Georgia Southern Coaching Education Newsletter

May 2023

Scan this QR code to donate to the Dr. Drew Zwald Coaching Education Scholarship in recognition of an influential career.

Message from the Coordinator

As the spring semester wrapped up we have so many exciting things going on and I love sharing them any way I can- such as recently appearing on Eagle 94.9's East Georgia's Morning Show and on the Cutting Edge Coaching podcast. How could you not be excited to share all of this:

Dr. Drew Zwald, our program founder, will be inducted into the USCCE Coach Education/Coach Developer Legacy Hall of Fame on June 12 at the North American Coach Development Summit in Birmingham, AL.
We are also proud to announce that we are creating a new scholarship for Coaching Education students in Dr. Zwald's honor as he retires after Summer Term A. If you would like to donate, please click here or scan the QR code to donate to the Dr. Drew Zwald Coaching Education Scholarship (code GS4515).

11 Students of the Semester are being publicly recognized this week. Congrats to all of these deserving students! We have now recognized 67 outstanding students since 2020.
Our annual Hoops with HEROes event was a huge success! Thank you our local law enforcement community, WJMS, GS Men's Basketball, and all who helped!
We wrapped up our 8th session of our inaugural Professional Development Series with the Georgia Southern Athletic Department.
We admitted over 70 graduate students from 10 different states into our next two master's cohorts starting in June.
We have made one of the most affordable master's programs in the nation even more affordable by reducing the program from 36 hours (12 classes) to 30 hours (10 classes) while maintaining the quality we are known for and still covering all of the National Standards for Sport Coaches.
"And you ain't seen nothing yet." -Erk Russell

Press on,

Coach Hal Wilson, PhD

Table of Contents

Program Testimonial

Students of the Semester

Real World Connections

Program Testimonial

Coach Audra Hill ('22M) had this to say about our master's program:

"I find this program very beneficial and I would recommend it to any coach that is ready and willing to professionally develop themselves to be better each and every day for their athletes. Some of the aspects that I found to be beneficial were the discussion boards, the challenges to make us step outside of our comfort zone to have conversations that we do not normally have. I liked the- classes were relevant, topics were relevant, and I learned prevention techniques as well as learned how to strenght and condition my athletes. So everything that I’ve learned in this program will benefit me to be a better coach, and therefore my athletes, in the long run."

-Audra Rider ('22M)

Head Softball and Girls Track Coach

Richmond Hill MS (Richmond Hill, GA)

Please submit your alumni/current student coaching news here!

Students of the Semester

Spring 2023 Undergraduate Honorees

Jaylen Baker (Dublin, GA)
Alex Bowen (Glen Saint Mary, FL)
Casjre Doresy (Martinez, GA)
Zay Ekwenchi (Powder Springs, GA)
Samantha Holbrook (Bradenton, FL)
Zion Johnson (Statesboro, GA)
Travis Massey (Brunswick, GA)
Evan Schlierf (Statesboro, GA)
David Andre Skinner, Jr. (Waynesboro, GA)
Jacob Thompson (Perry, GA)

Spring 2023 Graduate Honoree

Zachary Edwards, Allatoona HS (Ackworth, GA) Varisty Linebackers/Special Team Cooridnator

To see the list of All-time Student of the Semester honorees, click here.

Real World Connections

Our Coaching Education programs prepare coaches for opportunities at every level of play. In fact, our graduates have coached at the youth, scholastic, collegiate, and professional levels. Below is one recent example of a real-world coaching opportunity:

Head Girls Soccer Coach,

Southeast Bulloch MS (Brooklet · GA)

Season runs early Feb.-early April.
Practices 3:30-5:30pm.
Contact AD Nick Cochran ncochran@bullochschools.org.

Have you seen our Coaching Job Board- especially for local coaching jobs?

Want to FIND a coaching job? Click here or https://tinyurl.com/GSCoachEdJobBoard
Want to POST a coaching job? Submit your coaching job opening here or https://tinyurl.com/GSCoachEdJobs
Recent postings:
- Northwestern HS (SC)
- Flowery Branch HS (GA)
- Griffin HS (GA)

Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Megan Byrd recently spoke to a Psychology of Coaching class. She is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Sport and Exercsise Psychology at Georgia Southern. Dr. Byrd earned her Ph.D. and a M.A. from West Virginia University, her M.S. in Sport Studies from Miami University, and her B.S. in Psychology from Eastern Kentucky University. Prior to joining Georgia Southern in 2018, Byrd was an Assistant Professor at John F. Kennedy University.

Inside Look

KINS 7730 Practicum in Coaching

In this graduate course, currently taught by Dr. Drew Zwald, students take a deep dive into their own coaching experience. The catalog description states: "Provides the student with coaching experiences in planning, teaching skills, conducting practice sessions, organizing game situations and analysis, scouting and structuring off-season programming."

Student feedback on the course:

"Practicum allowed post-practice, game, and season analysis and helped me project confidence."
"The coaching portfolio assignment helped me refine myself as a coach and person."

Campus Engagement

Professional Development Series concludes for GS Athletics Coaches and Athletic Department Staff

Thank you to all of our speakers and attendees from this year's inaugural Porfessional Development Series. We enjoyed strengthening the mutually beneficial relationship between Georgia Southern Athletics, Coaching Education, and the Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology.

Aug.: Dr. Hal Wilson- Leadership Models
Sept.: Dr. Hal Wilson- Learning from Legends: Case Studies in Leadership
Oct.: Jeff Ward: "Using the Leadership Square for Staff Development."
Nov.: Dr. Jody Langdon: "Burnout...It's Not Just for Athletes."
Feb.: Dr. Li Li: "Biomechanics of Performance and Injury Prevention."
Mar.: Dr. Amy Jo Riggs-Deckard: "Nutrition for Athletes (and their support staff)."
Apr.: Dr. Steve Patterson: "Strengthening Bonds with Medical Staff."
May: Dr. Hal Wilson: "College Coaches' Perceptions of Mental Health Resources and Issues in the COVID era."

Community Engagement

Anyone can be a H.E.R.O.!

H = Honest

E = Enthusiatic

R = Responsible

O = Optimistic

Hoops with HEROes

In 2017, we started Hoops with HEROes to build relationships and reinforce positive life lessons with middle school students and local law enforcement (Bulloch County Sheriff, Georgia Southern Police, Georgia State Patrol, & Statesboro Police) in a fun way at William James Middles School. April 21, 2023 we held our latest edition, with Coaching Education students planning and running team building activites and Sport Mangagement students, under the direction of Dr. Amy Rundio, getting experience with event management responsibilities. Georgia Southern Men's Basketball rearranged their workout schedule so they could come particpate and we truly apprecite the energy they brought! Thank you to Coach Brian Hall and Principal Dr. Scott Chapman for their support. National Slam Dunk Champion Kamair Brown even stopped by to speak to the kids and they got to take pictures with him and his championship belt.