Abstract

Dance Cross Training for Football Athletes is a video presentation created by Tenille

Dellinger at Western Michigan University. This video explores the similarities of dance

training and football training. In essence, it is designed to persuade the audience (football

coaches) to include dance training in their daily workout regimen. The project details both

the physical and health benefits of dance training and also relates stories about past and current National Football League players who have trained in dance and reaped the benefits of this cross training. The purpose of the video also is to encourage football coaches to consider hiring a dance professional to train their athletes in dance techniques, thereby giving their team a competitive advantage.

Reflection

The creation of this video project has been a roller coaster of successes and trials. I began with big dreams and high hopes, and most of them were altered throughout this process. However, after a few setbacks, I reworked my idea to fit my current circumstances

and I now have a project I will be able to update and use throughout my professional

career.

I have thought about this project since my freshman year in college, but I never

worried about it because I knew what my passions were for my career. The easiest part of this process was choosing my topic. I also have been passionate about dance cross training for football players for years and my passion continues to grow. Since I aspire to work for an NFL team, I wanted to create a project that I could take to a professional football coach and say, “Here is why you need dance training implemented into your current training regimen.” This way, I can spread the information quickly, concisely, and with visual representation that helps the content make sense.

Throughout this process, I ran into three roadblocks that hindered the progression

of my project. The first hindrance occurred when I could not get athlete participation for

my video footage. I had hoped to use varsity football and hockey players from Western

Michigan University, but I could not drum up enough interest. I wanted to film athletes that

could potentially use dance training in their professional athletic careers. Using athletes

would have also helped make the video more relatable to football coaches; however, no

amount of bribing or desperate pleas made them want to participate. Eventually, I had to

turn from this idea and use a couple of students from the dance department at Western

Michigan University.

The second hindrance came when looking for video footage and pictures to use in

my project. I tried to use only pictures of NFL teams and players, but I continually fought a

battle with copyright issues. Many of the pictures that best illustrated my concepts weren’t accessible to me, even after asking photographers for permission. Though I knew the NFL had tight copyright laws, I wasn’t expecting to struggle with this issue. After realizing this, I had to learn how to search for pictures using different key words, and also lower my standards of the quality of pictures I was going to be able to use.

The largest struggle of the entire project has been time. Though I didn’t procrastinate in this process, it took a long time to get the project going. I was depending on the athletes’ participation, and I kept asking and waiting for their response. Next thing I knew, it was midterm and I still did not have a project. After realizing I needed to shift focus for participants, I moved forward rather quickly. After filming and writing the script,

I left myself what I thought was plenty of time to edit. Once I began creating the actual video though, I realized I just needed more time. My footage was pixelated, I struggled to make sure the script was portraying what I wanted, and then struggled to make the voice- overs cohesive to one another. In the final days, I was rushed and constantly looking for validation that the video was good. When it was completed, however, it all came together seamlessly.

My favorite part of this project has been presenting it since I enjoy spreading my passion about this subject to anyone who will listen. I think it is a topic that many people

don’t know about or don’t understand, but I think it has monumental potential to impact the sport of football. I love to share the information I have learned and get others excited about this topic too. I enjoy answering questions after my presentation, because it means I have piqued an interest in a captive audience.

Though many trials and hurdles came my way in this process, I finished with a project of which I am very proud. It morphed over its creation, but it became a great work of art in the end. Through this process, I learned to trust myself, breathe, and know that I can’t control everything. It was hard to learn some of those lessons, but I’ve become a better, stronger person for achieving this video project that I will proudly display!

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