Stretching for Sports

What Is the Stretching for Sports Course

Flexibility is essential for people who want to perform well in sports, maintain the benefits of fitness and reduce their risk of injury. The Stretching For Sports course is designed to help educators and coaches understand why flexibility declines and how to regain and maintain it through safe, effective stretching habits.

In this professional education course on stretching, participants focus on practical methods they can use right away with athletes and students. The course emphasizes proper technique, appropriate progression and a clear routine for major muscle groups, so stretching becomes a consistent part of training rather than an afterthought. 

What Will You Learn?

The Stretching for Sports course covers flexibility concepts and routines that support athletic performance and safer movement. Educators who take the course learn to:

• Identify and integrate standards into many aspects of their teaching and coaching as demonstrated through their coursework.
• Describe their role in shaping their student athletes to become “physically educated students.”
• Understand the benefits of stretching, including the role stretching plays in muscle soreness, injury management and relaxation.
• Understand the physiology of stretching, including how stretching improves flexibility, how the body responds to stretching, and the difference between static, ballistic, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, passive and active stretching.
• Apply the appropriate steps and principles to develop a sport-specific flexibility training program for your student athlete(s).
• Assess the flexibility of the major muscle groups for your student athlete(s).

What Are the Assignments and Projects?

Students can enroll in the Stretching For Sports course at any time and take up to one year from the registration date to complete all assignments. Modules within the course include:

• Analysis and Application Papers
• Stretching Program
• Stretching Journal and Program Reflection
• Lesson Plan
• Coach’s Interview

 Who Should Enroll in the Stretching For Sports Course?

The Stretching For Sports course is designed for 4th through 14th-grade teachers.

What Educators Who Took the Stretching For Sports Course Say

“The course was very informative about the reasons behind stretching and the most effective way to carry it out. I appreciated the prompt feedback from the professor.”

- Educator, Pennsylvania

“This was a great course that I will recommend to my coaching colleagues.”

 - Educator, Hawaii

NOTE: The required book must be acquired separately (“Stretch to Win” by Ann Frederick and Christopher Frederick).

This course is applicable towards the Strength and Conditioning Certificate.