THEORY INTO PRACTICE
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Column Editor: Anthony Parish
RATIONALE
FOR AND
PRACTICAL WAYS
to Model Health and Fitness
By
Timothy
Baghurst
46
Strategies
W
as Physical Educators and Coaches
e tend to make daily judgments based on what
is seen and heard. Physical educators and coaches are not given
a free pass when it comes to being judged. Although we, as
physical educators and coaches, may be primarily assessed on how effective
or successful our students or athletes are, we can also be evaluated through
other measures such as our own health and fitness. Therefore, not only should
a physical educator or coach have the skills necessary to improve a student
or athlete’s skills, but they must also be able to model other important characteristics that might affect student and athlete outcomes (Baghurst, 2012a).
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Time and again, horror-story stereotypes are portrayed to
support how poorly some physical educators and coaches are
perceived. Online searches (Urban Dictionary, 2014) provide
statements such as “PE teacher, if a female, a generally fat old
lady who looks like she has never done any exercise. If a male,
a gaunt looking man who is a failed sportsman due to either
laziness, underachievement or injury,” and “There is not a PE
teacher on the planet who has been seen actually exercising, but
it is their job for some reason, and they absolutely hate it.” The
purpose of this column is not to harangue those who may not
be particularly fit. Rather, the aim is to explain the importance
of being fit and to provide practical ways for any physical educator or coach, irrespective of fitness level, to improve how they
are perceived.
When considering the characteristics or attributes of a quality sports educator (used here to combine the concept of both
coaches and physical educators), words such as organized, encouraging, honest, fun and challenging might all come to mind
in addition to many other words. Nichols, Zillifro, Nichols,
and Hull (2012) provided an excellent overview of many of the
qualities coaches should exhibit to be a good role model for
their athletes or students. However, a problem arises when an
individual who is expected to exhibit a certain characteristic
does not. For example, imagine a financial analyst who is broke,
a dentist with unhealthy teeth, or a doctor who smokes. The
same arguments could be used in the sports disciplines, where
some modicum of health and fitness is expected (Baghurst
& Bryant, 2012) and fit physiques are interpreted as healthy
(Garrett & Wrench, 2008). As such, role modeling goes beyond
social and psychological attributes and can include physical attributes too! But why is this important?
Importance of Role Modeling Health and
Fitness
This topic is not easy or comfortable to discuss, especially
if health and fitness are aspects in need of improvement. It is
doubtful that anyone likes to look in the mirror and admit that
they are not living up to their profession. However, the importance of health and fitness role modeling by sports educators
needs to be addressed for a few reasons.
First, health and fitness role modeling is an expected standard of a coach or physical educator. Consider the SHAPE
America – Society of Health and Physical Educators Coach’s
Code of Conduct, which clearly stipulates that coaches must
“[a]ccept the reality that they serve as role models; as such, their
actions must live up to their words” (National Association for
Sport and Physical Education [NASPE], 2009a, p. 2). Further, SHAPE America has noted that “Participating in regular
physical activity at a level sufficient to promote health-related
physical fitness is an important behavior for professionals in all
fields of physical activity at all levels” (NASPE, 2009b, p. 1). In
other words, everyone associated with sports and physical activity has a professional expectation to practice what they preach.
Second, the fitness of the sport educator has been found
to influence learning and athletic performance. Melville and
When considering
the characteristics
or attributes of
a quality sports
educator … words
such as organized,
encouraging,
honest, fun and
challenging might
all come to mind.
Maddalozzo (1988) conducted a study in which high school
students were taught content by a physical educator with and
without a fat suit. They found that an educator’s body fatness
could not only affect students’ ability to retain information (i.e.,
they scored lower on knowledge tests), but it also affected their
intentions to exercise. Further, the overweight teacher was less
liked, was considered less of an expert, and was considered less
of a role model in general. Others have also found that students
will score higher on health-related fitness tests if they consider
their physical education teachers to be fit (Dean, Adams, &
Comeau, 2005). From a practical perspective, if a sports educator wants the best outcome or performance from their students
or athletes, how they are perceived makes a difference!
Third, the fitness of the sport educator can influence job
prospects (Baghurst & Bryant, 2012). Employees are less likely
to be hired in the sport and exercise professions if they are considered overweight or unfit (Cardinal & Cardinal, 2001; Staffo
& Stier, 2000). Recent changes in job descriptions, for example,
have included expectations that the applicant model the proponents of Healthy People 2020 or even request that the applicant
address how they model the tenants of the job within their own
life (Baghurst & Bryant, 2012).
