Southern Miss Assistant Professor Guest Editor for Strength and Conditioning Journal

Dr. Brian Gearity, assistant professor of sport coaching education at The University of Southern Mississippi's School of Human Performance and Recreation, served as guest editor for the just released edition of the Strength and Conditioning Journal.

The February edition is the first edition entirely dedicated to the topic of coaching education in the strength and conditioning profession. Topics usually include scientific research papers on biomechanics, injury prevention and physiology.

Gearity opens the special issue with an editorial on coaching education and its growing importance as an area of study.

“There is a need to understand the practice of coaching from an educational lens. There has been an explosion of psychological and sociological theories of learning that I wanted reflected in this journal,” said Gearity.

For two years, Gearity worked selecting and editing papers, facilitating peer reviews, and working with authors. The special issue contains papers from a diverse group of authors, discussing different aspects of coaching, strengthening and conditioning. Gearity and Dr. Melissa Thompson, also of the School of Human Performance and Recreation, contributed to two of the 10 papers.

Gearity' s special issue focuses on bridging the gap between research and practice.

“It is not just a one-way street,” Gearity says. “We need to understand the practice better to understand the value of research.”

Gearity says there needs to be a closer look at effective strategies to improve learning in the university setting. As the field gains popularity, he hopes there will be an increased awareness of all the different aspects that go into effective and ethically responsible coaching.

“My hope is that this journal will help take our field forward. That it will help jump start formal discussions and structured research,” Gearity said. “Ultimately it is about improving coaches and athletes' quality of lives and performance.”