New Online Graduate Certificate Program Expands Learning Opportunities in Sport Coaching

Coaching often extends far beyond what happens during practice or competition. Coaches are responsible for helping athletes develop, perform, and navigate common challenges involving areas ranging from mental health to athlete development. The new online Sport Coaching Graduate Certificate Program at JMU highlights common issues faced by coaches and encourages coaches to consider how to address them based on their own experiences as well as course content. According to the program director, Dr. Lori Gano-Overway, students will engage in activities such as revising practice plans or videotaping themselves while coaching to analyze their skills based on the practices discussed in classes.

The program courses are centered around topics that often include common challenges or issues coaches face within the sub-disciplines of sport psychology, strength and conditioning, sport nutrition, and sport pedagogy. Coaches will have the opportunity to apply newly learned techniques from these areas to their own coaching practices.

The layout of the program also provides an opportunity for coaches to network with each other. They can collaborate and learn together by sharing practice plans, suggesting ideas, and participating in discussions. The program also recognizes the demanding schedules coaches often have and is therefore designed to allow coaches to continue working while enrolled so they can continue to advance their skills. Courses will be offered during the summer to accommodate these needs. Students will need to earn 12 graduate-level credit hours and can finish the program in two years by taking two summer semesters or four years by taking one course across four summer semesters.

While the courses are intended to address everyday problems that coaches encounter, Dr. Lori Gano-Overway believes that the program will continue to develop based on the needs of coaches. “Our big push at the end of each course will be to identify whether there are other things we haven’t addressed. We’re certainly interested in evolving in ways that matter for coaches,” said Dr. Lori Gano-Overway.

To learn more about the program, contact Dr. Lori Gano-Overway ganoovla@jmu.edu.