Center for the Advancement of Responsible Youth Sport

Carys Dr. Cheryl Cooky is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton, teaching undergraduate courses in “Sport, Games and Culture” and the “Sport Sociology”, and graduate courses in the “Advanced Study in Socio-cultural Perspectives of Human Movement” and “Women in Sport”. As a young girl, Dr. Cooky participated in many sports including gymnastics, volleyball, swimming, and softball. Once she hit adolescence she dropped out of sport, an unfortunately common trend among girls. Her experiences in youth sport inspire her current research interests that include the sociological aspects of girls’ sports programs, specifically programs in urban communities that are designed to increase opportunities for low-income/ girls of Color to play sport; the impact of popular culture and the media in shaping social understandings of gender and sport; and the construction of gendered athletic identities among girls who play sport. Dr. Cooky has also served as a volunteer coach for recreational girls’ sport programs. She has seen both the possibilities and limitations of youth sport programs and firmly believes the structure and organization of sports programs is critical in fostering girls’ interest in sport. She received her Ph. D. in sociology from the University of Southern California in 2006, a M.S. in sport studies from Miami University, Ohio in 1998 and her B. S. in kinesiology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1995

Jen Schumacher is a graduate student at California State University, Fullerton working toward a M.S. in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Psychology. Jen received her B.S. in Kinesiology with an emphasis on Sports Studies from California State University, Fullerton in 2008. She was an assistant age group and senior level swim coach for the Irvine Novaquatics for three years and coached summer league prior to that. Jen was a competitive age group and senior swimmer for the Novaquatics and now swims for their Masters program. She also participates in long distance ocean swimming and is training to cross the Catalina Channel in August 2009. Jen is interested in coaching and working with competitive youth swimmers and ultra endurance swimmers.

Dr. Lenny Wiersma is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton, teaching courses in Issues in Youth Sports, Research Methods, and Kinesiology. A former long distance collegiate swimmer, he has coached recreational, high school, and club swimming for athletes aged 4-18, is a former director of a children’s summer sports camp in the Bay Area, and has provided coaching certification for volunteer youth sport coaches in Northern California. Dr. Wiersma received his Bachelors degree in Physical Education from Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington and his Masters and Doctorate degrees in Physical Education (concentration in Sport Psychology) from Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. He serves on the United States Swimming Sports Medicine and Science Network and the Southern California High Performance Network. His research interests include the psycho-social aspects of youth sport programs, youth sport enjoyment and motivation, coaching and parental education, and the risks of high-level involvement in youth sports.

Dr. Clay Sherman is an assistant professor in the Division of Kinesiology and Health Science at California State University Fullerton. He is the program advisor for the single-subject teaching credential program in Kinesiology and teaches coursework in pedagogy and sport psychology. Beginning in 1985, Dr. Sherman has worked with children and youths of varied backgrounds. He was the head coach of an age group swim team for six years, a children’s alpine ski instructor, and served as a caseworker/counselor for youth on probation. Dr. Sherman competed in college as an alpine skier and was a Triathlon-Federation professional member from 1986-1988, racing both nationally and internationally. Currently, he enjoys spending time with his wife Debbie and their sons Jack and Luke, recreational water polo, mountain biking, and x-country skiing. Dr. Sherman received a B.S. in Psychology (1987, CSU Northridge), an M.A. in Physical Education (1994, San Diego State University), and a Ph.D. in Exercise and Sport Science (1998, University of Utah). His doctoral emphases were in sport psychology, counseling, and pedagogy. He has published in physical education, coaching, and sport psychology journals. Dr. Sherman's research interests include the broad areas of curriculum and instruction. More specifically, he is interested in educational approaches to teaching children and youths preventative mental skills through the medium of sport and physical activity. Dr. Sherman is an active member of the American and California Associations of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance