February:
Tuesday, February 3 | 3 Hours Total
Today was my first day working for the Delmarva Shorebirds for my Spring Practicum. I worked for three hours today, and just like any first day at a new job, I got there and had to get settled in and start by meeting everyone and getting a feel for what I would be doing. I spent the morning inputting information into the Shorebirds’ 2026 promotional schedule database, ensuring accuracy since this content publishes directly to the Shorebirds website so that fans can see the promotions happening each game day. After completing this task, which took up most of the time, my director quickly walked me through the process of creating a press release. He showed me the graphics used, and which platforms the press release gets pushed out to.
Reflection:
Overall, today was a productive first day. I was introduced to what working for the Delmarva Shorebirds will be like, and I got a strong behind-the-scenes learning experience of what is involved in sports communication and promotion. Working on the 2026 promotional schedule helped me understand the importance of accuracy and attention to detail. This first day reinforced my interest in sports marketing and made me excited to continue this practicum.
Thursday, February 5 | 3 hours | 6 Hours Total
Today was my second day working for the Shorebirds. The main focus for today was working on creating graphics on Canva for the Shorebirds social media platforms, mainly Instagram. I designed a Valentines Day graphic to engage fans and promote the team’s social presence, as well as a countdown graphic for Opening Day to build excitement for the upcoming season. This work gave me hands-on experience with visual content creation and tailoring content to appeal to a sports audience.
Reflection:
Getting the opportunity to work in Canva to create graphics for the Shorebirds allowed me to see how creative design plays an important role in sports promotion. Designing the Valentine’s Day and Opening Day graphics taught me how to combine visuals and messaging to engage fans effectively. I gained more confidence using Canva, which is also helpful because I will need to understand this program in the future.
Friday, February 6 | 4 hours | 10 Hours Total
Today, I brainstormed unique, engaging social media content ideas for the Shorebirds that connect with current trends and pop culture. My practicum director gave me an example of an Instagram post they recently did where they designed the Shorebirds stadium as the “upside down” from Stranger Things, and how that got a lot of good attention because Stranger Things is such a popular show now. So, I went based on this example and brainstormed my own ideas. My practicum director encouraged me to focus less on traditional Shorebirds branding and more on concepts that would immediately capture audience interest and could then be linked back to the team. I developed several post ideas, including a Grammys-themed post, a humorous meme inspired by The Office, and a “postcard” style post from the Shorebirds. After presenting these ideas, my director approved them and asked me to move forward with designing the posts in Canva, allowing me to apply both creative strategy and visual design skills.
Reflection:
Today helped me better understand how creativity and strategy work together in social media marketing. Being encouraged to think beyond the Shorebirds’ traditional branding challenged me to focus on what captures attention through pop culture and current trends, and how that interest can then be connected back to the team.
Tuesday, February 10 |3 hours |13 Hours Total
Today at the Shorebirds, I left off where I was last week. I continued working on the social media content ideas that I brainstormed last week, but today I took it to the next level and started turning my ideas into posts on Canva. My main task was developing and tweaking the graphics for the Olympics post and the Shorebirds “postcard” design. I spent time configuring the layout, fonts, images, style, and tone. I also made a few adjustments based on feedback from my practicum director. Today was spent fully on using my ideas and creativity to bring these designs to life.
Reflection:
It was helpful for me today to take the concepts I brainstormed last week and translate them into fully developed graphics. Continuing to work in Canva gave me more experience with layout, visual storytelling, and adjusting designs based on feedback. I’m starting to see how each post contributes to the overall branding and engagement strategy for the Shorebirds’ social media platforms.
Thursday, February 12 | 3 hours |16 Hours Total
Today I began by creating a St. Patrick’s Day-themed graphic for the Shorebirds’ social media platforms using Canva. I designed a “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” post that incorporated the team’s branding while also fitting the holiday theme. Throughout the process, I made multiple revisions based on feedback from my practicum director. I adjusted design elements such as layout, color balance, and overall presentation to better align with the Shorebirds’ visual style and social media goals. After the third round of edits, the final version was approved.
To finish the day, I worked on data entry in Excel. I input the first and last names, phone numbers, and email addresses of individuals who submitted job applications to the Delmarva Shorebirds. This required careful attention to detail to ensure all information was entered accurately and organized correctly.
Reflection:
Today reinforced the importance of being adaptable and open to feedback, especially in creative work. Revising the St. Patrick’s Day graphic multiple times showed me how small design adjustments can significantly improve the final product. It also helped me become more comfortable making quick edits while maintaining quality. Additionally, working on data entry reminded me that behind-the-scenes administrative tasks are just as important as creative projects in keeping an organization running efficiently. Both aspects of today’s work gave me a well-rounded experience in sports marketing operations.
