NBD 2023

National Biomechanics Day is a world-wide celebration of Biomechanics in its many forms for high school students and teachers.

I was a co-lead for a NBD event on April 26, 2023 at the Commander William C. McCool Academy, a local middle school in Lubbock, Texas, USA. I applied for the Latinx NBD grant and was awarded $1,000 towards funding the NBD event. The funds were used to pay for t-shirts, food, and equipment for the event. A total of 28 middle school students participated in the 2-hour event. Seven volunteers (myself, Dr. Kinyata Cooper (co-lead), Dr. Juan Baus, Dr. Xzavier Latchison, Dr. Ritwik Rakshit, Mr. Reece Lawrence, and Dr. Shadman Tahmid), comprised of Texas Tech University students, met at McCool Academy to facilitate the event.

The event began with a welcome, volunteer introductions, and a brief discussion on biomechanics. After the introduction, the students performed a 5-minute guided warm-up led by Kinyata Cooper. Following the warmup, students were split into three groups. Each student group spent about 20 minutes at three stations that were led by volunteers. Each station began and ended with short discussions about the lesson.

Station #1 was a speed lab where students would pair up and take turns sprinting a short distance three times. Using the provided stopwatches that they could keep, students were guided in calculating their velocity and average velocity. This station was led by Kinyata Cooper and Reece Lawrence.

Station #2 was a balance lab where students played a game of Simon Says. Students balanced on the bosu balls while following commands from the station leads. The last student standing won the game. This station was led by Xzavier Latchison and Ritwik Rakshit.

Station #3 was a shoe lab where students were able to identify what type of foot they have and how they can select special shoe lacing techniques to accommodate their foot type. This station was led by myself and Juan Baus.

After going through the three stations, students were gathered in one large group, and the volunteers led a discussion on what the students learned from the event. After the discussion, students were given clear Texas Tech University tote bags and NBD t-shirts. The event closed with students and volunteers sitting together throughout the school cafeteria to continue conversations about biomechanics while eating pizza.