Despite the prevalence of students with learning disabilities (LD), athletic coaches face challenges in recognizing and effectively supporting the needs of athletes with LD due to lack of professional development in this area. Sometimes referred to as a "hidden disability", LD is not easily perceived by teachers and coaches. Students…

The purpose of this article is to share Coach Vermeil's foundational commonsense coaching principles for youth sports coaches, and more broadly health and physical educators, to help create a more positive culture for their team.

The purpose of this article is to highlight examples for promoting and rewarding students as they pursue physical activity, motor skills, and fitness in at-home or in community-based environments. Specifically, this article will include: (a) promoting positive and enjoyable at-home and in-the-community physical activity experiences for all…

Research supports the "broaden and build" nature of positive emotions on child socio-emotional outcomes. This article describes three lesson plans that can promote learning while helping students express positive emotions.

Coaches have the possibility to shape their athletes' experiences in sport and build a strong skillset, particularly the growth of mental toughness. It is important for athletes to develop the mental and physical components needed to overcome obstacles and maintain consistency. This article provides strategies for high school coaches to implement…

This article challenges coaches to address the more personal, human elements of coaching--the HEART of coaching. While there is much research on numerous aspects of coaching, this article provides ideas that make a lasting impact on the hearts of athletes. Using HEART as an acronym, five elements of effective coaching are presented: Humility,…

Research suggests that school-aged individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) tend to be less physically active than their typically developing peers (e.g., Shields, King, Corbett, & Imms, 2014). While these students can be successful in acquiring motor and sport-related skills during physical education, they tend not to use those skills…

Physical education has long been recognized as a forum through which affective skills can be successfully introduced and practiced. Solomon found that current research supports the contention that physical education experiences provide a prime setting for promoting character development. This article describes a three-phase program for teaching…

In this article, the authors offer strategies to help beginner physical education teachers increase the tempo of their classes. Most of these ideas are applicable to any physical education setting and grade level. After incorporating some of these strategies into daily lesson plans beginner teachers should see an increase in student energy levels…