Reflection

What did you enjoy about this project?

The thing I enjoyed most about this project was the whole research process. I have always been a fan of sports, and I have always enjoyed researching facts about my favorite players and teams. This project allowed me to do exactly that but with a focus on Trinity athletics. It was really interesting just digging through old Trinitonian articles and discovering the history of Trinity athletics.

What surprised you about this project?

What surprised me the most was some of the facts I learned about Trinity athletics. Specifically, some of their hiring methods used for coaches. For example, I was surprised to see that Gene Norris became the head golf coach because he was the only one on the coaching staff that knew how to play golf. It was just surprising to see how different Trinity was from other Division 1 schools. In a way it makes sense why they made the transition to Division 3 because of those differences.

What was the most challenging aspect of the project, and how did you manage it?

The most challenging part was getting people to respond to my emails. Especially near the end when I was trying to do a couple more interviews but people weren't responding fast enough. Eventually people ended up responding, but for one person in particular I directly called them unannoucned and by doing that we were able to schedule a time to talk. Another problem was finding a reliable source besides the Trinitonian and the Mirage. I just had to some research on other schools that were similar to Trinity to help me in my research.

If you could start over, what would you do differently?

If I could start over I would probably use my time for effectively. While I did quite a bit of research, I was starting to run out of time at the end and I couldn't go as in-depth in my research as I would have liked. There was so much more that I could have learned and researched. At the same time I had trouble condensing my paper to an appropriate amount because I already had so much information. So in a way I did not really need to do any more research, but at the same time there was so much more that I could have learned.

What did you learn about history and/or the historical process through this project?

What I learned from this entire process is how much things can change in such a short period of time. The time period that I looked at spanned from the 1960s to the early 2000s. While some may view that as a long period of time, in terms of the broader view of history that is actually just a small period of time. Norris started out as an assistant coach in the 1960s and by the late 1990s he was the athletic director. Through his 40 years at Trinity he worked his way from the bottom of the food chain to the top, becoming the athletic director. Throughout all of that Trintiy athletics changed in so many different ways, specifically from a Division 1 program to a Division 3 program. While the grand view of history is long and vast, so much can change in such a short amount of time.

What did you learn through this project that can be applied to life outside the classroom?

What I learned from this project that can be applied to my life is to continue to move forward. So much can change in a short period of time and it is important to keep moving forward throughout all the changes. Norris kept moving forward until he became the atheltic director, so I think it's important to never stay content with what you have, and to keep striving to become better.