The ASEP Insider typically highlights issues and challenges in coaching education or encourages certain measures to address and solve those problems. Like you, ASEP devotes considerable thought and effort to improve coaching and circumstances in which coaches coach. But we’re simply building on the strong foundation established by others.

More than 30 years ago, a foursome of scholars, researchers, and practitioners in the emerging fields of sport and exercise science and sport medicine set their sights on educating coaches. Sport psychologist Rainer Marten... [read more]

At the June 2010 Christian Society for Kinesiology and Leisure Studies Conference two keynote addresses were give on a Reformed Christian view of the body. One was by John Cooper and the other by Nathan Bierma.

To download those two MP3 files plus a file which includes the question and answer section go to:

http://alpha.redeemer.ca/~byl/csklsbody/

I just ran (walked) across two great resources that will help you if you are encouraging people to walk or help folks to form walking groups.

http://www.sumtercountyactivelifestyles.org/Walk_Leader_Manual.pdf ; http://www.sumtercountyactivelifestyles.org/Sample_forms_for_manual.pdf

A Global Call for Action was launched on Saturday 8 May 2010 at the 3rd International Congress for Physical Activity and Health in Toronto Canada during the closing plenary session. The final English version is now available on the GAPA website at www.globalpa.org.uk. The French and Spanish versions will follow shortly.

The Toronto Charter is a call to all countries to help make physical activity a priority for all. The Charter provides a framework for action and partnerships across multiple sectors and with communities to build healthier, active, environmentally sustainable... [read more]

Casey O’Neill, assistant athletic director and head coach of lacrosse at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., gets it. After six years as an assistant, Coach O’Neill took over the program three years ago and brought immediate stability to the program. In his very first parent meeting, he outlined his commitment to the boys on the team (which included my son) and all the parents. Throughout that first season and to this day, his actions always support his stated objective of building a sustainable program and a culture of family. He clearly articulated how he planned... [read more]

Bill Kohl spoke earnestly to the several hundred delegates packed into Bassett Auditorium of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre last Wednesday night.

“Is there any better time to be in the field of physical activity and public health?” the president of the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) asked those gathered for the opening ceremony of the International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health (ICPAPH). “I submit not.”

Kohl cited the explosion of research over the past two decades; the increase in participation to more than 1,200 compared to the ICPAPH m... [read more]

On March 29, I received an e-mail from Dr. Herb Appenzeller who was Athletic Director when I attended Guilford College, informing me that Coach Jack Jensen had died. The Guilford College press release started by stating, “Jack Jensen, who taught and coached at Guilford for 45 years, died suddenly March 28 after returning from a collegiate golf tournament. He was 71.” While I had the good fortune of playing golf for Coach Jensen, the greatest value came from knowing that he never stopped being coach to me or any of the other athletes he coached during his 45 year career.

&nbs... [read more]

Everybody has their favorite time of year as a sports spectator, and for what it’s worth I’m partial to the springtime Baseball Opening Day/March Madness combo that we just experienced. But in reflecting on a spate of recent, unrelated stories, it is increasingly clear that in the sports business world, as opposed to the sports spectator world, every day is an education:

• Forbes’ annual rankings of Major League Baseball teams’ worth. Can you guess who is #1? (If you can’t, maybe you should click to another screen.)

• Advocates of Title IX have... [read more]

When Dr. Russell Pate introduced some 300 delegates to the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP) conference in Washington D.C. last summer, he stated plainly that “This Plan is the next logical step to follow from the Health and Human Services Guidelines . It is our hope that this National Plan, when it is released, will catalyze (the United States).”

So, nine months later, where are Dr. Pate and the rest of the NPAP steering committee? You’ll soon find out. Or, because of how thorough the committee has been, perhaps you are fully aware of the NPAP’s status because you’ve been in... [read more]

My second-grade daughter had her first soccer game of the spring scheduled last week. It was raining, making the 50-degree temperature seem like a pretty uncomfortable prospect for us spectators. But I was excited for her. What kid doesn’t love to be given complete freedom to play in the rain and mud?

“Any chance they’ll call the game off?” asked the grandparents.

“Not a chance,” I replied, without a second thought. There was no lightning. The downpour wasn’t all that thick. It never dawned on me to check for any e-mail... [read more]