Sports Medicine & Psychology

Explore the Science of Athletic Performance: What keeps an athlete healthy, and what helps them perform at their best when it counts? In this course, you’ll study how common sports injuries happen, how they’re evaluated and treated, and how athletes recover and prevent injury, drawing on anatomy, physiology, and the practices of athletic trainers and sports medicine physicians. You’ll also investigate sport psychology, including motivation, focus, confidence, pressure, teamwork, and mental health, and the strategies athletes use to train their minds as deliberately as their bodies. Through case studies, injury assessments, and performance experiments, you’ll apply what you learn to real athletes, including yourself.

Why Take This Course? Whether you’re an athlete, a future health professional, or simply fascinated by human performance, this course connects science to the sports you watch and play. You’ll build a strong foundation for careers in sports medicine, athletic training, physical therapy, or sport psychology, and a deeper understanding of how bodies and minds work together.

Students in GOA courses will need reliable access to a computer with webcam/microphone connections, an email address (preferably school-based), a Web-conferencing app (GOA courses use Zoom), and a Word processing app (GOA courses use Google’s G Suite). When necessary, alternative arrangements may be made. Some courses require additional materials which can be found in the Course Outline. 

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