New Coaching Minor Coming to University of Mount Olive
MOUNT OLIVE – Beginning in fall 2012, University of Mount Olive will offer a new coaching minor. Dr. Burt Lewis, chair of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, said, “We are very excited to offer a coaching minor. Our department hopes this minor will be attractive to students who are interested in teaching and coaching at the middle school and high school levels.”
University of Mount Olive offers a versatile curriculum in Recreation & Leisure Studies, allowing students to specialize in Leisure Service Management, Recreational Therapy, Sports Management, Exercise Science, or the Teaching Licensure Program of Health and Physical Education. Dr. Lewis believes the new minor will give students seeking employment after graduation a competitive edge. “Over the last several years, our department has had approximately 45 individuals who have entered the school system(s) as a teacher/coach via the lateral entry program. We believe they have been hired because they had a background in athletics and had the ability to coach.”
The new coaching minor at the College will have a total of 21 subject hours with 7 unique classes, offering theoretical and practical knowledge in the aspects of coaching. One such class is sport psychology, a course intended to introduce students to the mental component of sports performance including the relationship of stress, anxiety, goal setting, and concentration to athletic performance. Another class offered will be strength and conditioning techniques, which was designed to incorporate research-based knowledge and apply practical applications in order to improve athletic performance, fitness and quality of life for all populations. Dr. Lewis hopes the new coaching minor will serve as a recruiting tool to incoming athletes attending University of Mount Olive.
University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The College, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has locations in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Goldsboro, Research Triangle Park, Washington and Jacksonville. For more information, visit www.moc.edu.