Bicycling in the Age of a Global Pandemic

(2 Minute Read)

To me, bicycling is not merely a hobby, it is a passion. It has provided me a mode of transportation to work and school as a commuter, a means of employment as a bike messenger, a vehicle that enriched my travels with pleasure, new experiences, and adventure when I went on bike tours, and as a way to bring catharsis, health, comradery, and meaning to my life.

My experiences on a bike have often left me wondering why more people are not riding bikes and enjoying the same benefits that I have discovered through the years. However, since the global pandemic began, many people have dusted off their bikes, lubed their chains, and taken to the streets on their bikes. From March through mid-June 2020, in urban areas, Americans rode their bikes 21% more than during the same time period in 2019 (Rust, 2020). In Philadelphia, cycling has increased by more than 150% since March (The COVID-19…, 2020).

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The health. moves. minds™ Program: Transforming School Culture Through SEL in HPE

Research has informed us that schools that embrace the whole child establish a foundation for academic success, improved school attendance, and a decline in disruptive behaviors among students. These gains are made possible with a specific focus on the unique role that quality skills-based health education and physical education play in a school setting.

It is a very exciting time in health and physical education. After decades of trying to find our place in the educational landscape as a subject area that has been marginalized as a “special” or a “related art,” we are now taking our seat at the table as genuine contributors to our most critical educational questions. One such question is, “How do schools embrace the whole child while maintaining academic rigor and results?” Many believe there are times when we must sacrifice one for the other and that is simply untrue. A commitment to social and emotional learning comes with the understanding that we teach children before content — in all grade levels, at all times.

(Photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Colbert)

A New Era
The coronavirus pandemic has catapulted us to a moment in our history that will forever define the way we approach education. What we’ve learned, unequivocally, is that to nurture the social-emotional needs and mental health of school-aged children will be critical as we move into what will be the new normal for our nation’s schools. As we struggle with traditional conversations around later start times for high schools, less or no homework, responsive classrooms, restorative practices, additional counselors, and other academic supports, it is imperative that we remain loyal to what is happening on the inside of each child. The physical and mental health of each student will be at the forefront of learning. It has been and will be, as critical to their academic success as any other instructional activity happening in our schools.

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Why We Cannot Cancel Physically Active Play

As we find ourselves at this time in the world where a pandemic has changed the intricate details of our lives, we are forced to focus on the essentials of life. Guidelines about how to safely interact with others and protect ourselves from the virus are governing the daily actions of people worldwide. Businesses, purchases, travel, and most activities have been labeled as essential or non-essential. Halting non-essential engagements has caused businesses to shutter, cities to become vacant, sports to be postponed, and shoppers to cautiously venture into grocery stores and purchase inordinate amounts of toilet paper.

With many of our typical activities labeled non-essential, I wonder if our normal lives have been filled with an abundance of non-essential things/activities. Are birthday parties, hair salons, music concerts, and sports simply fluff that fills the spaces between the essentials of life? Or, is there more to living life than meeting/obtaining the essentials? Though we must fulfill our physiological and safety needs to stay alive (i.e., the essentials), if we neglect or cannot fulfill other human needs (e.g., social, intellectual, emotional, self-fulfillment), are we whole?

Because I am a physical educator, my mind has been drawn to the impact the pesky COVID-19 pandemic is having on physical activity (PA) and sport. During this time of caution, PA is one part of our lives that has been deemed both essential and non-essential. As non-essential, sporting events and seasons, from professional to recreational, have been canceled or postponed throughout the world. NBA, NHL, MLS, and MLB seasons were suspended or delayed. The NCAA basketball tournament was canceled. High school spring sports throughout the nation were canceled. The 2020 Olympic Games are postponed. Thousands of recreational races and youth sports leagues were canceled or are delayed.

