Week 1-Zach Prichard-Graceland Baptist Church

Coming into the internship at Graceland Baptist Church, I knew that it would be something familiar in the sense that I knew how to take care of fields, and maintain them to their specific needs. But after working 12 hours the first day, I realized it was a lot more work than I expected. I started off Monday at 9 am and proceeded to get the fields ready for the games that night which started at 6 pm. Karen Croft who is my internship supervisor, has been doing this job for 35 years and is the only person at the church who maintains the fields and gets them playable. So with Karen’s help we raked and drug the fields so that by 4 o’clock we could chalk the fields and have them set up for game time. Karen not only maintains the fields, but she has to take care of the concessions as well. So with my help, we had to get the food ready and everything set up so that when the youth groups kids showed up to work the concessions that night, everything had already been taken care of. Games are played on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. A regular day for me when there are games to be played that night looks a little like this. At 9 am I arrive and go take a look at the fields and see if there is any standing water from the night before. I carefully extract the water off the field if needed and rake up any spots that are more wet than others. Since there is only one ATV vehicle on site, and we share that with the maintenance guys, I have to do my best until they can hand it over to me. If the fields are dry enough to drag, I will drag them with the Mule, and then let them dry while I head back inside to run some errands for Karen. I take the money from the concessions the night before, count it, fill out the proper forms, and take it to the payroll department. I then go and check the vending machines to see if they need restocking, along with the concessions to make sure they are well stocked for the night. At 2 o’clock I set out basketballs for the little children who attend day camp at the church so they can have something to play with on their break. Once I feel the fields are dry enough, I will drag them again, but this time with the mesh drag and get them ready to be lined with chalk. I take 2 coolers up to the cafeteria to fill them up with ice so the youth group kids can have ice in the concession stand. Depending on what age group plays that night, I set up the bases accordingly and chalk the fields accordingly. Some age levels don’t have the same chalk lines, and some don’t have the same distance on the base paths. I set up the pitcher machine for the 6-8 yr old girls, and make sure the adjustments are made to it so it pitches right every time (which never happens). Once the games start, it is my job, along with Karen’s, to walk around and chat with parents and coaches to find out if there is anything we can help them with, or if there are any concerns that need to be brought to our attention. If it’s a Tuesday night or Saturday afternoon, I will umpire the 9 and 10 year old boys. I like umpiring, but I have found that parents and coaches at the younger level are more ruthless and rude than they are at the high school or college level. And at the end of the night, I have to count the cash drawer and take it home to turn in the next day, then make sure the bases get put up and the fields are dragged, then I start my day all over again the following day. On days we don’t have games I am usually making phone calls to people who have a weight room membership here at Graceland. Mainly to update our records and find out who is actually using the weight room and who isn’t. Because Karen only made it a one time membership fee, they have records of people who signed up 9 years ago, and probably don’t ever use the facility any more. So after 350 phone calls, I then head to the equipment room and start working on organizing and cataloging it to find out what we have and don’t need anymore. This internship is a definite eye opener to what goes on inside an organization that works with recreation and the community. I can’t wait for each day to come, because I enjoy seeing the look on the kids face when they succeed and I love being there to cheer them up when they fail.