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This year FiT Publishing is celebrating more than 30 years in operation and 13 years in the Mountaineer family. In 1984 Fitness Information Technology, Inc., was founded by William L. Alsop and Andrew C. Ostrow (professors emeriti of WVU) in Morgantown, with the goal of being recognized as a premier publisher in the sport sciences field. In 2004 — just in time for the College’s 72nd year — FiT was gifted to CPASS in honor of Andrew Ostrow’s father Philip Ostrow and, under the umbrella of WVU, FiT has flourished.

Today, FiT honors its original mission to be a leading publisher in sport sciences as the principal publishing arm of the International Center for Performance Excellence in the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. FiT now publishes three journals, one of which is recognized internationally as a premier sport marketing journal with a subscriber base in more than 20 countries, and this year, FiT will publish more than 10 textbooks including upcoming titles “Experiential Learning in Sport Management: Internships and Beyond,” “Enhancing Performance and Quality of Life,” and “Being Mindful in Sport and Exercise Psychology: Pathways for Practitioners and Students,” co-edited by WVU CPASS professor Sam Zizzi.

Athletic Training students and faculty visited Ireland during spring break to discover the countryside and experience academic studies and clinical settings. The 11 students, led by Allison Hetrick, Athletic Training clinical coordinator and Dana Voelker, Sport and Exercise Psychology assistant professor, enjoyed breath-taking views at the Cliffs of Moher, traveled to Northern Ireland, explored the Giant’s Causeway and enjoyed local cuisine.

Students visited Trinity College to catch a glimpse of the Book of Kells. The travelers attended classes at Dublin City College, for both athletic training and non-athletic training studies. The athletic training group learned how the clinical setting in Ireland works, comparing differences during the clinic.

WVU Sport and Exercise Psychology students embarked on an international adventure during their spring break. The bi-annual spring break study abroad trip to Halmstad and Halmstad University in Sweden, March 2-12, offered 11 students the opportunity to attend academic sessions and interact with Swedish students studying the same subject.

The itinerary for the trip included a visit to Kronborg Castle, the setting of “Hamlet,” and a ferry ride to reach Styro, a small island off the coast of Gothenburg. The group also attended major-related events including the Swedish National Table Tennis Championship and visited the Hamstad Golf Arena.

In May 2016, a group of eight West Virginia University students, seven from CPASS and one from the College of Business and Economics, joined a group of six students from the School of Hospitality in the Sport and Recreation Management program at James Madison University. The group embarked on a 10-day trip to the Dominican Republic to explore the business and culture of baseball in the capital city of Santo Domingo.

The trip was inspired, in part, through the WVU Sport Management curriculum, which aims to provide insights of the globalization of the sport industry. Gonzalo Bravo, lead WVU faculty for the study abroad trip, has taught the course, “Sport in the Global Market,” for almost a decade.

In our busy modern world, fathers often have trouble finding enough time to spend with their children. CPASS and the WVU Extension Service are looking to help change that with an ongoing program called iFather.

Its creators designed the program to not only increase the time fathers spend with their children but to also increase quality time, specifically by encouraging playtime between fathers and children. Launched at local Monongalia County elementary schools, this joint effort between CPASS and Extension kicked off their spring sessions at Skyview Elementary in March and have since held events at neighboring Ridgedale, Cheat Lake, Mountainview and Brookhaven schools.

Faculty in Physical Education Teacher Education and Athletic Coaching Education are using an innovative, hands-on technology called Beep Ball to “practice” how to teach baseball to individuals with visual impairment.  

Beep Ball is a baseball-like game that uses a large beeping softball. Non-visually impaired players wear blinding goggles to neutralize their sight, but the differences don’t stop there. In this game, only first and third bases are used, which are blue and stand five-feet tall. Each team’s pitcher pitches to their own batter. Electronics inside each base create a buzzing sound when a player makes a hit, which tells the batter where to run. The batter scores if they reach the base before the ball is fielded.

Healthcare innovators from across West Virginia gathered in June 2017 in an attempt to prevent and reverse West Virginia’s soaring rates of chronic disease. Sam Zizzi, Pat Fehl Endowed Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology with CPASS, offered insight and research at the Try This for Healthcare Professionals Conference at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, West Virginia.

The conference offered practical strategies for engaging patients and communities in movement, food and stress management. Topics included reversing diabetes, approaches to childhood obesity and dietary approaches for opioid dependence.

CPASS Physical Education Teacher Education students and faculty collaborated with the WVU Student Family Resources to host the sixth Annual Kids Safety and Fitness Expo, May 23, 2017, at the Student Recreation Center fields. The free, family-centered event featured bike safety lessons, an obstacle course, sports, games, the annual tug-of-war competition, hands-on demonstrations and health information for parents.

More than 200 children and families from the community came out to celebrate, move and explore. CPASS, PETE and Lifetime Activities faculty and students provided event assistance.

CPASS undergraduate student Cody Heffelfinger knew he wanted a future in sports so he chose the WVU sport management program to be on the business side of the industry.   

After listening to Dr. Gary Lhotsky talk about his hands-on experiences during the Intro to Sport Management class, Heffelfinger was convinced about what to do next. “The class helped me realize that I need to get out and see for myself how the industry is run,” he explained.  

Luciana Braga, assistant professor of Sport Pedagogy at California State University Chico, is establishing a research foothold in physical activity promotion among children and adolescents.  

Braga, CPASS Coaching and Teaching Studies, Ph.D. (2014), recently received the 2017 early career research grant from SHAPE America. “This is a competitive grant. The award means recognition of the potential of my scholarly work. This is my first externally funded research project as a principal investigator. I am excited to take on this new challenge. I wrote this proposal with Kevin Patton, my colleague in the PETE program at Chico State,” said Braga.