Teaching Outdoor Team Sports

Physical fitness, being outside, and developing a well-rounded education supports cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. Physical fitness through team sports helps create lifelong well-being and good health habits. 

In Teaching Outdoor Team Sports, educators learn the techniques and structure required for building quality outdoor team sports activities. Coursework includes sports history, rules, practice routines, strategies, sport-specific physical conditioning exercises, and selecting proper attire and equipment. 

The methods and techniques learned in the course may be applied to meet SHAPE requirements for endorsement and recertification for physical education (Please check with your state). 

What is the Teaching Outdoor Team Sports Course?

Introducing outdoor team sports early in a child’s education provides numerous benefits that will serve them well throughout life. Research shows that participating in organized outdoor team sports improves discipline, social skills, executive function, physical fitness and sleep. With children spending more time indoors engaging with screens, outdoor team sports help them get much-needed sunshine and gain an appreciation for the natural world. 

What Will You Learn?

In the Teaching Outdoor Team Sports course, students develop their knowledge and skills for teaching various outdoor sports. Learning outcomes include identifying and integrating national standards into different aspects of their lesson plans and a thorough understanding of the rules and strategies for playing selected outdoor team sports. 

Students learn to analyze and compare the fitness benefits attained from participating in selected outdoor team sports and develop cooperative learning methods for student-presented materials on games and co-curricular materials. 

Students select an outdoor team sport to complete their assignments: soccer, flag football, softball or another outdoor team sport as approved by the instructor.

The Teaching Outdoor Team Sports course covers SHAPE standards 1 through 5.

What Are the Assignment and Projects?

The course is organized into five learning modules in addition to welcome and course wrap-up modules. Learning assignments and projects include:

• Sport Knowledge
• Observation, Drills, and Practice
• Planning and Teaching
• Ancillaries 
• Personal Sport Participation

Who Should Enroll in the Teaching Outdoor Team Sports Course?

The Teaching Outdoor Team Sports course is for educators interested in improving their physical education knowledge and skills to build outdoor team sports programs and enhance their students’ health, self-confidence and well-being.

What Educators Who Took the Teaching Outdoor Team Sports Course Are Saying

“This was an awesome experience for my first time doing PD courses”

– Educator, Illinois

“This course was very well organized. I enjoyed learning about the history of team sports and how I can apply it in my own experience. I was able to apply it in my own classroom and on my school campus.”    

– Educator, California

NOTE: Required books must be acquired separately.

This course is applicable towards the Physical Education Teaching Certificate.