Academics
Students
Adrian Martin '08 - Wrestling With Internships
- CLASS: 2008
- MAJOR: Kinesiology and Leisure Science
- INTERNSHIP: Athletics Department, La Serna High School
Looking for ways to gain work experience while an undergraduate, Adrian Martin knew he wanted to somehow combine his kinesiology major with his passion for wrestling. Across town, La Serna High School desperately needed wrestling coaches, but had a small budget. For an internship, this was a perfect fit.
Beginning his junior year—and carrying over through his senior year—Martin served on La Serna's wrestling team staff as an assistant coach, working one-on-one with athletes, teaching fundamentals, developing their skills, and advising on match strategies and critiquing execution. As he tells it, though, much of his initial experience was based on trial and error.
"I spent the first few weeks mostly observing the other coaches and taking note of their coaching style," said Martin, who quickly realized there was much more to the job than proficiency in the sport.
"High school athletes are in a very delicate stage of development as they prepare to become adults, and I became somewhat of a role model for them. I really enjoyed bonding and becoming a family with teens who [in the beginning] were complete strangers to me."
And Martin's dedication, hard work, and enthusiasm paid off, literally. La Serna's athletic director offered him a paid coaching position for the off-season club wrestling program—an opportunity he gladly seized.
Wrapping up his Whittier program this past May, Martin has plans to attend the fire academy back home in Northern California. But he also intends to continue coaching.
"Four years of college cannot teach me what I learned in these first few months," said Martin. "This internship has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life."
