New Director Named for Statewide Coaching Education Center
Contact: Kay Hyatt at (207) 581-2761
ORONO– A Pittsfield native has been named director of the statewide coaching education center headquartered at the University of Maine and will lead implementation of the new online coaching eligibility course being piloted this fall.
Karen Brown, a 2002 graduate of UMaine, earned her master’s degree in Recreation Parks and Sports Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University and worked as promotions coordinator for the University of Richmond’s Division I sports before returning to her home state to spearhead the activities of the Maine Center for Sport and Coaching (MCSC).
A priority for Brown will be overseeing the MCSC’s new online coaching eligibility course, which introduces aspiring coaches to information supporting positive and healthy athletic competition. The curriculum, researched and written over the past year, incorporates varied dimensions of coaching such as developmentally appropriate practices for students of different ages, organizational and planning skills, effective communications with players, parents and the community, and the role of coaches in contributing to the mission of the school and to the state academic standards — the Maine Learning Results.
Endorsed by the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA), which oversees secondary interscholastic sports and coaching eligibility in Maine, the UMaine College of Education and Human Development and the MCSC, the course is currently being piloted by seven high schools from Portland to Caribou. It will be available statewide in January.
“The Maine Principals’ Association looks forward to our relationship with the Maine Center for Sport and Coaching and its new director, Karen Brown,” says MPA Executive Director Richard Durost. “The online eligibility course is expected to provide an effective, cost-efficient option in helping Maine high school coaches meet the MPA coaches’ eligibility requirements, thereby serving the high school student athletes of Maine.”
Since its establishment in 1992, the coaching center has provided on-site and ITV training at the basic and instructor levels that has enabled more than 7,000 Maine coaches to meet coaching eligibility standards. With the online course, the MCSC can offer a much broader resource and support system for coaches, according to Brown.
“The most effective coaches understand the academic and personal demands on students and when athletic expectations become unrealistic,” she says. “We want the center to serve as a network with the shared philosophy of ‘kids first.’ Certainly, winning is important, but when it becomes a pressure and the main focus, then it becomes a problem.”
Brown, who played three sports in high school and college basketball, is looking forward to building the MCSC into a full professional development resource for aspiring and practicing coaches with positive results for Maine student-athletes.
“Karen has displayed a passion for sport and a desire to work closely with coaches, administrators, parents, student-athletes and others in the community to improve the overall educational experience for Maine’s youth,” says Robert Cobb, dean of the UMaine College of Education and Human Development and chair of the MCSC Advisory Council. “Her talent, energy, personality and character make her a wonderful fit for this leadership position.”
Brown, hired following a national search, earned her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Physical Education from UMaine, where she received the Wesley D. Jordan Athletic Service Award, presented annually to the senior who has demonstrated outstanding dedication, loyalty and perseverance in the name of Maine athletics.
More information about the MCSC and the online coaching eligibility course are available from Brown at (207) 581-2443; karen.brown@umit.maine.edu. The MCSC website can be reached at www.mcce.umaine.edu.