Update 6: Vegas

Today, Mr. Simms and I really focused on the gritty side of the business, which is essentially making sure that all of his clients feel like they are being tended to properly and that they are kept happy.  One of the annual things Mr. Simms does to make his clients feel like they are being well represented is by taking them all out to Las Vegas, for a few days of relaxation and fun.  Each July, he explained to me, he takes about 25 of his clients along with a significant other and pays for their hotels, meals, and any other outings they want to do.  He said that while it typically costs around $50,000 to fund the trip, it was something they would keep doing because it made his clients happy.  That really struck me as surprising, as $50,000 is no chump change.  I asked him why as there was seemingly no return on this investment (i.e. no new prospective clients coming out of this trip), but he explained that when his clients are happy they will refer other NFL players that they know, and they are much less likely to flee to a larger agency because of the “family feel” of Mr. Simms business.  The agent really has to invest a lot of time and money in tending to his clients, and I guess there is no such thing as a sunk cost.

Update 5: Tennis

Unfortunately, Friday I could not meet with Mr. Simms because I headed down to Columbus to play in the state tennis tournament Thursday afternoon.  So instead of blogging about my project today, I am going to tell you guys a little bit about my experience down at states (I hope that’s okay Ms. Samet).  Friday morning Dhruv and myself, both singles qualifiers in the state tournament, played matches at the Ohio State Tennis Courts where the tournament is held.  It honestly is the coolest experience to play at that venue, as there are big stands surrounding all the courts and when there are lots of people watching, it feels like a legitimate professional tennis match.  Unfortunately, both Dhruv and I bowed out in the first round.  I lost to the eventual third place finisher, while Dhruv lost to the eventual runner-up.  All was not lost however, as we got to stick around in Columbus until Sunday to play in the team state tournament, which we qualified for by beating US last Tuesday.  We were in the final four, and after losing our semis match to the eventual state champions, we claimed third place by avenging one of our 2 losses during the season.  All in all it was a great experience, and a great way to end my final high school sports season at Hawken.

9: The Final Countdown

"Aaugh! This is the last day!! This is it!! I only have twenty-four hours left!! Help me! Help me! This is the last day!! Aaugh!"

I pretty much feel like Lucy from You're a Good Man Charlie Brown in the song My New Philosophy. This is it. Theres so little time left and it all comes down one day and one performance. Even though technically Hawken Projects end today ours isn't really over until Monday when our show happens. I can't imagine what it would be like if we were forced to be done today. The show would be absolutely terrible. Saturday is going to be a very important rehearsal for us. It is the last rehearsal before the show and a lot of people will be there. We have the tech crew, the band, and Brian Marshall, one of the directors for Mercury Summer Stock, is coming to watch. The plan is to practice songs for the first 2 hours and do a full run through for the second 2 hours. This means mikes, props, tech, and costumes. Miking always takes forever so hopefully people will be on time/early for this rehearsal.

Today Rose, Lena, and I are going to school to be interviewed by Carly and Sindhura for Humans of Cleveland. I hope a lot of people come to the show because we worked really hard on it and its supporting a great cause. Besides the Facebook event we have flyers everywhere, Brian Marshall sent out our press release and has been sharing the show with the Mercury Community. My whole family has been sharing the event and Mr. Gillespie was able to send out a Hawken Push Page to all upper school parents. I'm hoping that we can make it through these last fews days and have an awesome show on Monday.

8: Best Rehearsal Ever

There has never been a time where I wish I had a cloning machine more than during Monday's rehearsal. That day we only had Kelly and Joe and they were model cast members, It was the most perfect rehearsal I could imagine. Their solos had been neglected because we had to make room for all of the songs in the show and the opening and closing numbers are super long. In a 2 hour rehearsal there is only so much you can do. Because we hadn't really done them I was a bit worried that they would only kind of know their songs and we'd be in big trouble. To our surprise and relief they knew their songs really well and sound great. We got some good audio from this rehearsal. They really raised the bar for me for our Friday rehearsal where unfortunately we will only have 3 of the cast members because Doug is opening the other show he was working on that night. At least now I won't be worried about running Kelly and Joe's songs and we can focus on Joanna. Unfortunately that day we won't have a rehearsal pianist. We have been able to find back tracks for a lot of the songs so we can still practice with those. Friday will definitely have more of a focus on blocking. We probably won't be able to be too loud anyway because the Cum Lade ceremony will be happening during our rehearsal.

Back at the CSU C.T. Branin Natatorium

Coach Tim tells me that he bases a lot of his practices off of the Stanford University Men’s Swimming program.  Stanford uses a general structure that spans over six day periods to train and target various muscle groups.  This general structure is broken down into four color zones: white (heart rate 130-150), pink (heart rate 150-160), red, (heart rate 170-180, or the anaerobic threshold) and blue (heart rate 180 or higher).  The white zone incorporates the most endurance-based work, while the blue zone is highly explosive and speed-oriented.

