Career Investigation

Kate Smith
PRT 3100
June 23, 2015

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Page of Context:
Career Research PaperPage 3
Career Interview.Page 8
Future Career..Page 11
References..Page 13

Career Research Paper:

Based off of the research I have completed, I have decided to go into the field of
community recreation and sports management. I have a long history with this field from
working for recreation centers for the past 8 years. From the research, I was able to learn
a lot about the history of community recreation as well as sports management.
Community recreation has been around since the 1800s. Recreation centers such
as fields of land, came to be so the community could provide children a safe place to
play. Places like New York City established this concept because children were getting
arrested for playing marbles and throwing stones. Communities set aside land to let the
children have a place to play instead of causing trouble on the streets. This movement
then became national towards the later part of the 1800s.
In 1892 Boston established the first metropolitan park system and cities like San
Francisco, Sacramento, and Salt Lake City soon followed to allow large open spaces in
the city before the 1900s. The expansion of parks was very important to the field of
Community Recreation because it lead to the expansion of the programs communities get
to enjoy.
One important person in the community recreation field is the father of the
playground movement, Joseph Lee. Lee created a playground in an open lot because he
was shocked to see boys being arrested for playing the streets (McLean, 2005). In 1898
he helped created a model for a playground in Boston that included a play area for small
children, a boys section, a sport field and individual gardens (McLean, 2005). Lee
expressed how closely related work and play was. This was in contrast to what everyone
thought; People believed they were two completely different things. Lee said that both

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work and play allowed people to explore, exceed, achieve, and master.(Stevens, 2010)
Lee also expressed how the playground program allowed for immigrants to settle in by
using the playground when they moved to the United States. It allowed immigrants to
meet people in the community as well as getting outside to play.
By 1900 supervised play facilities were being to appear. The first 14 cities to
provide the supervised play facilities were Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Baltimore, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Denver, and Minneapolis.(McLean, 2005)
This helped the community to provide jobs and allowed for a safe environment for
children to play. This helped the police by taking the children who use to cause trouble
off the streets and allowed for the officers to focus on other criminal activity.
In the late 20th century, recreation programs were put in place to help adults with
skills like cooking, gardening, literacy, and arts. This allowed people to get out of the
house and learn skills they might not have learned before or better the skills they already
had. Recreation programs allowed for more community involvement. Programs were put
in place to meet the needs for all citizens in the community, no matter what age. The
programs put in place allowed for an entire family to be able to enjoy the recreation
center, not just adult males. Recreation centers started to have all types of programs such
as music, art, group sports, fitness and classes for literacy.
Many different organizations have helped the Community Recreation field by
making campaigns to get the community involved. Some organizations included The
National Association of Boys Club, Girls Scouts, Playground Association of America,
National Recreation and Parks Association and The National Education Association all
helped promote organized recreation services.

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The National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) has gotten involved by
developing campaigns focusing on the benefits associated with recreation and leisure
services. One campaign the created was the Benefits are Endless. The program was
launched in 1995 and continued into the 2000s. The campaign purpose was a training
program to help park and recreation professionals change the way they view themselves
and their organization: and to change the way in which the public perceives our vale and
benefits.() Another campaign NRPA launched was Step Up to Health program in 2005.
Step Up to Health program encouraged the role of community recreation and leisure
services to contribute to healthy lifestyle as a community.
Due to expansion of recreation programs, recreation centers have had to work
with a lot more people in the community. Due to the size of the recreation center based on
what is available in the city, city planners started to get involved in the planning process.
This allowed for recreation centers to fit into communities better. City planners are not
the only ones getting involved. Due to large percentage of the community will use a
facility, recreation center are now seeking help from citizens of the community to help
with the planning process. Recreation Centers want to make sure what they are providing
for the community, is what the community wants. For example, if the community is
mostly elderly people, the Recreation Center may want to focus on classes more than
organized sports. Recreation Centers also need to work with demographics in their
community. For example, if the community has a large Latino population it would make
more sense for the recreation center to have futsal over basketball. Having the recreation
center have the community involved would allow the recreation center to include

