Senior Capstone Project

During SPHE 490 you will be working on your Senior Capstone Project. The senior project is designed to place students in the role of the decision maker. Each individual project is based on realistic scenarios and situations in sports management and business that involve a particular company, event, or cause. The objective of each Capstone Project is to require students to research information relevant and current in today’s industry, make decisions that impact sport organizations, and apply theory to practice.
The report should demonstrate an inclusive understanding of program level objectives, key sport management, or sports and health science concepts, critical thinking, constructive analysis, ability to make executive level decisions, and overall ability to write efficiently.
Your Senior Capstone Project MUST be written in APA style. Remember, your Capstone Project should be submitted using formats best suited to display your work. You have a great deal of latitude with how your Capstone Project is presented and what appears inside. Ensure it is professional.
Capstone Project Objectives
1.)Require students to research information current to today’s industry.
2.)Make strategic decisions that impact sport organizations.
3.)Apply theory to practice.
4.)Enable students to execute creative solutions.
5.)Demonstrate critical thinking.
6.)Build/develop constructive analysis.
7.)Demonstrate an ability to make executive level decisions.
8.)Demonstrate ability to write efficiently.
9.)Provide examples of leadership.
10.)Establish methods of management that promote teamwork.

Capstone Project Choice
Each student will select a Capstone Project related to their specific concentration within the Sports and Health Sciences degree program. Your concentration is Exercise Science and your project choice is below.

Exercise Science #1
You are the head strength coach for a small NCAA Division II College. Use the web to view your school choices – choose an actual school. You are responsible for designing a year round weight room schedule for all sports at your college. Present this schedule along with weight room guidelines and staff schedule for Athletic Director approval. Also, develop strength training programs for 2 major men’s sports and 2 major female sports. You may only choose one gender for a particular sport for example, men’s or women’s basketball, men’s or women’s soccer, men’s or women’s volleyball, etc. Baseball and softball are considered similar in training and both cannot be used. The strength-training program must provide clear team and individual position objectives. It must include a summer program and an in season program. No additional offseason program is necessary. Remember to consider the athletes who do not have access to weight room equipment during the summer or are injured and insure modifications are present. Strength training programs must abide by the current ACSM guidelines. Each program must be able to be presented and accessible to players and coaches in a yearly spring meeting after all post conference play is complete.

Your completed Capstone Project will be a minimum of 20 pages long (excluding the title page and reference page) with a total of 15 -25 references.

Capstone Project: Preliminary Outline

For your first Capstone Project assignment you are to review the appropriate case study for your concentration and begin collecting data on a specific topic for the case study. A preliminary outline of your Capstone Project topic is due by the end of week 2. Reminder: If your concentration is “General”, then you are allowed to select the Capstone Project that applies best to your career focus.
For this assignment, it is absolutely essential that you read, study, and become familiar with the rubric for the Capstone Project BEFORE you begin your outline. Give yourself enough time to write the case study analysis. It is important that you read and reflect on the content and do not rush through it. Be analytical, not descriptive when writing your case study. You may need to compare and contrast issues, identify the pros and cons of viewpoints and situations, and provide honest, straightforward solutions.
Additional hints for successful organization of your Capstone Project…
•Identify the problem (capstone scenario)
•Review and prioritize the information
•Select specific information from the scenario and categorize it according to people, place, or program
•Proofread your work
Submit your formal Capstone Project Topic along with a preliminary outline of your presentation.
This should include:
I.Title Page
II.Table of Contents (place holder at this time)
III.Basic structure content outline
IV.Reference Page:
*Sources must be submitted in proper APA formatted style. (A variety of sources are required and 5-10 sources max at this time)
*Reference section should consist of brief 2-5-sentence description of source and why it is necessary to your case study.

NOTE: Your Capstone Project is a work in progress. Your sources will change and evolve throughout the process of completion. This is not a “set in stone” outline. It can change. Instructor feed back will focus on the necessity of your outline topics, quality of topic, as well as the sources you have chosen. Each week you will have the opportunity to discuss your progress with your classmates.