I. Show us an activity you enjoy doing. Tell us how you think it contributes to your personal and professional development

I began training and coaching beach volley last year. The idea came into my mind while I was watching the beach volley tournament of my girlfriend job and many participants were complaining about the different level of the teams. Once back home I explained my idea to my girlfriend which is a volley professional and introduced me to the sport and she bought it.

The reason why I have selected this activity is because it contributes to strengthen the relationship with my girlfriend, sharing and enjoying together an important portion of my few spare times, since my job is very time consuming being “up in the air all the time”. I therefore killed two birds with one stone, keeping my girlfriend happy without sacrificing my preferred hobby: playing sport.

Beach Volley, as any other sport, is good for both physical and mental health. It makes my little heart muscle big and strong and it helps me get rid of toxins from the body. When I am on the beach playing with the “guys” I feel relaxed and, looking at the immensity of the Mediterranean Sea I am able to forget the daily difficulties and recharge my battery. Furthermore, it helps me on my self-awareness development.

During this period when the current crisis is oppressing specific sector like the public research, I feel the need to collaborate in activities that contribute to the improvement of some sector of society. And I have found that only by giving back, by helping others along the way, do I truly find fulfillment. I could make good money out of it but the benefit in terms of social emotional intelligence, and the pleasure I get from it is more than a rewards.

Last but not least, is the contribution that this activity is giving to my personal and professional development: the improvement in “coaching” skills. I have found it very beneficial on my daily job, dealing with the single component of the team as well as the team itself.
Communication is essential element of the coaching in order to transmit the athletes a specific goal. I had to realize that not everyone learns the same and not everyone comes from the same background, culturally or environmentally. For that reason I need constantly to adapt and tailor the training to get the best from each individual, and I have successfully learned how to create an excellent learning environment for all.

For these reasons mentioned above I have selected the beach volleyball lessons as one of the activities that I think are one of the most important for my personal and professional development.