In our first Athlete Spotlight we spoke with Jason Emerich about his path to the IDD&E program at Syracuse University and his advice to those considering the program.
Chasing Dreams
In 2016 Jason Emerich graduated from Syracuse University with a BS in Sports Management and a minor in Physical Education. Emerich, an offensive lineman for the Syracuse University Football team, had an opportunity to apply to graduate school. Emerich says he met with his advisor Bruce Williams to discuss his graduate year and “after I discussed with Bruce (an IDD&E graduate) my plans after college we decided IDD&E was the best program for me to chase my coaching dream.”
This spring Emerich was given the opportunity to be a Student Assistant for Coach Lynch. In this role, he has been using what he’s learned in his IDD&E courses in the meeting room with offensive linemen. He describes using needs analysis to analyze players and find a performance gap in their play. He has been able to create models and use existing ones to help the offensive linemen become better players.
Emerich says that before students enter the IDD&E program they should know that the program doesn’t build you to work in one field, it allows graduates to branch out in many different directions. And while it is preparing students for careers in many areas, you have a chance work with students from a variety of backgrounds including coaches, teachers, evaluators and consultants.
Emerich’s advice to those considering the program, “understand that the information you will be learning needs to be used in your own context. For all of my coursework, I always try to relate it to coaching. That’s because coaching is my interest. So, try to relate all the work to what you plan to do in the future.”
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