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Vincent Stilger, WVU athletic training program director, HSD, ATC has earned the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) 2017 Service Award. The Athletic Trainer Service Award (ATSA) recognizes NATA members for contributions as a volunteer at the local and state levels. 

Stilger has served as the WVU undergraduate athletic training program director and associate professor at CPASS since 1994. He helps during the fall season with the WVU football team as an athletic trainer. Stilger is a Board of Certification Athletic Trainer and a member of NATA, WVATA. Stilger earned his Master of Science and bachelor’s degrees from Indiana State University  

CPASS will host Shellie Pfohl, president and CEO of SafeSport, March 31, 2017 at 12 p.m. in CPASS room G08. The virtual guest lecture featuring SafeSport’s leadership plan for ethical responsibility in sport is hosted by the CPASS Russell “Bud” Bolton Center for Sports Ethics. The talk is free and open to the public.

Pfohl has worked as executive director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition after being appointed by President Obama in 2010. Pfohl also led the council’s efforts in support of support First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative, working to solve the childhood obesity epidemic within the United States.

The College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences athletic  coaching education program has partnered with West Virginia University Club Sports for the third year in a row. This unique arrangement allows graduate assistant strength coaches to provide physical training to sports club participants. Both ACE students and club sports athletes have benefited from the collaboration. 

Prior to this program, a lack of resources left club teams to provide their own strength and conditioning training. Athletes receive a higher level of coaching originally only offered to competitive teams.

Three West Virginia University faculty members have been recognized for outstanding leadership and research.  Emily Jones, associate professor, CPASS, has been awarded the Mabel Lee Award from the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America), presented to only one professional at the university level each year.

The West Virginia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance ( WVAHPERD), the state’s professional organization representing physical and health education teachers and those in related fields, has honored three CPASS professionals for their research and dedication to physical activity and health as some of the state’s most dedicated educators.  

Sean Bulger, associate professor, received the Ray O. Duncan Award. Bulger previously accepted the WVAHPERD Honor Award, as required to be considered for this most prestigious award within the organization. Bulger was selected for providing exemplary service to the Association and the profession.  

Sport and Exercise Psychology students have chalked up an impressive set of accomplishments during the past six months. Students have submitted, and some successfully published, manuscripts, chapters and articles in a variety of publications, including the Oxford University Press, Routledge/Psychology Press,  Kinesiology Review and The Sport Psychologist.  

Featured SEP grad students include:  RobertHilliard,  Tammy Sheehy,  Leigh Bryant Skvarla,  Megan Byrd,  Stefanee Van Horn,  Erika Van Dyke,  Zenzi Huysmans,  Jonathan Stewart and  William Way.

Sign up for Mountaineer Quest, an outdoor-based orientation program designed exclusively for incoming College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (CPASS) students. This five-day summer program helps incoming first-year students make friends, explore area outdoor destinations and learn more about WVU and their major before the start of the fall semester. The program is co-hosted by Adventure WV and CPASS.

This camp-based, peer-led five-day program prepares incoming students for life at WVU and the state. Based at Camp Muffly, a few miles south of Morgantown, students will participate in adventure day trips around the region, including rock climbing, inflatable kayaking, whitewater rafting, hiking and service. Students will explore and reflect on their transition to college within small group discussions in the evenings.

Dan Stratford (Physical Education Teacher Education MS 2015; Physical Education Teacher Education BSPE 2009) has been selected as the new head coach of the University of Charleston (W.Va.) Golden Eagle men's soccer team. Athletic Director Dr. Bren Stevens introduced former assistant Stratford following an abbreviated search to replace Chris Grassie, who recently left Charleston for Marshall University.
 
"I have been impressed with Coach Stratford's abilities since we first hired him back in 2014 and in my mind he is the perfect coach to lead this program. Dan possesses superior knowledge as it relates to the myriad of techniques and tactics involved with the game of soccer. Coach Stratford is articulate, bright and will add synergy to the Department of Athletics,” said Stevens in her introduction of Stratford to the Golden Eagle men's soccer team.

Stevens highlighted Stratford’s commitment to ensure a “positive” student-athlete experience for all team members along with a strong focus on player success on the field and in the classroom. Stratford credits his time at WVU and CPASS as helping to strengthen his effectiveness as a coach. 

Bill Treasurer, 1985 CPASS grad, writes popular leadership books that often draw on lessons he learned as the co-captain of the WVU Swimming and Diving Team (’82, 83, 84). “As a student athlete, you learn valuable lessons about discipline, perseverance and good sportsmanship. You also learn about juggling multiple responsibilities, setting clear goals, dealing with egos, yours and others, and staying healthy and fit. All of those lessons translate well into the workplace,” said Treasurer.

 After graduating from WVU, Treasurer went on to become a member of the U.S. High Diving Team and traveled throughout the world performing dives from heights that scaled to more than 100-feet, diving into pools that were often only 10-feet-deep. As the captain of the team, he learned valuable leadership lessons. “The most important lesson I learned, early on,” he said, “was that I sucked at leading. I had no idea who I was as a leader, but I knew that my team didn’t like being led by me. They told me so!” 

Matt Strober, physical education and teacher education major, is serving as the captain of WVU’s D3 Ice Hockey Team for the 2016-2017 season.

Strober, who has been captain twice before, is eager to once again take the helm. He is in the midst of his senior season with WVU Ice Hockey.

Visit the West Virginia University Online Degrees website and you’ll see a familiar face. Sean Bulger, PETE associate professor, is highlighted in a current story, showcasing his background and leadership within the program. The college thanks Chelsea Betts, digital content specialist with WVU Online, for allowing us to share the story with our readers.

Like most professionals in the physical education field, Bulger was very involved in sports at a young age and throughout his childhood and adolescence. As a young boy in Buffalo, NY, he played almost every traditional team sport there was. Baseball, basketball and soccer–just to name a few–slowly transitioning into cross country and track as he began his college career. When choosing a field of study in college as an undergraduate and master’s student, his decision never wavered. It would be physical education.

Renee Brown, Physical Education and Teacher Education doctoral student, received the Ethnic Minority Graduate Fellowship Award at the West Virginia Association of Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance conference held earlier this fall semester.

Brown was unable to attend the conference, however, she is grateful for the opportunity to be involved with WVAHPERD and credits her current success to the organization.

Like many students entering college, Danielle Funk was not sure what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She didn't switch into the CPASS sport and exercise psychology program until the spring semester of her sophomore year.

“I can honestly say it was the best academic decision I made while at WVU. CPASS has different opportunities available and provides its students with skills that are applicable in a variety of future careers. While I am passionate about and want to stay with SEP, I know fellow CPASS students who want to use their CPASS undergraduate degree to pursue nursing, business administration, education and physical therapy. 

The newly-established Willie and Linda Akers Endowed Scholarship will support qualified students in the West Virginia University  College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.

The $25,000 endowment will focus on scholarships for undergraduate students at CPASS, with first preference for students in the athletic coaching education major.

Sport and exercise psychology student Alyxis Harper started her freshman year at WVU in August 2013 and had to overcome a significant challenge to complete her degree. Harper was scheduled to graduate in June 2017, however, a life-changing event in her first year forced Harper to reevaluate her plans, including the possibility of deciding to drop out of school.  

Harper became pregnant during her second semester and refused any option other than to have and keep her baby. “Having a baby could have changed my college career and my ability to complete college at all, however, when I was faced with this challenge, my parents came to my rescue and agreed to take care of my baby so I could complete college,” Harper explained.