Bluffton University

More than observing

03/08/2023

Carson Kindred went into his internship expecting to mostly observe but walked away with practical knowledge including therapy and rehabilitation experience.

Not “just” an intern,  A strength coach

For as long as he can remember, Carson Kindred ’24 has wanted to be a collegiate strength and conditioning coach. The Brookville, Ohio, native is a triple major in exercise science, sport management and strength conditioning at Bluffton University.

“It is something I really enjoy,” said Kindred. “I thought with these degrees, my experience and my background, I could give athletes some extra help and experience.”

That’s exactly what Kindred did during the fall 2022 semester when he interned with the strength and conditioning football coach at Findlay High School. Ahead of the season, he helped the team with their lifts.  

“I had half the weight room to myself, so I would spot and demonstrate exercises and make sure the athletes were lifting correctly.”

During the season, Kindred focused his efforts on helping team members who were injured. This ended up being his favorite part of the experience.  

“I had to be creative,” said Kindred. “Guys with ankle injuries, I had to figure out what lower body exercises they could do. Same thing with shoulder injuries, I had to work with their limitations.”

At the end of the regular season, workouts and lifts became more intense, and he was responsible for assisting the freshman athletes. 

“I liked doing that, too. They needed more instruction,” said Kindred. “They were younger and didn’t have as much experience in the weight room.”

Kindred also worked with the coaches to break down 10 years of data with progress being tracked every four weeks. This helped the coaches determine what was working and what wasn’t working in the weight room and be better prepared for future workouts. 

“I think doing that was really beneficial for the team and definitely more than I thought I’d get to do with this internship,” said Kindred. 

Kindred went into the internship expecting to mostly observe but walked away with practical knowledge including therapy and rehabilitation experience.  

“I really ended up feeling like I was part of a normal coaching staff,” said Kindred. 

A transfer student, Kindred was looking for a college with his major and some familiarity when he chose Bluffton. 

“I didn’t want to feel like I was starting over, so between the exercise science department and the baseball team, the community felt like a great fit.”

A catcher and first baseman for Beavers baseball, Kindred plans to attend graduate school for kinesiology or exercise science following graduation.