Athletic Coaching and Leadership Concentration, M.Ed.

Bunce School of Education & Liberal Arts
College of Arts and Sciences
Anniversary Hall
740-245-7167 office; 740-245-7175 fax

The University of Rio Grande Master of Education in ACL program is designed for teachers and others who are interested in using an interdisciplinary approach to teaching, learning, and student support. Our program is based on Howard Gardner’s “Theory of Multiple Intelligences.” Gardner believes that the human mind learns through at least eight different intelligences.

Online Learning

Our Internet courses are designed to be user-friendly and uncomplicated. Every course was team-developed, and each of our design teams is comprised of members that are highly experienced in their field. Making half of our courses available via the Internet during the school year allows teachers in our program to pilot the methodologies that we present in our courses in their own classroom as they accumulate the knowledge. Technical training and support are built into the program to maximize your learning experience using this exciting medium. An added benefit for the student is that the ability to take courses year-round will allow one to complete the program sooner!

Description of the Program

The primary goal of the Athletic Coaching Leadership (ACL) concentration is to provide well-qualified coaches for all levels of sports programs. The ACL strives to address the diverse needs of the coaching profession and respond to the changing needs of prospective and practicing coaches. The ACL will not be sport specific. It will continue to develop appropriate sport and situation specific program content to ensure the enjoyment, safety and positive skills development of America’s coaches.

The interest in sport activities is at an all-time high in the United States and growing. Some factors that spark this interest involve the nature of the U.S. population. Children of the Baby Boomers are reaching high school and college age, which is also the highest level of participation in organized sports and recreation activities. Interest in women’s sports at every level is growing. This growth has created a need for competent people to fill coaching positions at all levels. The Athlete Coaching Leadership concentration is designed to help meet the challenges generated by this growth.

Today in education many challenges are faced. Coaching leadership faces many of the same challenges as education. This concentration is used as a means to develop self-reliant, self-disciplined, responsible, and capable coaches to lead young men and women. The ACL will continually improve coaches ability to instruct techniques, meet athlete needs, and advance sport performance. This coaching education program prepares both beginning coaches and experienced coaches, therefore we are not limited to teachers and coaches employed by school districts. We will prepare coaches who usually are responsible for short duration, recreational competition. On the other hand, the ACL will prepare experienced coaches who more likely work with elite athletes on a year-round basis and includes high level of competition, emphasizes advanced training, conditioning, techniques, and tactics.

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• Establish a coaching philosophy that focuses on the safety, development, and well-being of the athlete. As a key leadership figure, the coach will gain knowledge of how to model and teach appropriate behavior in all aspects of coaching and maintain ethical conduct during practices and competitions.
• Be properly trained in injury prevention and first responder emergency car. The student will be able to recognize high-risk situations, as well as unsafe equipment, facilities, and environmental conditions in order to ensure the safety of the athletes and make necessary modifications to the playing environment should unsafe conditions exist.
• Create research-based, developmentally appropriate drills and teaching techniques that support athlete development while maintaining safety. The student will learn how to encourage healthful decisions by the athlete to promote healthy lifestyles and low-risk training practices.
• Be able to recognize the patterns of cognitive, motor, emotional, and social development, will create effective learning environments that allow athletes to progress and improve at different rates. The student will be able to recognize the need to modify practice and competitive strategies to accommodate the athlete’s readiness for competition.
• Develop a practice plan and implement organized practices so that athletes have a positive learning experience. Use a variety of systematic instructional techniques to provide a positive learning environment and maximize the potential of each athlete. Be aware of his or her expectations of an athlete’s potential and how it impacts athlete performance.
• Develop skills of all team members into an efficient and successful group. Know how to utilize athletes’ abilities to maximize meaningful participation and team success.
• Build administrative skills regarding the needs of the athlete, a key communicator for program goals and policies, and facilitate compliance with established program policies.
• Establish systematic evaluation ensuring that the sport program runs smoothly and efficiently and that the goals and objectives of the program are the focus for the coach, athlete, and team.

All of the following Education Core classes are required and several need to be taken in a specific sequence: Core Curriculum

The student is presented with new ways to use technology and research while building dispositions that will develop new leadership skills. The core curriculum gives the student the foundation for more effective study in the concentration areas.