Intellectual Identity

Student-Athlete Development The primary focus of my work is to explore what encompasses student-athlete development. The fact the term itself describes an individual who is at a cross section of what it means to be a student as well as a competitive athlete lends me to believe that there are many factors that affect a student-athlete as they strive towards realizing their goals. As student-athletes navigate the process of their educational and competitive environments, there are many individuals who are invested in their development. Educators, coaches, parents, administrators, and peers represent only a small constituency of those individuals who hold a stake in how a student-athlete develops. My specific interest is to better understand how the coach-athlete relationship affects the development of student-athletes and their success in academics, athletic competition, and other endeavors.

Coach Education In the world of sport and athletics, coaches have a profound influence on their athletes. Not only do coaches affect athlete and team performance, they have a tremendous impact on an athlete beyond the competitive sphere. At times, its assumed that in order to coach all you need is technical knowledge of a sport. However the multidimensional role of coaches has increased and there needs to be a

greater understanding of how coaches learn in order to directly affect how they influence their athletes.

Sport and Social Issues In addition, I aim to seek a deeper understanding of how sport, culture, and social/political issues intertwine. Highly competitive sporting events and the elite athletes that play within those settings have a profound audience. I am very interested in how social and political issues play out in the sporting arena within certain cultural contexts. Of particular interest is whether or not athletes and sport leaders utilize their notoriety and influence within certain cultural contexts as a means of shedding light on social and political issues affecting their communities.