Table of Contents
Building a Relationship Culture in Sport
– Bradford Strand
Caring relationships with athletes form the foundation of successful coaching. Without relationships, athletes often wonder why they are playing for a coach or why they are working so hard for a coach. This article identifies six pillars with associated action items that can be a focus for developing a caring relationship culture in sport settings.
Articles
The Lasting Impact of Memories from Personal Physical Education Experiences on PE Preservice Teachers
- Elaine Wotherspoon, Sue Barnd, and Nhu Nguyen
Preparing tomorrow’s teachers includes carefully developed curriculums, extensive classwork, and experiences that support student teachers to learn and apply content knowledge, theory and pedagogical skills. A significant part of this is often clinical work and student teaching experiences, which allow student teachers to put theory into practice. Teacher preparation programs seek to instill the necessary skills and dispositions to be effective physical education teachers. However, there are previous personal experiences that are not a part of formal teacher preparation but that may influence teacher preparation. This professional enquiry considered the lasting impact of preservice teachers’ personal physical education experiences.
Grading Strategies in Physical Education
- Casey Hollibaugh
Current grade calculations are composed of managerial factors like dressing out and participation. While well intentioned, these practices are often inequitable and misrepresent the learning occurring in physical education classrooms. This article gives six challenges and examples for grading more equitably in physical education. Consideration is given to the barriers and realities of the practical setting regarding grading ideas. The discussion focuses on using formative assessments for feedback and summative assessments to inform grading. Practical challenges and examples are provided to help physical educators move away from managerial grading styles to a mastery approach.
Seven Kinds of Decisions Sports Coaches Make
- Ger Post and Tim Van Gelder
This article presents a typology of coaching decisions based on the kinds of cognitive processes involved, with the aim of helping coaches improve their decisions by better understanding the many different kinds of decisions they make. The typology has seven primary types—snap, simulation, rule, metaphor, analogy, story, and pros and cons—and another special type, meta. Each decision type is briefly described, as well as some of their strengths and pitfalls.
Departments
COACH'S CORNER
The Hip Hinge: How to Do It, How to Fix It
- Julie Zuleger
The hip hinge is a foundational movement pattern along with the squat, lunge, push, pull and carry. In daily life, the hip hinge allows us to pick things up, sit down and stand up. The hip hinge is a foundational “starting point” in most sports. If we look at a golfer at the start of a golf swing, or a tennis player ready to receive a serve, this starting position places the athlete’s center of gravity and body in a position to move and respond quickly.
EDUCATOR'S CORNER
Creating a Themed Dance
- Kimberly Maljak
Allowing students choice and autonomy could lead to feelings of ownership and increased motivation to participate in PE. One of the best ways to increase motivation is through dance and physical expression. Consider implementing a fun, student-centered assignment that focuses on creating a themed dance. This article describes the benefits of creating a group dance, tools you need to create a successful themed dance, and a sample rubric.
THEORY INTO PRACTICE
The Case for Providing the Student-athlete a Voice in the Evaluation of Coaches
- John Knorr
One of the most challenging from among the varied tasks that athletic directors face is human resource management—commonly referred to as HR. Human resource management requires of an athletic director the ability to hire talented personnel, provide them with the resources and training to be successful, evaluate performance against established goals and criteria, and maintain accountability. It has been said that the secret to success is to “hire well and delegate.” The evaluation of personnel (head coaches, in particular) is often the most challenging, time-consuming, and yet critical HR aspect for athletic administrators.