One group of students is taking their classroom to the ball field as they put their studies to the test in real-world sporting events.
Beginning in the fall 2023 semester and continuing into the spring, David Woodason’s sports, recreation and fitness class with the Department of Kinesiology and Exercise Science changed the direction of their learning. They began a partnership with Alabama Christian Academy’s (ACA) athletic director, Aaron Greenwood and since then, students have been hard at work assisting with ACA gameday operation for their athletic events.
“Our students have received practical and relevant experience, that is supervised, leading them into a more successful internship during their senior years,” said Woodason, chair of the department of kinesiology and exercise science. “I believe this partnership has not only strengthened the integrity of this course for our students but has also given them real-world experience and a network of local professionals to sustain during their time at Faulkner.”
For instance, Faulkner students have learned how to organize and perform the chain gang for the ACA football games in the fall. In the spring they have been assisting with game day operations for basketball games and other athletic events. Other responsibilities include preparing facilities for athletic contests such as signage, ticketing, field/court preparation, and Audio/Visual components, setting up and breaking down for all events, acting as liaison to visiting teams and officials and assisting with the responsibilities of game management.
Originally Woodason’s practicum course required students to find their own internships within the field of study in order to complete their hours. However, often times when those were secured, it would cause scheduling conflicts and transportation issues. To solve the dilemma, Woodason created a solution that would be beneficial to both the students and the surrounding community.
“My vision for this course is to be an impactful experience in our community where Faulkner students begin seeing the careers in sport, creating a network of professionals, and increasing their own confidence while being placed in a supervised environment for encouragement, instruction and correction,” Woodason said. “I was speaking with Aaron Greenwood about what I wanted this course to become in the future and what he wanted ACA athletics to be and we started brainstorming ideas and we landed on a partnership with their athletics program.”
This partnership allows Faulkner students to gain relevant field experience while not having to leave the combined campuses. This partnership will continue to assist ACA throughout the year and multiple sports through a variety of responsibilities. It will also prepare Faulkner students for careers in such areas as event management, operations, facility management, athletic administration, coaching, officiating, and customer service.
“I want our Department of Kinesiology and Exercise Science to be a well-known program for the benefit of the students who graduate from our area,” Woodason explained. “I wanted our Senior-Level Internship course to increase in credibility and equip each student with the necessary hard and soft skills needed in the professionalism side of the internships alongside their classroom instruction they have received through their time. We have had multiple students complete their internships with Aaron Greenwood as assistant coaches in his program and we have seen great results from these experiences.”
“I believe that partnering with Alabama Christian Academy will allow my students to see first-hand what President Henry and the employees at Faulkner have been speaking about for two years – Vocational Ministry,” he added. “Not only will they receive great instruction through Mr. Greenwood and his team at ACA within the athletics program, but they will see how it can be executed by glorifying God in the process.”
