My intern project relates to the position of manual high school facility maintenance. Facility maintenance is a fundamental role in sports management. It ensures that the sport resources are kept in good condition. The position also encompasses the development of a facility maintenance schedule that guarantees high-quality sporting activities. Facility maintenance primarily takes a proactive model aimed at preventing damages from occurring. However, reactive maintenance can also be undertaken, especially equipment and surfaces that have been damaged. A career path in this profession requires an individual to be well-conversant with a wide variety of sporting activities, including football, rugby, tennis, hockey, and basketball. I believe that a role in manual high school facility maintenance will propel me to a career in sport management. The focus of this discussion is on outlining the responsibilities related to my intern project. I will also identify the specific duties that will enhance my pursuit of a career path in sport management.
The effective management of facilities is becoming an important provision not only in sports but also in other departments. Research has shown that the effective management of facilities is at the heart of any organization's proper functioning. The importance of good facility management in an organization cannot be underestimated. It enhances flexibility, adaptability, and the sustainability of an organization (Harun, Salamudin, & Hushin, 2013). It also guarantees that businesses or activities continue to run smoothly without any interruptions. However, it is vital to note that the role of a facility manager tends to vary from one organization to the other. My institution offered me a position as manual high school facility maintenance. The position was interesting and provided me with insights into what management entails. However, given that my role was manual, I was limited in the things I could do. Most of the things I did revolved around handling and servicing. The school had an alternative online facility maintenance system that was run by the manager.
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My first role in my capacity was facility planning. In this role, I managed the sports inventory intending to ensure that all the equipment was in the right place at the right time. It was my duty to ensure that no facility whatsoever was missing, and in the case of unaccountability, there was a student to be held accountable. Out of all the duties I performed, this was the most difficult for me. As I illustrated, I relied on manual records, which would sometimes require a lot of time to go through, given that I did not have an assistant. From time to time, I updated the inventory, especially when the school stocked new equipment. I also assisted the sports manager in activities such as buying and leasing of facilities. After every three months, we conducted a quality assessment to determine the equipment's feasibility to perform their roles. The decision to purchase new facilities mainly relied on our assessments. I really enjoyed this role because it utilized my judgment. Interaction with different sports facilities in different sporting activities was also another area of immense interest.
Fieldwork was a vital part of my role as the facility maintenance manager. In this capacity, we assessed different sports pitches to ensure that they were appropriate and safe for use by the athletes. I would order repair or maintenance whenever the assessment team felt that changes needed to be undertaken. I also found this role training because it was adventurous and also an opportunity to learn more. It was also crucial for me to interact with other sporting professionals whose expertise is to maintain fields of play and enhance their operations. It also exposed me to different indoor games that I had little knowledge of, such as table tennis. My role also included ordering for repairs, especially for furniture and specific sporting facilities that could be mended. Documentation was a vital role in this job. All records taken should be up to date and accurate. I believe that this is arguably the most critical role that I learned during my internship. It taught me the importance of accountability and responsibility. It is for this reason that I started aspiring to become a sporting manager in the future.
I know that the role of a sporting manager is broad and encompasses a wide array of aspects. However, the experience I received in facility maintenance has influenced my desire to become a manager. As a facility maintenance officer, I appreciated the importance of working with teams. It also built on my judgment and decision-making abilities. I knew that the decisions I took as a maintenance manager would influence the field's sporting activities. Therefore, this experience helped me to become a decisive individual that is guided by evidence and intuition. Similarly, managers excel in making critical decisions and working with their teams. I also learned that the process of management is not a one-person thing. Different stakeholders with different expertise will influence the success or failure of the manager (Hoye, Smith, Nicholson, & Stewart, 2015). I want to be a sports manager to influence specific decisions and direct my team members towards achieving a particular goal that I believe in.
My role as a facility maintenance official also exposed me to the business side of sports. A team's success and ability to win depend on how well investment has been made (Hoye, Smith, Nicholson, & Stewart, 2015). I noticed that you could not expect a team to win if they have lackluster facilities for training. I want to be a manager to influence sporting activities at the business level. The knowledge I have acquired in facility maintenance can be transferred to maintenance in various ways. First, I would advise the board on the best types of facilities and equipment to invest in. I would also find them affordable ways to manage the inventory and also to conduct activities such as repair and maintenance. However, my only biggest regret is that I did not learn how to conduct facility maintenance using technological tools. My role was mainly fixed to manual operations that limited the scope of my work. I believe that technology has provided sporting institutions with better opportunities to manage equipment and facilities (Roper & Payant, 2014). I would love to know how to manage inventories, order, and make deliveries using the technology system.
In conclusion, my intern project in high school facility maintenance was an eye-opening experience. I learned several aspects that expanded my scope in maintenance, management, and working with teams. I particularly enjoyed performing assessments in the field, and accountability works within the office. The internship project was also instrumental in influencing my inspirations of becoming a sports manager. I would want to work at a more sophisticated level and be able to influence policies and objectives. The experience that I have acquired, especially in the accountability and management of inventory, will assist me as I become a manager. However, my only worry is that I did not have the opportunity to work with technology during this period. I believe that my next opportunity will offer me this opportunity as the world has now moved towards the digitalization of all processes.
References
Harun, M. T., Salamudin, N., & Hushin, H. F. (2013). Appraisal of the sports facilities maintenance management practices of Malaysian Stadium Corporations. Asian Social Science, 9(12), 93.
Hoye, R., Smith, A. C., Nicholson, M., & Stewart, B. (2015). Sport management: Principles and applications. Routledge.
Roper, K., & Payant, R. (2014). The facility management handbook. Amazon.
