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From learning in the class room to applying knowledge on the field, the WVU athletic coaching education program helps undergraduates acquire skills to compete in the coaching profession.

David Ferraro, assistant coach with the Wesley men’s lacrosse program, Dover, Delaware, says his athletic coaching degree from the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences helped him prepare for this position.

Hundreds of people interested in applied sport science, strength and conditioning and long-term athlete development gathered at the International Coaching and Sport Science College Conference this past December 2018 at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN.

College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences representation at the conference included graduate students Michael Derasmo, Jarric Haskins, Billy Cedar, Michael Schlund, Matt Anti, Connor Olson, Nicholas Berchock, Kanchana Venkatesh, Mike DeLong, undergraduate student Anthony Geeza and Abigail Tice, exercise physiology graduate student. Dr. Guy Hornsby, teaching assistant professor, athletic coaching education, joined the students on the trip.

West Virginia University is home to about 28,000 students from all over the world. After earning undergraduate to graduate level degrees, WVU Mountaineers show their pride from around the globe. 

Julio Nakasato is one international student who is proud to be a Mountaineer, approximately 2,100 miles away in Panama. After earning his sport management master's degree (2016), Nakasato worked for Under Armour as a marketing manager in Peru and will now head to Panama as Under Armour’s Latin American brand marketing running manager.

Mt. Vernon, NY native Jared Bartee has found a new home in Washington state, working for the Seattle Mariners in client sales and service associates. The College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences 2017 graduate earned two minors in business administration and communications to go along with his sports management major.

"With CPASS I was able to study in a great sport management program that is one of the top programs in the country. All while at a top D1 sports school, whose connections with the local minor league team helped me secure my first internship working in sports.," Bartee said.

The cultural stigma related to mental illness and those seeking mental health services is pervasive. According to Robert Hilliard, College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology doctoral student, such negative viewpoints pose barriers across race, status, occupation, gender, country of origin and other variables.  

Hilliard has received a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Graduate Student Research Grant to conduct research on key topics by introducing new studies to the field. The grant is offered annually to graduate students studying NCAA student-athletes in the broad areas of well-being and sport participation. Hilliard’s research is titled Stigma, Attitudes, and Intentions to Seek Mental Health Services in Student-Athletes. 

Join us as we explore the past semester and look ahead to the New Year. Learn more about how faculty, students, staff, alumni and donors share the same passion, determination and hope to build the future of the College and offer opportunities for current and prospective students.  

Provost Joyce McConnell visited with CPASS faculty and staff this fall to discuss the future of the College. The provost explained that WVU will work toward updating the overall University strategic plan. The University’s strategic plan will play a major role in the future of the college, as it will help to identify the focus of WVU moving forward. The Provost stated that the destiny of CPASS starts with the faculty, staff, alumni and students. 

West Virginia University graduate André Schneider credits the holistic approach he learned as a master’s student in helping him succeed as a coach. The Brazil native had little time to evaluate and modify the U15 Team of Porto Vitoria in the beginning of October.

“It was only two and a half months. The biggest challenge the coaching staff (Hugo Gava, fitness coach, and Rafael Pinheiro, goalkeeper's coach) and I faced was, in such a short period of time, change the play style of the team, and have them playing a possession, yet aggressive, style of soccer,” he explained.  

In the world of athletics, there are hundreds of brands, influencers, products and accounts to follow and keep up with. Each may have their own story, but how often is there an opportunity to watch one build from the ground up?

Nick Knopf, a Maryland native, is a sport and exercise psychology major, with a minor in business administration. While researching different schools, Knopf wanted somewhere that was new to him along with offering a degree similar to kinesiology, the study of body movements. West Virginia University happened to fulfill his passion.

Karin Torchia grew up as an army brat, moving every one to two years through junior high school. As she settled into new towns, she found that the best way to make friends was through sports.

"I was a tomboy; I loved playing every sport that I could. It was fun for me and it was something that I could do anywhere we lived," said Torchia.

The term ‘accountability system’ is a popular topic. In 2015, a new act, Every Student Succeeds Act, allowed each state more freedom and flexibility to impact the quality of wellness and health of every student through physical education.  

PE is part of a well-rounded education. The Department of Education has opened the doors to incorporate physical education as a part of critical subject areas in schools. This is a perfect opportunity for PE to become a focus again.

For some, strength training and conditioning might look intimidating. For others, it might be a way to relieve stress. For graduate assistants Jarrod Burton and Billy Cedar it’s their passion and a future career plan.  

Burton and Cedar are both working with student-athletes from high school to collegiate levels. As strength and conditioning coaches, they are focused on helping athletes train and reach their goals.

A new city holds new adventures, which may be intimidating to most people but for West Virginia native Alyssa Johnston, it represented her career vision.

Johnston (SM 2018) took a chance and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where she landed a job with NBA Charlotte Hornets.

West Virginia University is seeking applicants for a U.S. State Department Sport for Social Change exchange between the U.S. and Mexico. The program will involve an eight-day trip to Mexico with the goal of using the sport of soccer to promote leadership and empowerment among young women in Mexico. The U.S.-based participants will later interact with participants from Mexico during a 13-day exchange in the United States to build on lessons learned in Mexico.

Team coordinators are seeking 20 participants from West Virginia, Virginia or Pennsylvania to take part in this program. The team will select approximately 10-12 professionals and 8-10 students (at least 15 years old) to travel to Mexico in late April 2019 (exact dates depending upon airfare) to participate in a soccer exchange with Mexican youth and adults. 

The Sport and Exercise Psychology program offers numerous classes that range from professional issues, psychological perspectives to sports in American society. One class focuses on the history and sociocultural contributions to sports in America, specifically historical figures who are African American.

“As a student, their presence in class today and listening to their speeches was very inspirational, motivating and knowledgeable. Their golden experiences are a reminder for this generation to understand the history and its importance," said Farhan Shaikh.

A book, recently published by a West Virginia University faculty member, has been incorporated into the Olympic World Library (OWL), housed within the Olympic Studies Centre (OSC) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The book “Sport mega-events in emerging economies: The South American Games of Santiago 2014” was part of an ambitious project by Gonzalo A. Bravo, sport management associate professor, WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.