Jomills Braddock studies the impact of sports beyond the field

Above par: Golf coach Lela Cannon pushes her players to excel in life

Jomills Braddock studies the impact of sports beyond the field

ith the aid of high-speed cameras and sophisticated computer simulations, researchers in the field of sports biomechanics have analyzed Tiger Woods’ golf swing from every conceivable angle. They have attached electrodes to his arms, torso, and legs, all in an attempt to learn why he generates so much power. Jomills Braddock, however, has never needed a computer to study an athlete’s prowess. He’s always known that there is no magic involved in swinging a golf club—or in hurling a baseball, rifling a football, or shooting a jump shot, for that matter. Braddock, a professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, studies sport from a different perspective: its impact on people and society. “There has always been a tremendous amount of research conducted by sports psychologists and medical types on improving physical performance, but never that much on sports’ impact beyond the playing field,” says Braddock, cofounder and director of the Center for Research on Sport in Society (CRSS), a broad-based arts-and-sciences initiative that studies sport as it relates to culture and life course/human development. “Sport is a social institution like any other,” he says. “It impacts individuals who are directly involved as participants, and those impacts can be short-term or enduring, affecting people throughout their entire lives.” Using scientific methods and data analyses, Braddock and his team of researchers are studying how participation in school sports can improve the academic performance and social development of elementary to high-school aged students. Their research has turned up some intriguing results. “We’re finding that when you compare athletes and nonathletes from similar social classes and academic backgrounds, student-athletes, on average, fare better on a broad range of academic, social, and psychological outcomes,” says Braddock. “They’re less likely to be involved in delinquency or other school-related behavior problems. They’re less likely to abuse drugs, and they’re more likely to take college prep classes and to apply and get accepted to college.” Now, Braddock and his team are conducting research to explain why the link between sport participation and academic success exists. “We know that there’s nothing magical about catching, throwing, or bouncing a ball that would lead to academic success,” says Braddock. One possible answer: Taking part in sports can enhance certain qualities, such as self-esteem, which in turn have already been proven to have an effect on academic success. CRSS researchers also are examining how children can learn certain educational concepts through the context of sports, such as teaching percentages by having youngsters calculate the batting averages of their favorite baseball players. TEAMS (Teaching Excellence, Achievement, and Motivation through Sport), is the center’s after-school program for K-5 students. Created through a grant from the South Florida Annenberg Challenge/United Way Partnership to Improve School Achievement, the program has been implemented at four Miami-Dade County public elementary schools where children are considered at-risk. Sport is nothing new to Braddock. His father, who was a four-sport athlete at Florida A&M University, was a big inspiration throughout Braddock’s life. “He always emphasized the link between sports and academics,” Braddock recalls of his father. Braddock himself was a student-athlete, participating in varsity football, basketball, and track and field while growing up in Ocala, Florida. But while spinal-cord surgery ended his dreams of becoming a collegiate athlete, it didn’t kill his thirst for knowledge. He earned his doctoral degree when he was still in his 20s. He says it is important that researchers build on evidence that proves a link between sports and academic success because athletic programs could be in danger of being phased out at high schools across the nation. “We’re already seeing how physical education has been reduced, and in some cases eliminated, in school curriculums,” says Braddock. “Without adequate evidence about the role of sport in a school context, it, like other extracurricular school activities, may be at risk of being pushed aside. And that would be a great loss.” Top of page

Above par: Golf coach Lela Cannon pushes her players to excel in life

or Lela Cannon, the journey to becoming a hall-of-fame golf coach started on a tennis court. “I grew up in Connecticut and was a tennis player for a long, long time,” says Cannon. “Then one day, a good friend of mine invited me to play golf. I said, ‘You want me to chase this stupid, white ball into a little hole?’” Cannon decided not to go, but her persistent friend eventually persuaded her to lay down her tennis racquet for a day and take a swing at golf. And when she did, “I got hooked,” says Cannon. “I’ve always been a good athlete, so I picked up the game pretty well.” Well enough, in fact, that she played competitively in Connecticut for years. Today, Cannon is in her 19th season as head coach of the Hurricane women’s golf team, and in many respects, her coaching career has mirrored the instant success she enjoyed as a player. Cannon has led the Hurricanes to 15 NCAA Tournament berths, six NCAA top-10 finishes, and the 1984 National Championship. She has coached eight All-Americans—including Tracy Kerdyk, the 1988 NCAA Player of the Year—and eight of her players have gone on to compete on the LPGA Tour. A two-time South Region Coach of the Year, Cannon was recently inducted into the National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Not bad for someone who didn’t pick up a golf club until she was 32 years old and cried after her first golf lesson. Off the course, Cannon’s student-athletes are just as skillful with the pen as they are with a putter. Many have earned Academic All-American honors. Cannon says she teaches her players responsibility on the golf course that translates into success in the classroom. “On the golf course, it’s up to them to make the shot. They have to make the putt, they have to make the decision whether to lay up or go for the green. I’m there to help them, but the responsibility is all theirs. And being student-athletes, they also have to be responsible when it comes to managing their practice and study time.” Education, she says, is important for any student-athlete. “Golf is a great way to make a living,” says Cannon. “But how many college golfers really make it at the next level and earn the huge bucks? The percentage is small. A college education gives you the chance to accomplish something with your life.” The majority of her former players, she notes, have never made it to the LPGA Tour. Three are now coaching, and many others have gone on to raise families and have successful careers. All, she says, have left the University as better golfers, their skills honed and refined by Cannon’s coaching philosophy that challenges players to be mentally tough. “I want my players to stand on the tee and tell me their strategy for playing a certain hole,” says Cannon. “Golf is more than just hammering away at the ball.” With all the success Cannon has achieved as a coach, she says it is her induction into Iron Arrow, a University honor society steeped in Seminole Indian tradition, that she’s most proud of. “Winning a National Championship is phenomenal, but you have to be lucky that everything falls into place on those four days. Being in Iron Arrow is a commitment that spans many years.” Cannon doesn’t know how much longer she’ll coach, but she’s sure of one thing: More female coaches are needed in the college ranks. “They have to want to go into coaching and struggle with it,” says Cannon. “When I was being inducted in the hall of fame, I had a discussion with some of the younger female coaches. They asked me why I was still coaching after so long, and I told them that I do it for the love of the game, but more than that, because I want to see these kids succeed. And it doesn’t always have to be on the LPGA Tour. If you can make a difference in a young person’s life, then you’ve done it all.” Top of page

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