SCHOLARSHIP
Scholarship Artifact #1
EXSC 9150 Evidence-Based Professional Portfolio I
Fall 2025
The Role of Diet, Gut Microbiota, and Sleep in Adolescent Injury Prevention
Abstract:
The diet of adolescent athletes can prevent injury and illness by supporting proper sleep and gut health, crucial for tissue repair. Many student-athletes juggle multiple sports year-round, making nutrition and sleep vital. This review combines seven quantitative and eight qualitative studies on diet, sleep, nutrients, bone density, metabolism, energy, and caregiver education. It explores how a lack of knowledge about special diets and performance pressure affects metabolic rates, the importance of macro and micronutrients for growth, and the role of diet in mental health. A holistic injury prevention program for young athletes should prioritize diet as its foundation.
Keywords: adolescent, athlete, injury, prevention, diet, gut microbiome, sleep,
mental health
Scholarship Artifact #2
EXSC 9250 Evidence-Based Professional Portfolio 2
Spring 2026
Multidimensional Influences on Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention in Adolescent Athletes: A Narrative Review of Sleep, Nutrition, and Training Factors
Abstract:
This literature review examines the multiple factors influencing injury prevention in adolescent athletes, emphasizing the importance of holistic strategies that account for adolescents' physical, cognitive, and psychological development to mitigate the risk of musculoskeletal injury. It highlights the current gaps in understanding how the combined effects of sleep, nutrition, and training factors influence injury prevention, underscoring the need for further research and education. Key areas include metabolic requirements, nutritional needs, sleep hygiene, and comprehensive approaches to injury prevention. Diet is fundamental to growth and development, and evidence suggests that poor nutrition habits can lead to illness, injury, and inadequate absorption of vital nutrients, thereby affecting adolescent health and growth. Multiple factors contribute to injuries among youth engaged in organized sports, such as training loads, participation levels, sleep deprivation, and poor diet. However, further targeted research and educational initiatives are essential to develop effective injury prevention strategies for adolescent athletes. The purpose of this review is to explore how sleep and nutrition together influence injury prevention in adolescent athletes, focusing on increasing holistic approaches that address the physical, cognitive, and psychological aspects of adolescent development to reduce the risk of overuse musculoskeletal injuries and chronic illness.
Keywords: injury prevention, athletics, adolescent, performance, sleep hygiene, nutrition, holistic health
Scholarship Artifact #3
EXSC 9500 Evidence-Based Professional Portfolio 3
Summer 2026
Beyond The Weight Room: A Holistic Model for Injury Prevention in Adolescent Athletes
Abstract:
Sports-related injuries among adolescent athletes are often attributed to biomechanical factors, yet emerging evidence suggests that cumulative stress from training load, inadequate nutrition, poor sleep, and psychosocial demands may be equally important contributors. This article presents a systems-based framework for injury prevention that integrates training load management, nutritional support, and sleep hygiene to promote resilience, reduce injury risk, and support long-term athlete development.
Keywords: injury prevention, adolescent adolescent, sleep, nutrition, training load
LEADERSHIP
Leadership Philosophy: To serve humanity with a grateful heart, an adventurous spirit, and an excellence mindset.
Abstract:
Adopting holistic sports coaching enhances athlete development by utilizing the wellness wheel to address their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. During the Fuel, Train, Prevent in-service, volunteer coaches will learn that this approach creates a more enjoyable experience, increasing overall retention in sports programs. It involves examining all aspects of the athlete using the wellness pyramid to incorporate movement patterns, warm-ups, cooldowns, stretching, varied-speed movements, calisthenics, and recovery. Coaches who encourage proper hydration, a diet rich in whole foods and vibrant colors, limited processed foods, adequate sleep (at least eight hours), and a positive atmosphere help to reduce burnout, foster teamwork, and promote good sportsmanship.
Keywords: holistic, wellness, sleep, diet, retention, adolescent athlete
Abstract
This leadership artifact describes the development of Athlete360, an evidence-informed prototype that translates the Holistic Performance Model into a practical tool for adolescent athletes, coaches, and exercise professionals. The app integrates readiness monitoring, wellness assessment, and individualized energy estimation to support informed decisions about training, nutrition, recovery, and injury prevention. Designed under constraints of time, resources, and technical expertise, Athlete360 prioritized usability, education, and communication over complex analytics. This project demonstrates how research can be translated into an accessible, scalable solution that promotes athlete self-awareness, stakeholder collaboration, and long-term athlete availability through evidence-informed leadership.
Holistic Injury Prevention: Centenary College of Louisiana
Teaching Philosophy: As a teacher, I strive to create a balanced learning environment by combining empathy and high expectations, ensuring students take ownership of their learning, think critically, and retain information through diverse instructional strategies.
