Coaching Minor

Coaching is, at its core, leadership. This minor prepares students with a passion for coaching to develop the key competencies that will ensure their effectiveness as skilled and ethical coaches and leaders.

Our students engage in their communities as coaches and leaders of young people and teach them lessons on and the value of health and wellness through athletic participation. The core courses for the minor focus on understanding how people learn, instructional practices, professional leadership, and the physical health and wellbeing of athletes. Field experiences place our students with coaches working with athletes of all ages on campus and across the community for opportunities to watch and learn from experts in the field. The minor meets Society for Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) coaching standards.  

The program is structured in three parts. Core content courses introduce students to key theoretical, pedagogical, and practical knowledge in education, leadership, and wellness. Through coursework, students explore the biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors that shape how people learn, consider the application of this knowledge in coaching contexts, and cultivate the professional knowledge and dispositional qualities that define excellence in coaching. Students also build essential knowledge in human physiology and injury prevention treatment. Experiential fieldwork courses give students the opportunity to shadow professionals working in the field. Wellness and personal development courses broaden student athletic experiences in sports.