At Penn State University’s Department of Kinesiology, undergraduate students have the opportunity to do an internship many working adults dream of: at a CrossFit box.
According to Bryan St. Andrews, owner of CrossFit Nittany, students are learning principles of training but have no practical experience.
“They come in and I’m like, ‘All right, perform the power clean.’ And they don’t even know what piece of equipment to pick up,” he says.
The internship idea all started with senior Tim Richardt, who admittedly had ulterior motives.
“It ended up being a … poor college’s students plea for superior training as opposed to me just going to the college gym and trying to CrossFit on my own,” he says. “It really just started out as lack of money and also just a genuine interest to learn more about CrossFit and kind of the movements themselves.”
St. Andrews, who was a personal trainer for 10 years before opening his affiliate, says the partnership between CrossFit Nittany and the university “just made sense.”
“It’s been fantastic because … they have a place now, an outlet for students that want to learn,” he says. “They want this stuff … . You didn’t get into being a (kinesiology) major because you want to sit around and not know how to exercise.”
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Additional reading: Manage Your Own Business by Paul Southern, published Aug. 31, 2011.
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8 Comments on “CrossFit Nittany’s Kinesiology Internship Program ”
1
wrote …
More detail on how the internship program is structured please, with emphasis on what the relationship and information flow is with the University.
eg an interview process was mentioned, so apparently not everyone who chooses to intern at CF Nittany is able to do so. What criteria is used and how are students made aware of this opportunity?
Also do the students get any coursework credit for their internship. That was sort of addressed, but more, what if they suck. Do they get scored and does that count in some way to their grade in the University course?
This is a great concept. It promotes CF to people who are being educated in a way to see its relevance. It produces a generation of CF trainers who've been formally educated in the science of what they're doing.
And it's just a great thing to do.
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2
wrote …
That's amazing!!! Us Kine majors NEED more programs like this!!
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3
wrote …
Craig, If you'd like more information on how I administer the program I'd be happy to discuss it with you but to answer a few questions you had... 1) NO WAY!! I absolutely don't accept everyone who applies! Yes, they get graded and it is a full 3 credit course for students spending over 20 hours/week. If they suck it works just like anything else they might suck at... they could fail or get fired. The students that get selected are some of the best and brightest at PSU... I don't have time for the slackers that are just putzing around. Thanks for your support and I think our members and the students both benefit.
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4
wrote …
Great program with a great university. Proud to see people like Bryan exposing crossfit from an academic perspective. Not only are students receiving education, but they earn real work experience that hopefully they can use after graduation. Awesome video.
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5
wrote …
I so wish they had this fantastic opportunity for us when I was in college. Crossfit has taught me more than my degree ever did!
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6
wrote …
Whoever thinks that working at a CrossFit facility is not a real internship for exercise science/kinesiology students is crazy. I did my internship at one during my undergraduate studies and the knowledge I gained working with people of all ages was extremely beneficial to understanding my courses and applying my learning to people and people to my learning.
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7
wrote …
Physical Education programs would benefit greatly from PE teachers becoming CrossFit instructors.
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8
wrote …
AS I understand, the long time strength coach (John Thomas) at PSU was notorius for using the nautilus machines with football team and using HIT favoring endurance more than strength. Since the Sandusky Scandal, he has been removed and PSU hired Craig Fitzgerald from the University of South Carolina. I'm not speculating if the hiring of Fitzgerald has coincided with the crossfit facility at PSU, but it is a rather curious thing to notice of an institution that was notorious for using nautilus machines for quite a while.
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