From Professional Coaching to Academic Foundations: Rebuilding First-Year EXSC Curriculum Around Core Academic Skills

Abstract

Transitioning from a career in professional sport to academic teaching highlighted a critical gap: while students enter university with enthusiasm for exercise and sports science, many lack the foundational academic skills required to succeed in a higher education environment. This presentation shares our approach to redesigning the first-year EXSC curriculum to explicitly teach and embed core academic competencies—reading academic literature, researching effectively, writing with structure and clarity, referencing accurately, and presenting with confidence.

Rather than assuming students possess these skills on entry, we built dedicated modules and scaffolded activities that align with assessment tasks and weekly content. Practical strategies such as short-form academic writing tasks, referencing checklists, scaffolded research discussions, and low-stakes presentation practice were introduced to bridge the gap between enthusiasm and academic readiness.

The presentation will reflect on the challenges of re-orienting curriculum from the perspective of a professional coach turned educator and share evidence of increased student confidence, assignment performance, and engagement. Attendees will gain insight into how explicitly teaching academic fundamentals can support first-year student retention and success—without compromising the applied focus of an EXSC degree.