Coaching boys’ high school teams: Female coaches’ experiences and perceptions

Research has suggested that a minimal number of females serve as head coaches of male teams around the world. When they do coach males, female coaches have reported having difficulty establishing credibility, being one of the only female coaches, and feeling unsupported by administrators. The current study used open-ended responses and interview data to understand the experiences and perceptions of females coaching males at the U.S. high school level, as well as addresses the perceived barriers that may prohibit females from coaching boys. In general, the female coaches interviewed felt more support from their athletic administrators, parents, and other coaches than in previous research. The female coaches stated they enjoyed coaching boys, yet they believed they needed to be physically competent in order to prove themselves while coaching a boys’ team. They also described struggling to be respected and often felt they needed to employ masculine characteristics in order to be successful. These details provide evidence of the continuing uphill climb and yet, simultaneously documents that females’ experiences coaching male athletes may be improving. Further research is recommended examining the experiences of women coaching males at the high school level in the U.S. to determine if this trend is widespread

Student Learning Outcomes Poster Session for CSB/SJU Joint Board of Trustees Meeting, December 5th, 2014

A faculty and student poster session was held focusing on student learning outcomes at the December 5th, 2014 joint Board of Trustee meeting. The posters focused on using assessment of student learning to improve teaching and learning and covered student learning outcomes at the course, departmental, and institutional levels

Sport as a vehicle for social change

The year 2005 was designated by the United Nations to be International Year of Sport and Physical Education. With the impetus of this declaration many sport related initiatives were developed to use sport as a vehicle for social change particularly in countries affected by poverty and war. Programs have been established in Israel, Brazil, Uganda and Kenya (to name only a few) where sport experiences for young boys and girls are being offered as a means toward peace, improved communication and an atmosphere of tolerance. These programs will be reviewed as well as a discussion on what initiatives our community could take using sport as a vehicle for social change

The “magic” of wellness: tips for improving your GPA

Little evidence is available regarding the effects of wellness factors on academic achievement, though risk factors have been studied extensively. This session will introduce the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle used to assess wellness of traditional-aged first-year college students. Gender differences in wellness profiles and academic success will be discussed. Insights from this data may be helpful for students and faculty to develop interventions to improve student health and academic performance

Wellness Factors in First Year College Students

One of the priorities for college campuses is an emphasis on promoting healthy behaviors. To assess health promotion behaviors of college students the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (WEL) was used. Students in this study scored highest on the WEL subscales of love (85.64 out of 100) and sense of worth (83.81 out of 100) and lowest on the nutrition (67.16 out of 100) and stress management (73.48 out of 100). Comparison to national norms indicates significant differences on several of the scale scores. Implications for current practice and future research are discussed in relation to the findings