If you’re interested in working directly with athletes to help them successfully balance the demands of their sport with the demands of living a healthy and productive life off the field, the online masters in sport management with a specialization in Athlete Development is the right fit for you.
Athlete Development is an emerging area of expertise and opportunity. The curriculum is designed to prepare students for positions including director of player engagement, director of player development, director of student-athlete development, and athletic director.
The Athlete Development specialization includes 12 credit hours of designated coursework plus 3 advisor approved credit hours that can be used to satisfy the elective requirement for the M.S. in Sport Management degree program. Courses from this specialization’s curriculum may also be taken as individual electives by students not pursuing a specialization.
Athlete Development is designed to meet the academic requirements for certification through the Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialists (PAADS). Drawing from the latest research, you’ll gain a basic understanding of the psychological and physiological aspects of athletic performance and acquire advanced knowledge of how to develop a well-rounded athlete off the field. The specialization includes coursework that addresses these facets of athlete support:
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APK 5404 Sport Psychology: The purpose of this course is to provide students with an in-depth examination of various topics in sport psychology that emanate from both the parent discipline of psychology and facets specific to athletics. Of particular importance will be exploration of the theoretical bases of each of the constructs of interest while also critically examining the empirical literature that supports and refutes traditional and contemporary frameworks. Given its science to practice orientation, practical examples of how the sport psychology literature informs applied work with athletes and other performers will also be explored. Students will develop a greater appreciation of the scientific foundations of sport psychology, will be prepared to generate meaningful empirical questions and hypotheses in the area, will become familiar with the typical protocols used in sport psychology research, and will gain a firm understand the conceptual bases that underlie the practice of sport psychology.
APK 6408 Performance Enhancement: This course will intimately connect the theory of sport psychology with the dynamic challenges of the practice of applied sport psychology. Topics include personality, assessment, motivation, emotion, attention, self-confidence, mental imagery, ethics, the injured and over-trained athlete, youth sport, group dynamics, along with the psychological characteristics of elite athletes. The role of the sports psychologist as part of a performance enhancement team will also be addressed along with appropriate referral strategies.
This course will provide an overview and study of the main skills utilized by athlete development specialists, including how to manage the intersection of elite athletes and sport media, athlete career development, and the fundamentals of athlete personal finance.
This free course does not earn credit but is required for the PAADS certification. It is designed for students to build a strong foundation in sport science and athlete human development as Athlete Development Specialists and Practitioners. Upon completion, students will have a foundational knowledge of how physical training during appropriate stages of human development can maximize athletic performance, how shortcuts in the physical, mental, and emotional development can derail an athlete’s long-term ability to succeed, and how to identify and refer athletes to the appropriate professional specialist when an athlete’s condition is outside of the development specialist’s control.
This course is designed to provide future sport management professionals (SMP’s) and coaches with a proven playbook on character literacy development CLD in youth and amateur athletics. This course provides one of the most comprehensive and progressive sports-based character curricula in the country. Course objectives:
Coaching sports in usually viewed from a perspective of the pursuit of performance excellence. However, studies have shown that performance excellence is, actually, dependent upon personal wellbeing. A thriving, happy individual will achieve the best performances. The Athlete-Centered Sport model provides for the creation of best performances by placing equal emphasis on the personal development of the performer.
This course is designed to explore the Athlete-Centered coaching model, what it is and how to apply its elements in daily coaching and team-building. The model apples to developing a team, a school program, a recreational program or an individual athlete. Leadership in sports is emphasized but correlation is made to business leadership and other high-performing cultures. Assignments are, largely, personally based, allowing the student to create a personal coaching plan that outline the student’s own values and goals as a coach and a useful, step-by-step model for impacting those they lead.
Students will:
Sport Career Transitions
Advanced Practicum in Athlete Development
The Athlete Development specialization qualifies students to pursue certification through the Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialists (PAADS).