In an effort to promote physical activity as means to good health, prospective teachers and coaches in a test-and-measure class taught by Mississippi State kinesiology professor Paul Rukavina will assess students' basketball skills at Starkville's Armstrong Middle School Thursday [March 9] starting at 8 a.m.
Seventh and eighth graders in Armstrong coach John Patton's physical education class will be tested on such basic basketball skills as shooting, dribbling, passing and defense. Student scores will be evaluated on a percentile scale, and each student will be ranked on the basis of their demonstrated strengths and weaknesses.
"Learning skills is a way to promote exercise in an effort to discourage sedentary behavior that leads to obesity," said Rukavina, an assistant professor and coordinator of the kinesiology department's teaching-coaching concentration. "Mississippi has one of the highest obesity rates in the country."
Many students in Rukavina's class are preparing for future careers as teachers and coaches. They also will conduct fitness tests later this semester at Starkville's Ward-Stewart Elementary.
For more information, contact Dr. Rukavina at (662) 325-7231 or prukavina@colled.msstate.edu; or senior John Gwin at (901) 848-4699 or jjg39@msstate.edu.
