John McCarthy

Dr. McCarthy oversees the Coaching Specialization in the Physical Education, Health, and Coaching graduate program. The course of study that he and his colleagues have designed trains coaches to be leaders in their field. It also trains students to work in the field of coach education and research on coaching. Dr. McCarthy’s students are trained to understand the coach’s role in the growth and development of young people through sport, and thus the societal importance of good coaching. In addition to his teaching, Dr. McCarthy is the Director of Boston University’s Institute for Athletic Coach Education, a new institute within the School of Education. The Institute offers training and education for coaches in the community, particularly those involved in youth sport. Through the Institute he is involved with designing and delivering innovative coach training to coaches in youth development programs such as the Play it Smart, a nation-wide program run by the National Football Foundation. Dr. McCarthy has extensive practical experience gained from his fifteen years as a coach at the college and high school levels. He has done research on coaching; his doctoral dissertation is a study of how master football coaches develop team confidence. Dr. McCarthy has also been highly active in the field of coach education. He has been the regional coordinator for the N.F.L.’s Coaching Academy Program, and sits on several advisory boards for organizations that are aimed at developing youth through sport, including G-Row Boston and the Starfish Foundation.