Participation in athletics provides student-athletes a place to develop autonomy and grow socially through interactions with peers, parents, and coaches (Torres & Hager 2013). Coaches entrusted by parents to guide and nurture their child's sport experience fulfill the role of teacher, counselor, colleague, mentor, supervisor, and leader…

This article provides new ways to teach and assess motor skills in various lifetime sports such as tennis, golf, badminton, and other sports that students are likely to play as adults by focusing on five basic biomechanical principles.

This article analyzes the responses of hundreds of future coaches from an introductory coaching course regarding the appropriateness of player and coach behaviors in various athletic scenarios. The scenarios epitomize ethical and sportsmanship behaviors across various sports and situations. The students read the situations and expressed their…

Children and adolescents participate in sport for a variety of reasons including to learn new skills, to have fun, for peer affiliation, to experience excitement, to exercise and increase fitness, and for competition; and coincidentally, withdraw when these motives are left unmet. The literature is well established on the influence coaching…

Golf is one of the most accessible and versatile physical activities and is a viable choice for young adults with disabilities to engage in the recommended levels of physical activity. Teaching golf to youth with disabilities requires more than making accommodations regarding equipment, technique, and rules in the physical education setting. For…

A great controversy around the concept of competition exists, not only among researchers but also among teachers, parents, and even the participants themselves. An overemphasis on competitive sports and unhealthy competition has overshadowed the positive benefits of sport participation, including character and moral development and…

The use of Sport Education by physical education teachers to implement developmentally appropriate competitive activities is explored. The potential positive and negative consequences of competitive activities are discussed along with suggestions for teachers on how they can foster an appropriate competitive environment in physical education.

We live in the age of the performance ethic. Youth sport, a highly visible and valued activity in communities across the nation, is a proving ground for children and parents alike. Fun sometimes equates to being a better athlete. The sport experience is assessed in terms of enhanced technical skill development and competitive ranking (Coakley,…

This article on the game of lacrosse focuses on offensive strategies used to help students become successful in game play. It describes lead-up activities students should know and perform, such as stick holding, cradling, scooping, catching, and the passing fundamentals of lacrosse. The progressions of tasks in this article were designed from…

The coaching profession demands a high level of accountability and responsibility for the coach. Challenged to achieve success on the scoreboard and promote the positive personal growth of the athlete, a coach seeks guidance from their coaching philosophy. A coaching philosophy is built on a set of standards by which a coach influences, teaches,…

Many students settle indoors in the winter. However, this does not mean that winter should be a period of time with no physical activity. Several snow activities could be practiced during those months, such as ice-skating, ice-hockey, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, or snowboarding. In order to counteract the tendency for…

Physical educators often struggle to teach individual striking skills to upper level (3-5 grade) elementary students. Finding a developmentally appropriate striking activity with a high participation rate can be a challenge. And sports such as tennis, pickleball, and badminton are often not an option for a variety of reasons (e.g., space or…

Through physical activity, physical educators have long sought to improve the self-efficacy and self-esteem in girls and young woman. Current research indicates that self-defense education may have a positive psychological impact on female participants, specifically regarding the development of self-efficacy and self-esteem. Through participation…

Exercise physiology seems to be a course that students love or hate. Many physical education students and others involved in the related areas of health, teaching, recreation, dance, athletic training, fitness, and motor learning and development find this course a requirement at some point in their curriculum. Inquiry-based learning is an…

Although July and August tend to be the warmest months of the year, the months leading up to summer as well as the months just following summer can also be quite warm or even very hot. In this article, the authors share some important information to help prepare physical educators for overseeing activities in the heat and, just as importantly, to…