After years of dreaming, waiting for and working towards
getting to America, I’m here. It’s hard to explain why I have such an obsession
with USA. Think back to an experience you had that was so good and made you think;
I want to do ‘that’ for the rest of my life.
For me that experience was a 2010 surf trip to the south of
France. I remember thinking how amazing the lifestyle was. Surfing all day,
eating great food, staying healthy and having a great time doing it. I wanted
to be a better surfer so focused on becoming a fitter surfer, and that’s where
my passion for health and fitness started. If I wanted to do one thing for the
rest of my life it was to help other people realise the importance of fitness
like I had.
So I knew what I wanted to do, but didn’t know where I
wanted to do it. Until a trip 3 years later. It was a ski trip to USA, we drove
through San Francisco and I just remember thinking ‘this is the place’.
Fast forward to now and I’m on a Strength and Conditioning
internship at San Francisco University. The first visit I pay to the University
(USF) is in shorts and a t-shirt – my work uniform. I remember stepping through
the doors of the building ill be based for the next several weeks, the War Memorial
Gymnasium. In between the sheets of plastic and workmen finishing off the
summers restoration I see the colours green and yellow, pictures of athletes on
the walls and names from floor to ceiling of people and teams who have broken
records or won medals.
I walk past painters and more workmen on the paper covered
floor to the basement underneath the basketball court. The excitement building
inside me as I’m about to see the space ill be working. I hear the gym before I
see it. The sound of Country rock music and clang of barbells hitting the
floor. I turn the corner and through a set of glass double doors is a long
room, power racks fill one side of the room stacked either side with weights.
On the other side, enough dumbbells for every student on campus, jump boxes,
foam rollers and benches. It’s perfect. I can’t help but smile to myself for a
second. I’ve actually made it! I am introduced to Brian, one of the strength
coaches at USF whom I will be working with and he gives me a tour of the
amazing facility. Physiotherapy rooms, massage beds, conference rooms, athlete cinemas
and fridges continually filled with organic chocolate milk and peanut butter
but to name a few of the amenities available to the athletes.
Great facilities mean nothing without great people to fill
them. It’s 3 weeks before the school semester starts and the athletic
department already has the teams up and running. Women’s Basketball, women’s
soccer, volleyball and baseball are a few teams that are putting the work in
early and back before the start of school to train. Working alongside all the
teams mentioned I get to see first hand the effort the athletes are putting in,
the way the coaches work on developing the team for the soon approaching season
and how it’s all coordinated between the members of staff.
It’s pre-season training for most of the teams here so
volume is through the roof, it’s not uncommon for a team to have two sessions a
day plus practice. All sessions are mandatory for ALL team members, injured or
not, everyone is there.
The women’s basketball team are at a crucial stage right now
as their season is one of the first to start and the coaches are wasting no
time whipping the girls into shape with an intense training regime. A normal
day would start with a 6:30am conditioning session at the court or soccer
field. About an hour after that finishes their all in the weight room lifting
heavy, going fast and getting after it. Followed by massage, physiotherapy and
food. I don’t attend their basketball practise sessions but I assume they are
all doing practise at least 3 times a week. A similar routine is normal for
women’s soccer, a team whose season is also starting before school starts.
My first week I have been making a lot of notes on
everything from coaching cues, new exercises and programming to nutritional
advice, workout templates and names! – it’s always important to know the names
of everyone your coaching.
I was shocked at how present the ‘support system’ for
athletes was. The women’s basketball team have Brian – the strength coach, all
four basketball coaches, a medic, movement coach and me all present at their
conditioning sessions. They really have everything at their disposal and all
the focus is on getting stronger, faster, better. If they had a hard session in
the gym and they want a sports massage, it’s right there ready for them. If
they didn’t have a good breakfast and want some nutritional advice, they have a
nutritionist waiting and ready to go. I think it’s incredible the amount of
resources available to the athletes and rightly so, with sport being such a
huge part of university life in the USA offering full athletic scholarships to
the best, it’s important that anyone who dedicates this much time to their
sport or team, feels taken care of.
In summary, my first week at USF has been an eye opener to
what is possible at collegiate level sport, a new standard of commitment and
dedication on both the athletes and coaches part, and a steep learning curve
for me trying to adjust to new athletes, new programs and new opportunities.
It’s been very exciting and I really can’t wait for the start of school in a
few weeks when things really start to pick up and teams start playing games.
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