Graduate Showcase
"Coaching is unlocking a person's potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them" -Timothy Gallwey
Within the Master of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University, I completed many different research-based papers and projects in relation to my sport coaching and leadership concentration. This page is a showcase of some of my favorite and most beneficial pieces of work. The classes I completed not only prepared me with real-life application, but also equipped me with the knowledge and resources needed to coach and plan effectively. My showcase is separated into three categories of work: coaching methods, positive youth development, and education and training professional development.
Coaching Methods
The constraints led approach (CLA) is a coaching method where coaches maniuplate the practice environment and observe their athletes rather than giving specific instructions on how to perform an athletic task. Being able to understand and incorporate the CLA into a practice setting can create positive results. In this paper, I demonstrate my ability to apply the CLA to a running-related coaching session.
The concept of this project was to examine communication skills between athletes and their coaches, and how relationships can play an influential role in how we speak and react. I interviewed two of my high school student-athletes and analyzed our conversations to showcase my ability to effectively communicate and interact with student-athletes of different skill levels.
I was able to get creative with this project. I built a 'Grand Rapids Running Club' and explained the importance of motor development, exercise physiology, sport psychology, and sport sociology. From there, I explain the 4 stages of athlete development and provided sample practices for each stage. This showcases my knowledge of the 4 stages when applied to running.
Positive Youth Development
Using personal experience and reflection, I built a model to promote positive youth development (PYD) in high school running programs. In this project, I also broke down the developmental assets I would like to focus on implementing at my practice sessions with my student-athletes to show my understanding of positive youth development in student-athletes.
To demonstrate my knowledge of positive youth development and the role that parents can play in sport, I created 2 separate flyers to give to parents at Forest Hills Eastern high school (FHE). I briefly explain what positive youth development is, along with our coaching philosophy as a coaching staff, the developmental assets we strive to focus on, and some basic coaching skills our staff has.
Education and Professional Development
I had the opportunity to reflect on my coaching experiences at Forest Hills Eastern High School and create a coaching philosophy for training and professional development. In this paper, I explain how it is important for sport programs to define the needs of the program, and effective strategies to achieve those needs and goals. This showcases my skills in leadership, training, and professional development.
Understanding different forms of inquiry can help educators become strong leaders in their teaching setting. In this paper, I had the opportunity to research and learn about Vivian Paley who was a child education researcher. Through observation and reflection, teachers can learn how their students think and act, and this reflection shows my understanding of inquiry within a teaching setting.
In this project, I observed Brian Harrod who is the head track and field coach at Okemos High School located in Okemos, Michigan. I assessed his practice using the Youth Program Quality Assessment (YPQA) to assess the quality of his practice time and his efficiency to work with student-athletes. This project shows my ability to observe and communicate with coaches and learn from their personal coaching styles.