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Faculty connections have opened doors for a WVU Athletic Coaching Education student. Tariq Walcott has landed a position with the prestigious U.K. Elite soccer club. Walcott will coach all age levels during his initial assignment, ranging from six-year-old age groups through high school students. 

CPASS ACE faculty members Dr. Kristen Dieffenbach, associate professor, and Dr. Roch King, teaching assistant professor, referred Walcott to the soccer club. Walcott’s original contract will run from July to November. Walcott hopes to extend his assignment and continue his work with them. 

Students in the Physical Education Teacher Education program continue to excel in a nationally required teaching exam in their first attempt. PETE students have posted a 97 percent first-time passing rate during the past five years on the Praxis II exam. During that time, students averaged a score of 159, with more than 160 students taking the test. Students have an overall 100 percent passing rate, along with the 97 percent first-time passing rate.

The Praxis II subject-specific teaching exam is an important part of the licensing and certification process for students who aspire to teach, according to Valerie Wayda, associate professor and department chair, Coaching and Teaching Studies at CPASS. This process is required by more than 40 states as well as many professional licensing agencies. 

While there have been many advances in the detection and treatment of athletic-related concussions, WVU graduate student Megan Byrd says less has been done to try to understand the emotional impact.

Byrd, in her fourth year in the Sport Exercise Psychology doctoral program at WVU’s College of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, has received a one-time research grant from the NCAA to help fill that gap.