Friday, February 13 | 4 hours | 20 Hours Total
Today I started by finishing the remaining job application data entry in Excel, which took about 30 minutes. I ensured all names, phone numbers, and email addresses were entered accurately and organized correctly.
After that, my director asked me to brainstorm ideas for the new Shorebirds children’s activity book. I developed several concepts, including designing an alternative Shorebirds jersey, a caption-writing page, a Shorebirds Mad Lib, a “Crack the Code” math activity, and a “Build the Perfect Pregame Meal” page focused on balanced nutrition for athletes. My director especially liked the “Crack the Code” and “Build the Perfect Pregame Meal” ideas and asked me to create the designs in Canva. I spent the remainder of my shift building those activity pages.
Reflection:
Today allowed me to combine creativity with strategy in a new way. Brainstorming children’s activity ideas required me to think about engagement from a younger audience’s perspective while still aligning with the Shorebirds brand. I also enjoyed incorporating educational elements like math and nutrition into fun baseball-themed activities. Designing the approved pages in Canva gave me additional experience translating an idea from concept to visual execution.
Tuesday, February 17 | 3 hours | 23 Hours Total
Today, I spent the first two hours walking around the facility with my practicum director and the team’s photographer. We took professional photos of various areas, including the Performance Center, the manager’s office, the skybox, and the suites. These images will be used on the Shorebirds’ Special Events section of the website to better showcase the venue to potential clients and guests. It was interesting to see how different spaces are marketed and presented for events beyond baseball games.
During the final hour of my day, I worked on creating the Shorebirds’ Easter Instagram post in Canva. I focused on incorporating the holiday theme while keeping the design consistent with the team’s branding and social media style.
Reflection:
Today gave me a better understanding of how marketing extends beyond social media and into website content and event promotion. Being involved in the photography process showed me the importance of high-quality visuals in attracting special event bookings. Creating the Easter post also allowed me to continue building my design skills while maintaining brand consistency across platforms.
Thursday, February 19 | 3 hours | 26 Hours Total
Today, I spent the entirety of my day with the Shorebirds, developing ideas for the Shorebirds’ 30-day countdown to Opening Day. My task was to create a full calendar-type list of unique and engaging post types. My director told me to do some posts that were just one-off posts, some that had to do with things such as “National Puppy Day” or PI Day, for example. These posts are supposed to get fans excited every day leading up to Opening Day. I focused on brainstorming fun and creative content such as, “this or that” posts, new merch drops posts, save the date posts, etc. I organized the ideas into a day-by-day format so they could be easily transferred into Canva and scheduled across social platforms.
Reflection:
Today helped me understand how much planning goes into creating a consistent and engaging long-term content series. Coming up with 30 different post ideas pushed me to think creatively while still keeping the Shorebirds’ brand voice in mind. It was a productive day and gave me a clearer picture of how teams build momentum and fan engagement leading up to the season.
Thursday, February 26 | 3 hours | 29 Hours Total
Today I spent the entirety of my day working in Adobe Photoshop. Up until now, most of my design work for the Shorebirds has been done in Canva, but my practicum director wanted me to start getting familiar with Photoshop since it’s a more advanced program. He gave me a graphic he had already created and instructed me to open a blank project and recreate the entire design from scratch. This exercise helped me explore the tools, layers, effects, and overall workflow inside Photoshop. I found it much more challenging than Canva. There were many small elements involved, and the process was more tedious and detail-oriented. However, it was a valuable learning experience.
Reflection:
Today pushed me out of my comfort zone in a good way. Even though Photoshop felt overwhelming at first, recreating an existing graphic helped me learn by doing it and showed me how powerful the program is. It also made me realize the level of detail that goes into higher-quality sports graphics. Overall, it was a productive day and an important step in improving my design skills.
Friday, February 27 | 4 hours | 33 Hours Total
Today I began by finishing the Photoshop project I had started on Thursday. I completed recreating the graphic that my practicum director had given me. Although I found this difficult, I started getting the hang of it, and overall, it is a good skill to learn. Once that was finished, I started working in Canva to design a “Welcome to Spring” graphic for the Shorebirds’ social media platforms. The main idea of the post was to welcome the start of spring while also building excitement for the upcoming baseball season. I enjoyed this because I was able to get very creative in the graphics I used, the colors, and the effects.
Reflection:
Today allowed me to continue developing my design skills in both Photoshop and Canva. Finishing the Photoshop project helped me feel more comfortable navigating the program and understanding its more detailed design process. Creating the spring-themed graphic in Canva also reinforced how seasonal content can be used to keep fans engaged and excited as the baseball season approaches.