Minor in Sport Coaching Leadership

About the Minor

The Sport Coaching Leadership minor equips students with foundational knowledge and applied competencies necessary for effective coaching across youth, scholastic, collegiate, and community sport settings. Students explore key concepts including coaching philosophy and ethics, sport psychology, strength and conditioning principles, kinesiology, injury prevention and care, athlete leadership development, and sport-based youth development. Through coursework and practical application, students develop competencies in practice planning, performance goal setting, sport-specific program design, athlete motivation, leadership cultivation, injury response, and program assessment. Emphasis is placed on evidence-based training principles, safe sport practices, and social-emotional growth of athletes. The program fosters professional dispositions such as ethical decision-making, cultural awareness, global perspective, resilience, and a commitment to positive youth development. Students learn to lead with integrity, communicate effectively, and create inclusive, developmentally appropriate sport environments.

Learning in the SCL minor is highly applied and experiential. Students engage in hands-on coursework in sports conditioning and kinesiology labs, develop sport-specific training programs, and complete certification requirements in Sport First Aid through the American Sport Education Program (ASEP). A signature component of the program is the Coaching Practicum, where students apply coaching theory in supervised real-world settings alongside coaching or administrative staff. Additionally, all SCL students participate in the Global Coaching Seminar, an immersive international study experience exposing them to diverse coaching methodologies and global sport development models. These experiences distinguish the program through direct athlete engagement, applied leadership development, and global learning.

Graduates are prepared for roles in youth sport coaching, scholastic athletics, sport-based youth development organizations, community recreation, and athletic program administration. The minor complements majors in education, health sciences, psychology, business, and related fields, strengthening pathways into graduate study in sport management, athletic administration, kinesiology, coaching education, or sport psychology. Students earn Sport First Aid certification and gain practical experience valued by employers and governing sport bodies.

Drexel’s experiential learning model enhances the SCL minor through applied coursework, global engagement, and integration with Drexel’s cooperative education philosophy. The practicum and international seminar reflect Drexel’s commitment to career-connected, real-world learning. Compared to similar programs, the SCL minor uniquely combines leadership development, global coaching exposure, certification opportunities, and hands-on field experience—preparing students to lead confidently in dynamic sport environments.

Admissions Requirements

Students wishing to pursue the Sport Coaching Leadership minor must be a Drexel University undergraduate student in good standing, and consult with their academic advisor to devise a plan of study to complete the minor coursework before completing a Change of Curriculum and Status Form.

Students are required to declare a major before declaring a minor. Students admitted directly into a specific major at the time of matriculation may declare a minor beginning in their second semester. All requirements for the minor must be completed either concurrently with or prior to the completion of the primary major requirements. This ensures that students fulfill the expectations of their primary field of study while completing any additional areas of academic specialization.

Minor Requirements

Additional Information

For more information about this program, please contact the School of Education