the WAY

real opportunities to coach, so the experiential part was extremely important to incorporate.”

Students who pursue this minor also have the opportunity to go global and put their skills to use around the world. The recently-added Global Sport Coaching course provides students with several opportunities to broaden their knowledge of coaching in different environments, such as attending the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin this summer. With plans to expand and offer new experiences abroad in the future, students in this minor will have several ways to apply their coursework in a real-world context.

No matter where in the world students end up, one thing is always certain. “The best coaches are the ones that create the best overall experiences for athletes,” Ettl says. Rather than focusing solely on performance and winning, the minor emphasizes the importance of life lessons and skills that coaches can bring to young athletes.

The Sport Coaching minor is a concentration within the College of Education’s Youth and Community Development major. With a curriculum that is focused on creating well-informed and forward-thinking educators, this major prepares students for any setting they may find themselves in, whether that be on a sports field, inside a classroom, or in a non-traditional learning environment.

“Students have said that they love the educational model that we have [in this major],” Farley says. “In their future career, they won’t always need a teaching license. Several of the students in this program have gone on to do exactly what they wanted to do after graduating, whether that’s attending graduate school, coaching, or getting a job in a non-traditional setting.”

There are endless possibilities for students who graduate from this program, and there are several unique career paths to explore. “The Youth and Community Development major gives them the option to do so,” Farley says. “The sky is the limit.”