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Reggie Scott, a CPASS athletic training graduate, has received the 2015 NFL Athletic Training Staff of the Year award. Scott is director of sports medicine and performance for the Los Angeles Rams. Prior to this position Scott served as head athletic trainer for the Rams for five years. 

The Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society presents the NFL Athletic   Training Staff of the Year award for excellence within the athletic training profession. This is the first season that the Rams have earned the honor. 

David Carr has learned the art of perseverance. After 10 years and numerous hardships, he has landed his dream job as a college football coach.

His journey started when he was coaching at Shepard University which required a master’s degree to teach. While earning his online sport management master’s degree in 2007, Carr and his family were going through a difficult time. His wife was fighting cancer which she ultimately survived.

Ryan Gordy, MS in PETE 2010-2012 cohort, works as a wellness instructor at Canton High School and is the Men’s Varsity Basketball Coach at Canton High School, Canton, MA. He teaches both physical education and health classes 9-12. He’s taught for seven years and coached high school basketball for 10 years, and served as the varsity coach at CHS for five years.

According to Gordy, Massachusetts has an extensive teacher certification program requiring multiple years of service, professional development, standardized testing, furthered education and positive evaluations. The state uses a tiered system consisting of three levels. Certification begins with a preliminary license, followed by an initial license and eventually ending at a professional license.

What started as a class project has expanded a CPASS graduate’s efforts in helping young athletes to excel.

Ethan Brown, a May 2015 B.S., Athletic Coaching Education graduate, developed sport-specific instruction related to skill techniques to help players succeed. He had to first convince the athletes’ parents to support the training, though.

Remarkable effort and determination have paid dividends for two College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences students. Nicole Young and Elizabeth Janeiro were chosen for the 2015 class of McNair Scholars as members of an elite program that began at WVU in 1999.

A federally-funded TRIO program, McNair Scholars helps high-achieving first-generation and underrepresented students prepare for graduate school. McNair Scholars serves students through financial assistance, academic guidance and counseling and undergraduate research opportunities.

This fall, two College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences graduates will join the WVU 2015 Sports Hall of Fame induction class.

On September 26, prior to the West Virginia-Maryland football game, WVU Sports will recognize six honorees for their extraordinary contributions made both as student-athletes and in their careers.

The Philadelphia Flyers are the recipients of this season’s Dick Dillman Award. The Flyers staff is led by College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences former student Zack Hill. The Dillman Award honors the team judged to have the top public relations department in the National Hockey League each season.

“It is a great honor to be recognized by my peers as well as the national media,” Hill said.

An appreciation for a local school and a discovery about a health and physical activity-based award evolved into national recognition. The picture on the left shows Ishonte’ Allar, CPASS grad student, with Suncrest Middle School representatives. (Photo by The Dominion Post)

Christopher Roth is a middle school physical education teacher at Eastern Greenbrier Middle School, Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Throughout the past six years teaching physical education and coaching middle school football, Roth describes his greatest accomplishment as creating experiences for students to try and succeed in areas that they themselves did not believe they were capable. 

Dr. Amy Sidwell and a student team at Fairmont State University were among 10 project winners nationwide for the 2014 Ford Community College Challenge.

CPASS graduate Lindsey Blom was inducted into the Georgia Southern Athletics Hall of Fame. Blom was honored in July for her athletic accomplishments and impact on Georgia Southern University as a student-athlete, coach and supporter.

“I am humbled and a bit in shock still. I enjoy the ability to be active, learn new skills, and work with others; this is why I still play soccer several times a week,” Blom said.

Coach Matt O’Neil, ACE May 2013 graduate, has grown his career in the last six months as the coach of multiple competitive and high school swimming teams in the Cleveland area. O’Neil credits his success to the inspiring lessons the professors at CPASS provided him while earning his degree.

After graduation O’Neil was offered a position as the head swim coach at a country club where he coached 80 kids during multiple practices per day.

Tyson Thompson, sport management MS 2010 graduate, was honored by a national tennis magazine for his contributions to the United States Tennis Association. Thompson is the USTA community program and training coordinator in North Carolina. 

Racquet Sports Industry magazine recently released their annual “30 Under Thirty” list recognizing members in the tennis community who are helping the industry grow.

Jack Marucci, CPASS athletic training grad, and director of athletic training at Louisiana State University, was featured recently in USA Today about how his company, Marucci Bat Company, is rivaling the Louisville Slugger.

Jack Marucci’s hobby of making baseball bats in his backyard led him to start his company in 2002 to meet the demand of big league hitters. What no one knew was how successful the bats would become and that they would rival the infamous Louisville Slugger.

James C. Jenkins, a Physical Education Teaching Education graduate, has become a jet setter since earning his degree. Jenkins, certified in both physical education and mathematics, has been teaching internationally for nine years.

“I spent two years in Bangkok, Thailand, two years in Tel Aviv, Israel, and five years in Hong Kong,” Jenkins said.