2011 Program News

First Week at the University of Delaware Wraps up With Sporting Events

The first week of the ICECP program has come to an end at the University of Delaware.

After a full week of getting to know each other better, the coaches seem like they have known each other all of their lives. They had a long week of different lectures, ranging from an introduction on Olympism, to First Aid and Emergency Management, to the Ethics of Coaching and SWOT Analysis, including many others. The coaches were able to unwind a little bit over the weekend, with no classes to worry about.

During the week, the coaches had to give a short five minute SWOT Analysis presentation on their project to the other participants. For many, it was the first time they had put together a power point presentation, and for others, it was the first time they had given an oral presentation to a group. While some coaches had a difficult time staying within the time limit, others seemed like professionals at giving presentations. The coaches were able to learn from the experience and were also able to get different ideas from each other.

Friday, the coaches met up with the FYE students again for a pizza party at Grotto’s. After spending more time talking with them, the coaches headed to the Carpenter Sports Building to help cheer on the University of Delaware Women’s Volleyball Team against conference foe James Madison University. The starting players each throw out a t-shirt to the crowd as they are introduced before every game, and three coaches were lucky enough to catch one of the seven t-shirts thrown out before this game. One coach had the opportunity to participate in a serving game during intermission, and he was able to hit and win a University of Delaware sweatshirt. The Blue Hens pulled off the 3-1 set win, beating the number one team and undefeated in conference, JMU Dukes. All of the coaches greatly attributed this win to their very vocal and supportive cheering. A cheer started by one coach at the beginning of the game had spread throughout the stands by the end of the match.

The coaches were able to experience some more of Delaware on Saturday, taking a shopping trip to different locations. They first started at Walmart, where many coaches could be found walking around with full shopping carts. After taking some time trying to find two coaches that were lost in the store, the group next headed to the Christiana Mall. Fortunately, no one was lost this time and coaches bought very different things from shoes, to electronics, to gifts for family and friends back home. A stop at Dick’s Sporting Goods left some coaches disgruntled after finding nothing but Philadelphia sports gear. The next stop was Best Buy, were many coaches came out with full hands and empty pockets, purchasing laptops, digital cameras, video cameras, among many other things.

After arriving back at the hotel, some coaches rushed through dinner to head to the University of Delaware football game, against the #9 ranked William and Mary Tribe, also a conference opponent. Although the coaches arrived late, they still enjoyed the game and were able to see the Hens shutout and upset the Tribe by a score of 21-0. For many of the coaches in attendance, it had been their first time seeing an American football game, whether live or on television.

Sunday was a day of rest for the coaches, as some went to the library to work on their projects and others just hung out at the hotel and tried to catch up on some laundry. After the first week, the coaches have shown great potential and the future over the next couple of weeks looks very bright.