– Maaz Ahmad
1st PU, CMR PU ITPL
When I heard about this internship, I was excited and wanted to know more about it because it was something new for me and it sounded to be a great opportunity. I searched how does an internship work and found out that it would provide me experience and ability to be disciplined. I asked about the internship offer from my school meanwhile preparing my CV for it. I was provided with multiple options and I had to select the top three desired companies. I got my offer letter from XLR8 which is an indoor sports arena. I searched for that place. It seemed to be a good working place and after whole research, I have decided to work there. The main reasons for joining this place were that it was near to my house, easy transportation was available and most importantly I would love to work in a place related to sports.
I joined XLR8. It was a big arena having five courts. Every court has its own sports specialty. I got introduced to fellow students who had also come for the internship. When our manager arrived, he greeted us and asked for a short intro. At that time, a summer camp for children was going on, so our manager told us that our work would be in those courts to assist the coach. Mainly our work was divided into two parts; first half: we used to set up the courts for the activities, assist the coach and manage children during summer camp. The age group of the children was between 6-16 years. There were 4 sessions in a day segregated according to the age groups. Second half: desk work including calls and data entry. I was also instructed that once we complete the assigned tasks for the day we were allowed to play in those empty courts.
These sessions developed a skillset in us in which I learned to manage the games, sessions, and children. I also used to set up the time table of sessions that helped me learn time management. Generally, in the second half of the day, we used to make calls for the upcoming tournaments and coaching available for football, cricket, etc. Big database of numbers was provided to which we had to call and deliver the information about the events. Another activity for the second half used to be updating the master database of XLR8 with information regarding the ongoing events, students’ profile, etc. While working there, we organized events like Inter-academy football and open cricket tournament in which we faced a few challenges which were overcome by the guidance provided to us by our mentors. Receiving people, cross-checking the credentials of participants, announcing the fixtures and commentary were amongst the few duties during the events.
It was a great experience for me and new learning. The seniors and mentors were very cheerful and kind to us. They helped us a lot to overcome every hurdle we faced. It was a great experience to work with them, and I would love to work with them again.
LEARNINGS
• Time management
• Event management
• Punctuality
• Sales calling
• Management of the group of kids
– Alan Sabu Mathew
1st PU, CMR PU HRBR
I was very excited when I got the mail from The Work Exposure Program saying that I got selected for an internship at XLR8 Indoor Sports Arena. As a kid, I always enjoyed doing sports and being part of an organisation like XLR8 was an honour. This organisation has been trying to bring up Indoor Sports in India for over a decade now and has been successfully running since the year 2008. XLR8 hosts tournaments, corporate events, coaching classes for multi-sports including swimming and skating. My internship at XLR8 commenced on the first week of April right after the orientation on 30th of March where we were given a basic idea about our job description. It was a really good experience as the management was very welcoming and the work environment was very good. The place had a good vibe. The working environment was absolutely excellent. It was my first internship and it felt amazing to be a part of something big.
XLR8 conducts Summer Camp every year for children of the age group 6-16. I was assigned to help the children with the warm-up sessions and guide them. I got to learn a lot about almost all sports. I was a part of hosting a corporate event and two tournaments where I was taught on how to officiate a match and how to organise the tournaments. I was also assigned to make a master database to store all the details of the teams that participated in the tournaments in a single file. My fellow interns and I had to go through over 11 years of data to create the database. I was also assigned to call the teams for the tournaments and sending them the details on how to make the online payment. I improved a lot when it came to communication skills as I got to interact with a lot of people of different age groups. Even though the task was overwhelmingly stressful at times, I got to learn how to handle pressure and how important it is to complete a task when you’re given a deadline. All these were our work at the operation department.
Apart from the operations, we were taught about the marketing/sales part of the organisation as well where many seminars were conducted by the CEO and the managers. We were taught on how to make strategies and what all that needs to be taken care of before hosting tournaments. We had a session with Mr. Henry (CEO of XLR8 indoor sports arena), Mr. Ezekiel & Mr. Shakthivelu (The managers) and Ms. Ankita (the head of the sales department), Mr. Tahir who has worked with the Indian, Australian and Pakistan cricket team, Coaches Mr. Jerin, Mr.Kunal, Mr. Sai and Ms.Kalyani. I got to learn so many things and it was a great experience, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I would like to thank the whole team behind the work exposure program for giving us such an opportunity. Thank you for putting so much effort for us and updating us from time to time. It wouldn’t have been possible without you guys. Keep up the good work as it has made an impact on our lives and making a difference for teenagers and helping them figure out their ideal job. The internship taught me many life lessons like humility, kindness, humbleness and above all money is not everything and always follow your dreams and passion. Do what you love and in the end, all that matters is your happiness.
– V. Anirruth
1st PU, CMR PU HRBR
I was very happy when I received my offer letter as I always loved sports and got an opportunity to intern at XLR8 indoor sports arena. XLR8 is an indoor sports club which was set up in 2008. The club mainly focused on security and exclusivity of families. There were around 13 different sports which could be played at XLR8. The club consisted of an exclusive temperature controlled swimming pool, indoor badminton courts, and two lawn tennis courts.
The reason I chose to intern at XLR8 was that I loved sports and this was an opportunity to learn more about managing and officiating at tournaments.
We had an orientation on 30th March, and we were instructed and assigned tasks. My internship at XLR8 commenced on 1st April and I was in charge of assisting the football coach Mr. Kunal. XLR8 had been conducting summer camps from the last ten years for kids of ages 6 – 16 years. The kids were divided into separate age categories and were assigned different courts. My task was to assist the football coach in training the kids and guiding them. I also taught them the tactics and techniques of the game. On some days I was in charge of conducting the warm-up sessions was kids. This opportunity to assist the coach and guide the kids helped my communication skills and improve my confidence. Apart from assisting the coaches we also had other tasks like making promotional calls for tournaments that’s were held at XLR8. I was also present at two corporate events that were held in XLR8 and was helping the staff and management to carry out the tournament smoothly.
We also had some important sessions with the senior members of the club. Mr. Ezeikel (the manager) gave a description of the things that need be taken into consideration before organizing a tournament and about budget management. Mr. Shakthi(manager ) gave a session about the safety and security of the summer camp. Mr. Rizwan(sales department) gave us a session about sales and marketing. Overall it was a very good working atmosphere and the staff always kept us motivated and guided us. Their constant support helped us in this internship. Mr. Tahir (cricketer and technical head) also guided us during the internship and gave us some important life lessons.
The most memorable experience was playing a match along with the other against the staff. We also were introduced to a new sport called paddle tennis which was a combination of squash and lawn tennis.
I would like to thank the WEP program for giving me this opportunity. This has given me experience and also helped me in other aspects. I may never know when this experience will help me but one day surely it will make a difference in life. I would also like to thank the coaches Mr. Kunal, Mr. Jerin, Mr sai, and Ms. Kalyani without whom this internship would not have been a success.