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activities the citizens want rather than what the center thinks would be best for its
citizens.
Recreation Centers have a lot of planning that needs to happen before a new
recreation center is built. Since recreation centers are always changing the planners need
to account for the seven influences the change. The seven influences include holistic
planning, financial self-sufficiently, overlapping programs, generational changes,
ethnicity, healthcare, and technology. Holistic planning allows for recreation centers to
plan for the future. Recreation departments understand that the object is not simply to
respond to current needs, but to understand how future growth could impact the needs of
the community at large (Springs). Financial self-sufficiently influences the field because
recreation center need to be able to fund themselves. Overlapping programs allows for
programs to be in one area instead of multiple areas in the community. Generational
changes and ethnicity influence the field because you have to cater for the people in the
community using the recreation center. Healthcare and technology influences the plans
for what the center will have. Wellness centers and new equipment is a huge part of
recreation centers now a day whereas that has not always been the case in the past. The
influences have a big impact on how community recreation happens in different
communities and can affect my future job depending on where I would plan to work.
Based on my research, I was able to find out how the history of community
recreation and how it started. I learned about what cities first got involved in creating a
recreational space for the community as well as learning about important people in the
field. I found out about organizations that helped recreation centers. I also found out

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about who helped in the planning stages when new recreation centers are created and
what considerations need to be considered when building a new recreation center.

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Career Interview:
I interviewed Mark Weiss. He is the director of Aquatics for Campus Recreation
Services at the University of Utah. He has worked for Campus Recreation Services at the
University of Utah for three years. He got his Masters Degree in Sports Management
from Washington State University before working for Old Dominion University in
Virginia.
I hope to work for a University Campus Recreation Services, but Im not sure
what area I would want to work in. I decided to interview him because I knew he has
worked at multiple universities at their Campus Recreation Services and thought he
would be a great person to ask questions for multiple departments.
For a job in Campus Recreation Services, I need to be personable, outgoing,
hardworking, and flexible with my schedule. I need to have the skills to be able to make
schedules for the building and for the staff. I will also need the skills to be able to
understand an operation manual, as well as create an operational manual. I will need the
skills to create and manage programming and know how to market those programs and
the recreation center. If I plan to work in intermural sports, I will need to be able to run
both the league and the teams. I will need the skills to discipline teams depending on the
circumstance. If I work in membership services, I will need to understand and create a
locker schedule. I will need the skills to sign people up for memberships and also dealing
with the money aspect of memberships. I learned I will need different skills in different
areas and deciding my specialty will help me be able to focus and improve the skills I
would need for a job in the field of Community Recreation.

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From the interview, I learned it would be in my best interest to find an internship
that allows me to work in different areas in Campus Recreation Services. From the
internship, I could decide which area I liked best and then I could focus on that specialty.
Mark suggested interning at a different college campus would be the best experience for
me. It would allow me to see how a different university runs their campus recreation
programs since Ive already worked for the Campus Recreation Services at the University
of Utah for the past 2 years. After my interview, I decided it would be best for me to
intern at UVUs Campus Recreation Services.
I learned from the interview depending on what area I plan to work for will
change what my job will entail. I learned if I plan to go into Intermural Sports, I would
have to plan which sports we offer, making the schedule for the sports leagues, managing
staff and making sure they have the proper training. Working in membership services my
job would entail making staff schedules, facility schedules, dealing with money, audits,
selling memberships. With any area I would work in I would have to work with
customers.
I need to become familiar with some software. Software for scheduling of people
and events would be a big one to know. I learned I should get familiar with WhentoWork
and Fusion. I also need to be comfortable using Microsoft office products. If I plan to
work in marketing, I should be able to use adobe.
If I want to further my education, I have a couple of options for Community
Recreation. The best masters program for the job I would like would be recreation
administration, sports management, or anything sports or recreation related. Sports

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psychology, exercise science, athletic training, and business management would also
work, but others would be better for the job.
There are three professional organizations I should join. NIRSA, NRPA, and
Athletic business are all organizations that work well for Community Recreation. NIRSA
works well for collegiate sports. NRPA works well nationally for Recreation departments.
Athletic Business works well if I plan to specialize in athletic departments.
Having work experience in the area I want to pursue would help me stand out on
my resume. Having experience scheduling programs, evaluating programs and marketing
the programs will also help me stand out. Having multiple certifications will also help
me. If I decide to work in Aquatics, having my lifeguarding, CPR, first aid, lifeguard
instructor certification and operators license would all be certification that would be
helpful to have.
I learned a lot from my interview. The biggest thing I took from the interview was
the need to find what area I want to focus on. I have been having trouble deciding which
area. I need to choose from Intramurals, membership services, and aquatics. I think
interning for different areas will help me be able to narrow it down.