Simple Ways to Model Health and Fitness
Even if a sports educator is not fit or as fit as he or she could
be, small but effective steps can be taken to model health and
fitness. Students and athletes want to see that the educator is
willing to at least make the effort. Therefore, if a sports educator
asks students/athletes to complete a physically challenging task,
he or she should be willing to make the same attempt, even
if it cannot be completed or performed equally well. Students
want to know that the willingness to participate alongside them
in an activity exists, even if injuries or other situations inhibit
the ideal performance. For example, Baghurst (2012b) highVolume 28 • May/June 47
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The key here is
to put forth some
effort with the
understanding that
life situations may
inhibit an ideal
level of health
and fitness.
lighted how participation in a mud run with students improved
teacher–student rapport.
Sharing health and fitness challenges and successes should
also be considered. Students and athletes want to see commitment and effort over “stories of greatness.” If such stories are
accurate, then consider including evidence of such accomplishments such as trophies, medals, pictures, and other paraphernalia. A failure to back up such claims is likely to lead to skepticism and lack of credibility. Although we, as sports educators,
may have once been “supreme athletes,” students/athletes are
more connected with, and responsive to, the efforts that we
make now!
Lastly, keep learning! Holden and colleagues (in press) recently found that coaches were no more knowledgeable than
high school students with respect to nutrition. Such occurrences decrease the coach’s credibility and are likely to yield
poorer classroom and competitive outcomes.
Baghurst, T., & Bryant, L. (2012). Do as I say not as I do: Improving
the image of our profession. Strategies, 25(4), 11–13.
Cardinal, B. J., & Cardinal, M. (2001). Role modeling in HPERD: Do
attitudes match behavior? Journal of Physical Education, Recreation
& Dance, 72(4), 34–39.
Dean, M. B., Adams, T. M., & Comeau, M. J. (2005). The effect of a
female physical educator’s physical appearance on physical fitness
knowledge and attitudes of junior high students. Physical Educator,
62, 14–25.
Garrett, R., & Wrench, A. (2008). Fitness testing: The pleasure and
pain of it. ACHPER Healthy Lifestyles Journal, 55, 17-22.
Holden, S. L., Phelps, B. E., Baghurst, T. M., Keshock, C. M., Pugh,
S. F., & Heitman, R. J. (in press). Nutritional knowledge: Are undergraduates smarter than high school coaches? Journal of Contemporary Athletics.
Melville, D. S., & Maddalozzo, J. G. (1988). The effects of a physical
educator’s appearance on body fatness on communicating exercise
concepts to high school students. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 7, 343–352.
National Association for Sport and Physical Education. (2009a). A
coach’s code of conduct. Retrieved from http://www.shapeamerica.org/
advocacy/positionstatements/sports/loader.cfm?csModule=security/
getfile&pageid=4628
National Association for Sport and Physical Education. (2009b). A
philosophical position on physical activity and fitness for physical activity
professionals (Position statement). Reston, VA: Author.
Nichols, R., Zillifro, T. D., Nichols, R., & Hull, E. E. (2012). Coaches
as fitness role models. Strategies, 25(4), 8–10.
Staffo, D. F., & Stier, W. F., Jr. (2000). The use of fitness tests in PETE
programs. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 71(5),
48–52.
Urban Dictionary. (2014). PE teacher. Retrieved from http://www.
S
urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=PE+teacher
Timothy Baghurst ([email protected]) is an assistant professor in
the Department of Health and Human Performance at Oklahoma State
University in Stillwater, OK.
Conclusion
In sum, there are several reasons why sports educators need
to make efforts to model a healthy lifestyle. The key here is to
put forth some effort with the understanding that life situations
may inhibit an ideal level of health and fitness. The reasoning
for this is clear: Students and athletes respond better to those
making such efforts, both academically and athletically. Such
efforts will result in a win-win situation — the educator improves his or her health and the students and athletes improve
their performance, whether in the classroom or on the field.
References
Baghurst, T. (2012a). Coaches as role models of fitness: A response to
‘Coaches as fitness role models’ by Randall Nichols, Traci Zillifro,
Ronald Nichols, and Ethan Hull. Strategies, 25(8), 36.
Baghurst, T. (2012b, April). Professional dispositions and the importance
of living health as health professionals. Paper presented at the Arkansas Society for Public Health Education Conference, Conway.
48
Strategies
Submissions Welcome!
Readers are encouraged to send “Theory into Practice” submissions to column editor Anthony Parish
at [email protected].
The purpose of the Strategies column “Theory into
Practice” is to distill high quality research into understandable and succinct information and to identify key resources to help teachers and coaches
improve professional practice and provide high
quality programs. Each column (1,000–1,300 words
or roughly four typed, double-spaced pages) summarizes research findings about a timely topic of
interest to the readership to enable practitioners to
apply research, knowledge, and evidence-based
practice in physical education and sports.