This major prepares you to work with high-performance athletes in the athletic or tactical contexts, or with recreational participants in community or club leagues. As a profession, coaching has evolved well beyond merely teaching skills and strategy to athletes. Today, coaches need to evaluate and monitor athlete performance from the perspective of both a sport scientist and a sport pedagogist. The Coaching and Performance Science major is designed to prepare future coaches who will specialize in "on-field" coaching versus "off-field" coaching (e.g., strength and conditioning, athlete performance and recovery). Students will complete an area of emphasis in one of three areas: Coaching and Leadership, Strength and Conditioning, or Applied Sport Science.
The Coaching and Leadership area focuses on the development of sport specific and underlying scientific content knowledge as well as the essential interpersonal and intrapersonal skills necessary for quality teaching and leadership within the sport context. The program challenges students to focus on their personal professional foundation and on-going development through the integration of applied sport science and hands-on application in coaching.
Strength and Conditioning area concentrates on the science of training, designing training prescriptions and the ability to coach both in and out of a weight room. Students participate in hands-on experiences performing and coaching strength exercises to peers as well as how to administer different strength and power tests in our instructional performance lab.
The Applied Sport Science area of emphasis focuses on athlete monitoring and performance assessment, allowing for an improved understanding of how athletes are responding to their training prescription and better overall steering of the training/recovery process. Students participate in a variety of hands-on learning opportunities in the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute's Human Performance Innovation Center; an applied sport science laboratory and/or with WVU athletic teams.