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Future Career:
Since I was little I have been involved in community recreation. Being on a swim
team growing up gave me the opportunity to see a possible job opportunity. I was able to
see lifeguards do their job for 10 years before I finally got the chance to apply. Over the
course of my swimming career I fell in love with aquatics. I got to see the programs that
were offered and participant in. My upbringing allowed me to know that I wanted to
work in Community Recreation. After getting experience as a lifeguard and assistant
manager I realized I needed to branch out to see other opportunities. After talking to
professionals in different departments of community recreation and getting experience in
other departments I have realized Aquatics is where I belong. I have done research to see
where I would want to work. There are different places I could work as an aquatics
department. I believe it would be in my best interest to work as an Aquatics Director at a
Campus Recreation Services. I enjoy working with college students and with my
experience I have noticed I prefer working with lifeguards who are college age over
teenagers who just got certified. I enjoy being able to plan events to get students involve
on campus. I would also look forward with helping the student employees find
themselves and what they want to do. Just like my current boss has done for me. I would
have never realized I wanted to work in Community Recreation if it wasnt for my boss
Mark Weiss. I want to be a manager that student employees could go to. I have the
knowledge and experience of what they are going through and thats why Aquatics
Director of Campus Recreation Services is where I would want to work.
Working as the Director of Aquatics I would have to manage the aquatics staff, as
well as plan the programming for the department. I would be in charge of training the

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staff members with weekly or monthly in-services. This would include certifications of
lifeguarding, first aid/CPR, emergency oxygen administration, and water safety
instructor. The classes would be recertification training and training new lifeguards and
swim instructors. I would be in charge of organizing programs. Some programs I would
be in charge of organizing are open swim, swim lessons, water fitness classes, and open
kayak rolls. I would also be in charge of private rentals. Private rentals would include
swim teams, swim clubs, and private organizations. Depending on the organization I
would also be in charge of chemical and pool maintenance. The job would entail good
communication skills with both customers and employees. I will have to have experience
planning, organizing, and evaluating programs.
In order to get this job, I need to have experience in the aquatics department. I
have started working towards this path by becoming a lifeguard when I was 15 years old.
I have continued working as a lifeguard at different facilities for the past 8 years. Having
this experience I have been promoted to head guard and after that I got promoted to
Assistant Manager. Having experience working as a facility manager allows me to see
what the job entails. As an assistant manager I have been able to manage the staff with
scheduling and training. I have been able to get my certifications for Lifeguard Instructor.
This has allowed me to teach first aid/ CPR classes and lifeguarding classes. The next
step I will need to take to work as an Aquatics director is to get my operators license.
Once I get that license I will be able to manage pool chemicals and operations. After that
I will need to start to working on planning, organizing and evaluating programs. To do
this I could fix the swim lessons that are already in place at my job. I could evaluate the
program we already have and see what needs to be changed. I could make those changes

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to improve the programs and also get the experience I need. In order to get a directors
job I will need to work on networking. I will start going to conferences for National
Intramural-Recreational Sports Association. This will allow me to get in contact with
employers and network with people in my career path.

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References
Springs,S.,&Brinkley,D.(2015,May1).TheRemakingofRecCenters.RetrievedMay22,2015.
Rudick,J.(n.d.).ParksandRecreation:TheBenefitsAreEndless.RetrievedJune10,2015,from
https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G118738554/parksandrecreationthebenefitsareendless
McLean,D.,&Hurd,A.(2005).EarlyHistoryofRecreationandLeisure.InKraus'recreationandleisure
inmodernsociety(7thed.).Sudbury,Mass.:JonesandBartlett.
Stevens,C.(2010).CommunityRecreationandLeisureServices.InAcareerwithmeaning:Recreation,
parks,sportmanagement,hospitality,andtourism.Champaign,Ill.:SagamorePub.