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Lessons Learned as a Young Coach

(1 Minute Read)

I knew I always wanted to coach. Just like so many other people, I grew up loving sports from a young age. Being a coach has put me in a position to help athletes grow and develop. I often joke around with my athletes that I am much closer to their age than most coaches at our school.  I know that I do not have a lot of experience and need to keep learning.  All young coaches need to do that.  Right now, I cherish the opportunity to work with experienced coaches every day and learn from them. One day I hope to take that knowledge and guidance and be a standout “experienced” head coach myself. I often reflect on the qualities that I like to think I bring to the table. Doing so has allowed me to come up with a few tips that I believe any young coach can use to better themselves as leaders.

Do Not be Afraid of Change
This might not come as a surprise to anyone reading this, but I think this is easier said than done. It is a bold move to come in as a young coach and try to “shake things up.” I recognize that not all of my thoughts or ideas are correct. However, it does not mean I have nothing to contribute. I do think it is possible for a novice coach to bring new and innovative ideas that might be overlooked.

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Best Practices for Coaches When Providing Feedback

(3 Minute Read)

Youth sport coaches are tasked with the difficult job of taking the abundance of knowledge they have and delivering it to athletes at various developmental stages in a way that makes sense. One way that coaches often deliver information is through offering feedback for both positive and negative behaviors. Feedback is used to increase the athlete’s performance of a movement and can come in many forms. However, not all types of feedback are created equal. While the purpose of feedback is to increase an athlete’s skill level and confidence, feedback given at the wrong time and in the wrong way can do the exact opposite. The remainder of this article will present best practices for giving feedback when teaching new skills.

To begin, it is important to understand that there are two main types of verbal feedback. The first type of verbal feedback is called supportive feedback. Supportive feedback is used to reinforce components of a skill that an athlete performed well. The second type of feedback is named change-oriented feedback. The purpose of this type of feedback is to provide an athlete with information about how to change their behavior to increase their performance. While both types of feedback are essential, they can either increase or decrease confidence and skill-based on the coach’s delivery. Feedback that is specific, directed, goal-oriented, and frequent is generally viewed as most effective.

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More Than a Feeling: A Practical Approach to Confidence

(3 minute Read)

When I study confidence, I always come away with two distinct themes and one troubling thought. First, it is obvious that confidence is important, so important that even when we are tricked into having it, we perform better (Vealey & Chase, 2008). Second, it is almost always described as a feeling (Burton & Raedeke, 2008; Vealey & Chase, 2008; Zinsser, Bunker, & Williams, 2010). The part that always troubled me was why we would leave something so important up to how we feel about it. After all, the only time confidence matters is when it is tested and in most cases, we are going to be tested regardless of how we feel about it.

Photo by: Andrea Piacquadio

Instead, let’s consider a practical approach to ensure that we can accurately predict how well we will do despite how we feel about it. In order to do so, we should consider confidence as the result of an interaction between our preparation and competence (Vealey & Chase, 2008). Doing so makes it easier to understand and apply in any situation. The process of breaking down both preparation and competence into workable parts helps us understand how the two interact and gives us a mental checklist to use at the moment we need it most.

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Strong is Beautiful

(2 Minute Read)

When we think of a high school weight room, we traditionally and stereotypically think of football players utilizing the weight room. In 2016 Hermiston High School (HHS) introduced an all-female athlete lifting class, which started with less than 30 athletes. Fast forward four years, there are now two all-female athlete lifting classes with more than 60 girls.

The belief that lifting and being strong was only for the boys quickly changed when Coach Emilee Strot was promoted to Strength Coach and Head Track Coach at Hermiston High School. Coach Strot has been teaching Health and Physical Education at Hermiston High School for seven years and currently is in her second year as the strength and conditioning coach. Her motto for all athletes (but aimed towards females is) “Strong is Beautiful” (E. Strot, Personal Interview, February 1, 2020).  This motto comes from a change of perspective that lifting weights makes girls bulky; with this change, girls see themselves as athletic, strong, and tough.

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