Achieving excellence in coaching by learning from the best

{Sponsored} Lawrence Judge, Ph.D., epitomizes coaching excellence. His experience includes coaching NCAA champions, Olympians, Paralympians and over 100 All-Americans for over 30 years. At the November 2019 World Championships in Dubai, his athletes won two gold medals. Jeremy Campbell won his fourth world title in the F64 discus throw, and Josh Cinnamo won gold in the F46 shot put, setting a new world record.

His work as a coach is reflected via awards and recognitions, including being awarded the 2003 National Collegiate Division I Track Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year and Ball State University Outstanding Faculty Award in 2017.

Now Judge can be found teaching coaches how to reach the next level working with athletes of all levels in the online Master’s in Athletic Coaching Education program at Ball State University. His experience lends well to this endeavor.
“You can only teach this type of experience to students by being there,” Judge said. “I think students want relevant practitioners as instructors who have been in the trenches — actively coaching elite athletes, working at Olympic and Paralympic training camps, coaching internationally.”

Judge brings the same intensity to teaching as he does to elite coaching. His experience, combined with years of academic research, means he understands the fundamentals of coaching, as well as how to take athletes to the next level.
He teaches coaches by working to “foster innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset among them as professionals.” And working with creative and energetic future coaches motivates him to be his best.

Part of what takes a good coach to become an excellent coach, says Judge, is relying on those around him or her to be their personal best. This means taking full advantage of what medical, psychological and physiological staff bring to the table.

This reliance on other strong professionals is an element of the coaching instruction in the Master’s in Athletic Coaching Education program at Ball State. Additionally, the curriculum includes observations about mechanics that are a coach’s first line of defense. “We teach … how to use your athletic trainers, chiropractors, therapists. The coach is the one who has to have eyes and ears to the ground to make sure the right people are getting involved at the right time,” Judge said.

Judge is just one of the instructors in the Master’s in Athletic Coaching Education program at Ball State. All of the faculty bring real-world experience to the classroom to create a dynamic and effective path through the program, leading to success for each coach who completes it.

About Ball State University’s Online Master’s in Athletic Coaching Education

Much more than a weekend workshop of basic courses, this master of arts in athletic coaching education is designed to functionally improve a coach’s techniques in several areas.

The faculty have performed on the highest stages of coaching; they’ve worked with Olympians and NCAA champions. The program is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, so coaches can count on the program to offer the most rigorous academics and professionalism possible.

To learn more about the program, visit bsu.edu/Online/Coaching/CAD.

© 2020 Ball State University Online