Erica Kesseh finished her first semester of the Sport and Exercise Science MEd program this fall. As a strength and conditioning coach for ETS Elite, Kesseh said she’s enjoyed learning specific information about the sport part of the sport and exercise science field.
“I’m already working full-time in the field, but I wanted to go back and fine-tune my interests,” Kesseh said. “I felt like I still had questions and there were things I wanted to be better at, specifically with the population I work with, who are generally athletes.”
Kesseh is from Burnsville, Minnesota, and graduated from the University of Minnesota – Duluth with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. After about a year and a half of working, she decided to continue her education by pursuing her MEd.
“It’s only my first semester,” Kesseh said. “But already, I’ve taken a class where I could ask questions and learn things that directly apply to my work. I would learn something in class, and then go to work and use exactly what I learned that same day when coaching.”
Kesseh works with both teams and individual athletes. She’s hoping to bring more knowledge and better results to her clients through her education. One of the things she’s already found to be beneficial was learning more about the periodization of training for athletes.
“It was extremely relevant to my work to think about how training is portrayed to athletes in different stages of their lives,” Kesseh said. “For example, young athletes should see training as fun, like playing, whereas later in an athlete’s career their focus is more about training in order to be competitive. This really helps me adjust my strategy with each person or team I’m working with.”
Kesseh hopes to continue her career of training athletes, perhaps managing other coaches in the future. She said she hopes to continue to grow her knowledge as a coach through her masters degree so when she reaches higher levels in her career she can share that knowledge with others.
Her advice to potential students?
“If you’re interested in this field, never assume that you know everything. You should always be trying to learn more, stay curious, and be looking for more answers.”
Kesseh is embodying that advice with her pursuit of an MEd degree. Kudos to you Erica, we’re excited to have you as a part of the School of Kinesiology and can’t wait to see where your knowledge and passion for sport takes you!
