Caleb Hullett
Fall Externship2014
Final Reflection Paper
December 5, 2014 1. Academic honesty is expected from each student. In the event a student is caught not showing up where he/she is supposed to be, caught forging documents or time logs, plagiarizing, etc., then that student will give a failing grade for this internship course (upon professor’s discretion). As Christians, we seek by God’s grace to have a culture of Gospel filled honesty and transparency, with the Lord being honored through our words and by our actions (Proverbs 12:17, Luke 8:15, Ephesians 4:28).

Caleb Hullett

This semester at Samford was one for the books. I was involved in things that I never thought would be possible. I enjoyed time with friends and I even made many new ones along the way. Though times got difficult and tempers flared, I am grateful for the opportunity I had this semester working with the Samford University football team. I was able to enjoy the comfort of being a coach instead of being a player for once. For so long it was me out there being the one the coaches were instructing, and this semester I was able to be the guy doing the instructing. It was such a blessing from God to be able to do that and I will be forever grateful for this opportunity. Coach Sullivan and the entire staff took me in and really helped me along the entire way and I have reached out to each individual in Sullivan Cooney Family Fieldhouse and thanked them for what they did for me. Nothing will ever take away what I was able to accomplish with the coaches and staff of Samford football. Throughout the process of my externship I was given an abundance of jobs to accomplish. Some of the jobs were to be done on my own, while others I had to work alongside the coaches. We had to come together and really grind it out sometime in order to get done what needed to be done. There were days that it was hard to be in the office due to the amount of stress, but there were also days that were more laid back and we could really enjoy our time in there. I was able to speak with all of the coaches individually at least one time through the journey and it was nice to be able to speak with them and learn a little bit more about them and them learn about me. I heard some really awesome and inspirational stories, things I will take with me forever. A lot of the things they told me I will tell my kids one day. I was able to hear first-hand Coach Sullivan’s life story about his journey at Auburn and then coaching at TCU, then UAB. He told me his story of when he had cancer and how difficult those times were. He told me things that he had to go through that no individual on earth should ever have to go through. He said there were mistakes that he made when he was younger in high school and college that he is having to deal with at his age now. Every day is a constant battle for him because of choices he made when he was younger. Coach Sullivan made the decision to chew tobacco at a younger age which ended up in the long run being a major factor of him getting cancer and essentially turning his world upside down. While I have been at Samford there is one thing that these coaches have instilled in players and that is that we are going to be a family whether we like each other or not. They say you don’t have to like each other as long as you love each other and are willing to go to battle with the guy next to you, then we will be fine. Having heard that for the previous four years, it really started to set in this past semester due to the fact that pretty soon my time as a Samford player/intern would soon be over. I was fortunate enough to spend four years with these guys and another year as an intern, and I wouldn’t trade a single second of any of it. Relationships is what it has all been about and I have truly learned that and let it sink in this past semester. I had the privilege of working directly alongside Chris Boone (Defensive line coach) and some of the things we talked about had nothing to do with football or even sports for that matter. We talked about our family, friends, and many other things that you wouldn’t normally talk to a coach about, but since I was kind of a part of their group they allowed me to listen in and they listened to me as well. It was a unique but very humbling time to be able to spend with the coaches. On a day to day basis I was working on our opponent’s film. I would do anything from breaking it down to simply watching it and making cutups for the players so that they could watch and scout the opposing team we would be playing that week. I spent hours upon hours in front of a computer, which isn’t exactly my forte, but through it all I’m glad I was able to do that because of the amount of experience I learned and the time I put in on the computer was beneficial. I was able to learn all of the software and pretty much become proficient in all of the computer technology implemented at the fieldhouse. Week 1 of football season was extremely hard for me due to the fact that I didn’t know exactly what I was doing, and the coaches were treating me like I had been working for them for twenty years. They threw me into the fire and I had to catch on fast. At the time, I was overly stressed about everything that I needed to be getting done that sometimes I would forget to do even the simplest of things. I can’t even tell you how many meals I skipped because of the amount of work I had to get done. I know this internship was only supposed to be 450 hours, but I know I worked way more hours than that. While writing my weekly logs I sometimes had a hard time deciding what I was going to write about because the amount of things I did couldn’t fit into a short summary. I did things such as go and get the coaches coffee and other small jobs on top of all the larger projects that they had me do throughout the day. Learning to do so much so quickly was something that I thrived on as the season went on. I got extremely good at what I was doing and would sometimes even finish my work early and have a little relaxing time before we would go out to practice. That was really big for me because I tend to carry a lot of burden on me and when I feel like I don’t have enough time to do something I get overwhelmed. Getting my work done early seemed to be a big factor for me maintaining my emotional balance. Throughout my externship I came up with many different things that helped me to get through the fast paced and energetic times in the office. One of the things I learned was I had to learn my role. I learned my role very quickly in the office. I learned that if I say I’m going to get something done then I better get it done and in the quickest possible manner. The coaches didn’t take it too lightly when I didn’t get projects done on time. There were a few times when I didn’t complete a task on time and I would get yelled at and get in trouble, but for the most part they just had to help me finish it because odds are that if I didn’t get it done then I was having trouble understanding the task. Another thing I learned was to not volunteer for too much. At times I would volunteer to do things then it would end up being much more than I could handle and it was a train wreck. Luckily I had a few people in the fieldhouse that