Coaching Minor
Second only to parents, coaches have been found to have considerable influence over their players in areas related to socialization, individual development, and the transmission of cultural values and social expectations. Since coaches are very influential in the lives of student-athletes, Elms College believes that coaches can be important role models for all athletes.

The goal of our coaching minor is to prepare students to become successful coaches on the interscholastic and intercollegiate level so they can impact student-athletes and make a difference in their lives.

The coaching minor consists of 18 credits of required courses. The curriculum is designed to provide opportunities for students to explore different coaching styles so they can lead athletes in all domains of learning - cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Students will learn how to:

• organize practice sessions,
• plan tryouts,
• market and promote teams,
• teach sport skills, tactics, and strategies, and
• help teams reach peak performance through motivation, confidence building, goal setting, and mental imagery.

The capstone experience for the minor is a three-credit coaching internship, in which each student works with a mentor coach over an entire sport season.

Students who have completed the minor have coached athletic teams in volleyball, field hockey, soccer, basketball, softball and lacrosse. Many of these students found that their ability to coach made them more marketable in their chosen career fields, and they gained great satisfaction from the athletes they coached.

Upon completion of the minor in coaching, students will be able to:

• Develop a coaching philosophy.
• Know the legal duties of a coach.
• Develop a conditioning program based on physiological principles.
• Understand and utilize various psychological strategies specific to sport.
• Prevent and care for athletic injuries.
• Become certified in first aid and CPR.
• Design a master and daily practice plans based on seasonal objectives.
• Teach sport skills, concepts, and strategies utilizing effective pedagogical
  methods.
• Gain practical experience in coaching.

Requirements

Coaching Certificate
Minor in Coaching -18 credits

For more information, contact
Mary Janeczek, chair, education division
413-265-2291
janeczekm@elms.edu