feel I was able to make a positive impact with multiple individuals throughout my project.

 

I was happy with my project and how it turned out. I was able to gain some valuable experience while having a lot of fun. Learning about coaching and being able to implement my knowledge to others was a rewarding experience. I got to meet a lot of new people and talk with former coaches during the camp. I gained skills in multiple fields and found my project to be a productive experience.