helped guide me in the right direction. I am thankful for those people today. While on this journey I learned that I do not want to coach a sport at the collegiate level. I value every second I spent with the football team, but I know for a fact I do not want to pursue a career in coaching. While going about my day I had the chance to work a little bit on the administrative side of the business and I think that is where my heart really is. I have thought for so long that I wanted to be a coach until the day I started my internship and realized I am not interested in the lifestyle they have to live. The hours are harsh, the family time is limited, and the amount of busy work is almost pointless. A lot of the work they do are things that do not really even have to be done. The amount of cutups made and the amount of film study done is unbelievable. There is so much to be done, but doing pointless things only adds to the stress levels of wondering if you are even going to get done with the things that have to be done. I learned a lot throughout my class experience in college and some of those things really carried over in the setting of interning with the football team. Social skills and the ability to push others to get the job done are a couple of examples that come to mind so quickly. Sometimes there were things I didn’t want to do in the office and even on the field during practice, but I knew that if I showed any lack of interest then I would be a cancer to the entire team. One of the best things about working with the team was seeing how you influence the players. There were times when the player’s bodies were just tired and they didn’t really want to practice, but it was up to me to try and push them to get through the practice and get as much out of it as they could. I know football is a sport that takes a toll on the body of an athlete, but at the end of the day it is so rewarding to know that you accomplished the task for the day. I take great pride in knowing that I helped push some of those players to become better on a day to day basis. While at Samford I had the opportunity to be a part of a SOCON championship football team during my senior year, and that was such an amazing moment and such a great privilege. Working with the football team this past semester was hard for me because a lot of the players didn’t seem to care about it as much as we did when I was a senior leader on the football team. There were times the players would make terrible decisions and it would end up really hurting the team. There was a lot of selfishness on the team and it showed. There were guys out there who thought they were too good to be out there and a lot of that showed when the key players weren’t contributing during some of the most difficult games. A work ethic wasn’t instilled into them, and they paid for that when the times got hard on the field. They lost a few really close games that they shouldn’t have lost. They thing about this year’s team was that they didn’t act like they knew how to win. That was very strange to me because most of the guys who were contributors on this year’s team were taking snaps when we won the conference championship in 2013. It was heartbreaking to see such a talented team that didn’t think they had to work in order to be the best again. In my opinion, Samford was the best team in the SOCON, yet they finished second in the conference to a mediocre Chattanooga team. There were things this year that stuck out to me that will have to change in order for teams in the future to be successful. They will get them worked out and get the players in there that are willing to do what it takes to be the best at the conference level and at the national level as well. While writing this paper it has become public knowledge that Samford Head Coach Pat Sullivan will be stepping down as head coach and taking on another role in the athletic administration department. Much is going to change around the football program and it will be interesting to see what coaching changes happen in the next couple of months. I hope and pray for all of the coaches that they will be able to move on to other jobs if that be the case and be successful in those jobs as well. It is up in the air about what is going to happen in the head coach and assistant coach positions. Working alongside these coaches has been crazy but very rewarding also and I know that they will each succeed tremendously in whatever the endeavor. If I could go back and do my internship process all over again, I probably would have rather done an internship in athletic administration. I see myself working in the business setting of sports in comparison to the coaching side. I have been interested in this for some time now and I know this is where I am supposed to be. I want to eventually work in an athletic department helping to build revenue for athletic teams and working to increase the quality of players on the field and off the field. Helping to build an athletic department financially and athletically sounds so intriguing, and I want to be a part of that on some level one day. I want to be able to be someone that the players come speak to for help. I want to be someone that the administration looks to in crisis management. I want to successfully help build and maintain a program in every sport. That sounds so satisfying and I know I will be great at it one day. Having the courage to pursue this career is so difficult. I have spoken with many about this and it is a difficult path to take, but I know I will succeed in any way or form. Working with the Samford football team this year was such a blessing. I know there were times when I absolutely hated it, but I am so thankful for the opportunity I had. I got to do things that kids dream of. I got to be a part of a coaching staff that won games and a lot of them. I got to help in formations on game day and work alongside our defensive coordinator on game day. Building relationships that will last a lifetime and making memories that I will never forget was just a bonus to what I was able to do while interning with the football team. I don’t agree with some of the choices we made, but I went with them and they worked out exactly how they were supposed to work out. I look forward to continuing being a Bulldog for the rest of my life. Over a thousand days on this campus working with this football team as a player and as an intern and I cherish every single one of those days because they shaped me into the man I am today and I know God was working when he brought me here. My Faith has developed so much while being here and I am so thankful that God chose Samford for me because this place will always have a special place in my heart. I am pleased and blessed by every aspect of this campus and the leadership exhibited here on a daily basis, and I know this is only the beginning of what is to take place here at Samford. We are continuing to grow and expand and I look forward to the direction we are moving as a campus. We are going to look back in thirty years and not recognize it because of how everything is moving so quickly, but we will all know that Samford will still be instilling those same thoughts into college student’s minds and that is FOR GOD, FOR LEARNING, FOREVER!