Athletic Coaching
A 20-credit minor that pairs sports medicine and sport psychology with four hands-on coaching internships across your four years at ACU.
About the Minor
ACU’s Athletic Coaching Minor is built for student-athletes who want to keep coaching after their playing days end, future teacher-coaches preparing for high school sidelines, and any student serious about leading athletes well. The 20-credit minor combines the science of human performance with the practical work of coaching, and it asks you to do the work in real coaching settings — not just read about it.
You’ll build a foundation in sports medicine and human anatomy (BIO 200 and BIO 220), study adolescent development (CHD 314), work through coaching fundamentals (PHE 301), and add sport psychology (PSY 310) so you understand what’s happening in athletes’ heads as well as their bodies. The minor’s defining feature is the internship sequence: four PHE student coaching placements (197, 297, 397, 497), one each year, putting you alongside ACU coaching staff and accumulating real hours before you graduate.
The minor pairs naturally with Secondary Education, Exercise Physiology, Sport Management, Psychology, or any major where coaching is part of your post-graduation plan.
What You'll Learn
Apply Coaching Fundamentals
Work through the principles of practice planning, team management, technique instruction, and game-day decision-making.
Understand the Body in Motion
Build a working grasp of anatomy and physiology relevant to athletic performance, training, and injury prevention.
Recognize Common Athletic Injuries
Develop the sports medicine literacy needed to coach safely and respond well when something goes wrong.
Coach Adolescents Wisely
Study adolescent development so you can lead high school and middle school athletes who are still becoming who they'll be.
Apply Sport Psychology
Use the principles of motivation, focus, performance under pressure, and team dynamics that distinguish good coaches from great ones.
Build Real Internship Hours
Log four semesters of supervised coaching experience — roughly 250 hours across the sequence — so you graduate ready to lead.
Coaching Shaped by a Biblical Worldview
A Biblical Worldview takes athletics seriously — not as a place where character formation happens accidentally, but as a place where coaches actively shape the people in their care.
The Coach as Mentor
Athletes spend hours every week with their coaches, often more than with any teacher or pastor. That access is a responsibility, not just an opportunity to win. ACU's coaching minor treats coaching as mentoring — a sustained relationship that shapes character, work ethic, and how athletes handle both success and loss.
Equips you to coach with the conviction that the people matter more than the scoreboard.Body, Mind, and Identity
Sport is one of the few places where body, mind, and identity all come together at once. A Biblical Worldview takes that seriously — athletes are image-bearers of God in their physical, mental, and spiritual selves. Good coaching reflects that whole-person view rather than treating bodies as performance machines.
Grounds your approach to training, recovery, and the conversations athletes most need to have.Servant Leadership in Athletics
The model of leadership Scripture holds out is service — putting other people's interests above your own. In coaching, that posture shapes how you talk to athletes after a tough loss, how you handle starters and bench players, and how you build a program over years rather than seasons.
Prepares you to build the kind of athletic culture that lasts beyond your tenure.Where the Minor Takes You
Athletic Coaching opens doors in K–12 schools, club programs, college athletics, and any setting where coaching is part of the job.
High School Athletic Coach
Lead a varsity or JV team while teaching in your content area — the standard teacher-coach pathway.
Christian School Coach
Coach at ACSI-affiliated and other Christian schools, where ACU graduates have a strong pipeline.
College Assistant Coach
Step into Division II/III, NAIA, or NCAA III assistant coaching positions where ACU internship hours actually count.
Club and Youth Sports Director
Lead club programs, summer camps, and youth sports organizations with formal coaching credentials.
Strength and Conditioning Coach
Pair the minor with Exercise Physiology coursework to step into strength and conditioning roles.
Athletic Director or Program Builder
Use the minor as the start of a path into athletic administration — many ADs began as coaches who understood the work.
Why Students Choose This Minor
The Athletic Coaching Minor at ACU is set apart by the depth of internship work and the inclusion of sport psychology — both rare at the undergraduate level.
Four Years of Internship Hours
Coach every year, not just in a senior capstone. By graduation you've worked alongside ACU staff for roughly 250 hours.
Real Sports Medicine, Not Just Coaching Theory
Anatomy and physiology plus a full sports medicine lab course — the foundation good coaches actually need.
Sport Psychology Inside the Minor
PSY 310 isn't an add-on — it's required. Most coaching minors leave the mental side of sport entirely on the table.
Pairs With Education Degrees
ACU's teacher-coach combination is one of the most common pathways out of this minor — and the BS Secondary Education program is set up to accommodate it.
CPR Certification Built In
The internship sequence requires CPR certification, so you graduate with a credential coaching jobs assume.
Getting Started
Adding the Athletic Coaching Minor to your degree plan is straightforward — but the internship sequence rewards starting early.
Talk With Your Academic Advisor
Map the 20 credits into your degree plan and decide which years to slot the PHE 197/297/397/497 internships into your schedule.
Get CPR Certified
CPR Certification is a prerequisite for the PHE internships — get it before your first sophomore-level placement.
Take PSY 202 Early
PSY 202 General Psychology is the prerequisite for PSY 310 Sport Psychology. Schedule it in your freshman or sophomore year.
View PSY 202 →Stack the Internships Through Four Years
PHE 197 freshman year, 297 sophomore, 397 junior, 497 senior — coaching every year gives you real progression, not just hours.
Explore More Options
Ready to Start Coaching?
The Athletic Coaching Minor gives you the sports medicine, sport psychology, and real coaching hours that distinguish prepared coaches from new ones. Apply or reach out today.