Today was the first day back at the Cleveland State University natatorium, the dreaded 50-meter long course pool!  We had to go back to Gilmour for a month because the bottom of the CSU pool was being re-painted.  I kept these power concepts in the back of my mind as we did various sets.  I actually hopped in the water for this practice because I wanted to apply the skills I’ve learned over the past couple of weeks to my own stroke.  One thing this project has taught me is to be mindful of some of the things I myself might be doing incorrectly!

We warmed up using paddles and a pull buoy while doing IM, something I’ve never really done before.  It felt awkward at first but the main purpose was to “develop a rhythm,” as Tim said.  The main set was a 200 IM followed by 4 X 50 freestyle, four times through.  “I want you working pretty hard on the IM, but much harder on the 50’s.  The goal is sort of like a recovery set, and your 200 is the recovery.”  Being a butterflyer, however, meant that I had to do most of the 50’s butterfly.  Rhythm, I noticed, was especially important, because I felt significantly slower and more tired once I lost my rhythm.  Then, after I thought the grueling part of practice was over, we had to do the entire set again, this time a 100 freestyle and 4 x 50 IM, four times through.  You know you’re a swim nerd when you feel invigorated by horribly hard practices! (Believe it or not, this felt like one of Tim's easier practices.)

Update 4: Ms. Samet visits

            Today Ms. Samet visited, and got a taste of what it is like to be a sports agent.  While meeting at Panera, we talked to her about all the different aspects of the job, such as legal, marketing, and player scouting.  Now the most surprising thing I found out when I started working with Andy is that while player scouting is the most important part of the job, as you need to represent clients who are successful in order to be successful as an agent, that does not take up the bulk of the time for the job.  In fact, Mr. Simms only hires 5 or 6 new players each year to represent, and the rest of the time is spent tending to his existing players and trying to help them in whatever ways he can.  It’s almost like a never ending cycle, where he scouts players all year and tries to hire them leading up to the draft, and then the cycle starts all over again right after the draft finishes.  I showed Ms. Samet some of the work I have done, such as the spreadsheets I have made of each position for the 2015 NFL draft, doing background research on the players and trying to find athletic backgrounds, hometowns, etc.  This is a list Mr. Simms updates all year leading up to next April’s draft, and I am just helping him by starting it.

Recovery Day

Coach Tim likes to do what I call “bridge” sets that fall in between the warm-up and the main set, to get the kids’ heart rates up and to focus on a crucial component that will lead to fast swimming during the main set.  One of his favorite sets is the two-turn 50’s, where swimmers start in the middle of the pool, swim to the wall and do a flip, swim to the other wall and do a second flip, and then return to the middle.  The ultimate goal is to become mindful of flipturns so they become second nature when swimming a main set.

“The likelihood of that happening is…close to zero though,” coach Tim explains.  “You can only teach them one or two things a day.  Otherwise what you say will go in one ear and out the other.”

And that’s where I come into the equation.  It’s especially important for me to give feedback on things that have already been explained to the young swimmers as a means of reinforcement.

“Today’s going to be a recovery day, working on hard efforts, but not all out, in the 140-150 heart rate zone.  We’ll be doing 12 x 300 [12 lengths of the pool], and the odds will be IM, the evens will be easier recovery freestyle.”

12 x 300 doesn’t seem like much of a recovery day to me!  Then again, it’s a coach Tim practice.  He must be doing something right, being the 2012-2013 age group Coach of the Year!

Jaffe Update 6: Compare and Contrast

Yesterday, I started typing up transcripts for my grandmother's and great-uncle's letters and postcards home over the course of their trip, and I've noticed many differences between our experiences, simply on face-value. These differences arise from their actions, their environment, and their time period. Below is a short enumerated list.

1. It was a group tour. There are many references to the same people on their trip, where as the only person I mentioned daily was Jacob.

2. It was a guided tour. O! the hours Jacob and I would've saved had we had a guide who knew the English and Scottish roads. (Although I'm fairly certain we would've gotten lost despite having a guide, because...)

3. There was a discrepancy in the technology. We had GPS; they had a guide. My bike broke down on the last day; Mary's (my grandmother) broke down on the 2nd. There are more more specific things, but you get the gist.

4. They were quite a relaxed group. They would often hop on a train and skip a few miles, whether that was in the plan or they were simply tired. On a dreaded, giant mountain pass Jacob and I went up, Mary and the guide hitched a ride with some lead miners. In essence, it makes me feel better about taking a train on my last day.

For now, that is all. Best of luck to whomever reads this on these final few days!

More of the Same

On friday I was back working in the restaurant.  I started of the day working with the accountant for Cedar Creek.  She talked about how she would keep track of all the sales made the previous day, and then break down the sales by different sub-topics.  She put all of the amounts into an Excel spreadsheet, and then on the other side was the sales made in the previous year.  She said Mr. Doody likes to compare the sales to the previous year, and on certain holidays, such as Mothers Day, he wanted to have more sales than the previous year so they opened the restaurant earlier to allow for more reservations to be made.  She also put into the spreadsheet the amount the restaurant has to spend in paying workers, and buying food and appliances.  This is very important because if you're not making more than you're spending then the business is going to fail.  After working with her, I went out into the restaurant and worked as a host for the rest of the day.