Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A member of Mississippi State's kinesiology department faculty travels to China next month for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Brad Vickers, an associate professor at the university, won't be competing in any athletic event. Instead, he will be studying the self-presentation strategies of those who coach some of the today's best athletes.
Vickers' research goal: To learn what makes them the top coaches in their field.
"We know people act differently in different situations," he said. "We want to see how these coaches, who are among the best in the world, present themselves to the athletes, officials and other coaches to make themselves credible."
Vickers will be collaborating with professor Guido Geisler of Tsukuba University in Tokyo, Japan, to focus specifically on Jack Bauerle and Eddie Reese of the U.S. men's and women's swimming teams, respectively.
"We felt the swimming was ideal for our research because it is an Olympic sport the United States has dominated for more than 50 years," Vickers explained.
By examining the self-presentation strategies of these and other top coaches, educators in kinesiology, physical education and related disciplines could better prepare prospective coaches to develop the attributes of those who have excelled, he added.
Vickers is a University of Georgia doctoral graduate in physical education and sports studies, with an emphasis in coaching education. He came to MSU last year.
Earlier, he has studied the self-presentation strategies of 11 of the 12 Southeastern Conference football coaches, as well as their counterparts in numerous other athletic specialties.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For additional information, contact Dr. Vickers at 662-325-6799 or bv44@msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.