TEACHING
Teaching Artifact #1
EXSC 9150 - Evidence-Based Professional Portfolio I
Fall 2025
The Role of Gut Microbiota and Sleep in Adolescent Athlete Injury Prevention
Abstract
The importance of the gut microbiota in preventing injuries among adolescents is substantial and is affected by the athletes' nutrition and sleep habits. In a class on anatomy and physiology, this topic was presented to 12 adolescents, including both athletes and non-athletes. The session involved direct teaching through a PowerPoint presentation and combined instruction and inquiry-based methods to encourage students to actively engage with the material and develop their understanding of gut microbiota. Additionally, inquiry-based learning was incorporated, enabling students to explore, question, and improve their ideas. The learning experience included lectures, Q&A sessions, and a follow-up survey showed that students found the information to be valuable.
Keywords: gut microbiome, adolescent athlete, teaching methodology
Teaching Artifact #2
EXSC 9250
Evidence-Based Portfolio 2
Spring 2026
Beyond the Physical, Holistic Athlete Injury Prevention
Abstract
Athletes, according to Merriam-Webster, are people trained or skilled in exercise, sports, or games requiring strength, agility, or stamina. From adolescents (10-21 years old) to active older adults, athletes are found across all walks of life. This one-hour presentation will equip fitness professionals to integrate holistic training strategies into their training and instruction, including proper fueling, effective training, and reducing the risk of illness and injury. Participants will learn how psychological and physiological development are connected to diet, sleep, environment, physical activity, and recovery, and how to recognize the early warning signs of cognitive strain, low energy availability, and potential risks of illness or injury development.
Keywords: athlete, injury prevention, wellness, nutrition, sleep
Teaching Artifact #3
EXSC 9350
Evidence-Based Portfolio 3
Summer 2026
Teaching Holistic Athlete Readiness Through Athlete360
Abstract
This teaching artifact is the culmination of the scholarship and leadership artifacts. Scholarship developed the evidence-informed Holistic Performance Model; Leadership translated the model into the Athlete360 prototype app; and Teaching taught athletes and coaches how to use the model to increase self-awareness and make informed training decisions, then evaluated learning through app use and feedback.
Keywords: athlete, injury prevention, wellness, nutrition, sleep
Leadership Artifact #1
EXSC 9150 - Evidence-Based Professional Portfolio I
Fall 2025
Coaching in-service for Bossier Parks and Recreation Football and Soccer Coaches.
Abstract:
Adopting holistic sports coaching enhances athlete development by utilizing the wellness wheel to address their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. During the Fuel, Train, Prevent in-service, volunteer coaches will learn that this approach creates a more enjoyable experience, increasing overall retention in sports programs. It involves examining all aspects of the athlete using the wellness pyramid to incorporate movement patterns, warm-ups, cooldowns, stretching, varied-speed movements, calisthenics, and recovery. Coaches who encourage proper hydration, a diet rich in whole foods and vibrant colors, limited processed foods, adequate sleep (at least eight hours), and a positive atmosphere help to reduce burnout, foster teamwork, and promote good sportsmanship.
Keywords: holistic, wellness, sleep, diet, retention, adolescent athlete
Leadership Artifact #2
EXSC 9250
Evidence-Based Portfolio 2
Spring 2026
Holistic Injury Prevention: Centenary College of Louisiana
Abstract
Injury prevention isn't about stretching longer; it's about managing overall stress. There are seven stress categories in an athlete's life: training load, mental load, emotional pressure, environment, relationships, identity, and job demands. The body does not distinguish between stressors; it accumulates total stress. When stress surpasses recovery, tissue breaks down; when recovery exceeds stress, performance improves. The most resilient athletes aren't lucky—they manage the entire system. This approach forms the foundation for the leadership project at Centenary College's football program in Louisiana. The leadership team framed holistic injury prevention around the concept of availability, recognizing that the most valuable player isn't the strongest but the one who is available every Saturday. We took the seven dimensions of holistic wellness and rebranded them as an integrated risk-mitigation framework, or performance wheel, and used language relatable to older adolescent athletes (ages 18-19). Using the analogy of a sports car and an off-road vehicle—both high-performance machines with different functions but sharing the same internal components—the team connected holistic injury prevention to the performance wheel, illustrating the seven categories that determine whether a player suits up or sits out.
Leadership Artifact #3
EXSC 9350
Evidence-Based Portfolio 3
Summer 2026
Athlete360: Application Development
Abstract:
This leadership artifact describes the development of Athlete360, an evidence-informed prototype that translates the Holistic Performance Model into a practical tool for adolescent athletes, coaches, and exercise professionals. The app integrates readiness monitoring, wellness assessment, and individualized energy estimation to support informed decisions about training, nutrition, recovery, and injury prevention. Designed under constraints of time, resources, and technical expertise, Athlete360 prioritized usability, education, and communication over complex analytics. This project demonstrates how research can be translated into an accessible, scalable solution that promotes athlete self-awareness, stakeholder collaboration, and long-term athlete availability through evidence-informed leadership.
Keywords: holistic, wellness, sleep, diet, retention, adolescent athlete
