Tag: leisure skills

For nearly half a century, a partnership between two Clemson University departments has provided courses for credit in leisure education and research opportunities to students on campus.

The partnership began when the university started its leisure skills program in 1972, which allows Clemson students to take a leisure or recreational course for one credit, while also helping them explore non-academic hobbies or career options. The program typically offers more than 150 one-credit learning options every semester in subjects such as dance, shotgun and other sports, yoga, fitness, outdoor recreation and first aid. The courses are developed and managed by the university’s parks, recreation and tourism management department, with 24 of the 159 courses offered last fall using campus recreation facilities.

Jeff Hallo, interim chair of the department, says that the leisure skills partnership between university departments is an example of working together in the best interests of students, while also furthering new research befitting Clemson’s status as one of the nation’s most active research institutions (Carnegie Basic Classification R1 – Highest Research Activity).

“We’re grateful to campus recreation, and are particularly thankful for Executive Director David Frock, for ensuring Clemson students can participate in learning opportunities in their campus facilities,” Hallo said. “It’s safe to say that these programs, which have provided numerous opportunities for our faculty and graduate students to conduct leisure-focused research while also serving thousands of undergraduate students, make a significant contribution to our university as a whole.”

Leisure Skills Program Director Dan Anderson adds that the program functions as a research lab of its own on campus.

“We have the most prized population to study in the leisure field – college-aged students – right at our fingertips, and we have them actively engaged in active forms of leisure, like sports, and non-active forms of leisure, giving us a unique research opportunity,” Anderson said. “We’ve had several graduate students and faculty members study the impacts associated with student participation in those types of programs, such as on their mental health, their ability to better focus on their studies and on their body image.”

A study led by former Clemson graduate student Katherine Ann Jordan that was published in the Journal of Experiential Education in 2018, for example, found that if college students have leisure education included in their academic schedule and tied to their grade point average, they were more likely to actively participate in healthy leisure activities and begin and maintain positive lifestyle habits.

Another study led by former doctoral student Cindy Hartman and published in the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice in 2017 found that leisure education courses are a form of complementary health programming that helps students build adaptive coping skills and positive well-being. In 2013, graduate student Kate Evans used the leisure skills program to explore the impact leisure skills classes have on building student engagement with the university. The study results indicated that leisure education had a marked impact – providing a uniquely positioned environment for building students’ sense of engagement with their institution through an enhanced sense of community, enhanced sense of self and active learning.

Campus Recreation Executive Director Dr. David Frock said that the partnership between the departments aligns with the campus recreation mission to enhance the educational experience and promote lifelong wellness through high quality and diverse recreation programs, services and facilities.

“Hosting courses within the leisure skills program activates and engages students, exposing them to the numerous well-being services offered through campus recreation,” Frock said. “Our staff has collaborated with faculty on research and grants along with collaborations on programs and events throughout PRTM. Campus recreation staff also instruct courses and provide Clemson students the opportunity to develop new skill sets and build their resumes.”

Over the past few years, the partnership has expanded to include research, grants and other campus activities with a focus on diversity. For example, the departments recently worked together to introduce wheelchair basketball as the newest intramural sport.

These activities are part of the university’s Adaptive Sports and Recreation Lab, which was launched last spring in order to further existing efforts to implement high-quality adaptive sport programming and conduct applied research.

Other opportunities for adaptive sport involvement by students and community members include the Southeast Regional Wheelchair Games and the Clemson Classic juniors wheelchair basketball tournament. All of these programs require campus resources to be successful, of which campus recreation facilities and staff are vital.

These joint efforts demonstrate a commitment to achieve the university’s strategic aims of inclusive excellence and to break down the barriers to sport and recreation access that many students with physical disabilities experience on college campuses.

Hallo said he is hopeful that the partnership can continue to provide opportunities for students and faculty well after it surpasses its 50^th anniversary in 2022.

“This partnership has accomplished a great deal over the decades and helped thousands of students,” Hallo said. “We’re aware that many of these programs wouldn’t exist without access to campus recreation facilities and equipment, and we’re thankful for the opportunity to continue to work with them to create new opportunities for our students and community.”

You often hear people say, “there’s something in” Clemson’s hills, but there’s also something in its streams. That’s where you’ll find groups of Clemson University students casting flies when the weather’s right.

Mike Watts has been teaching fly fishing as part of the university’s leisure skills program for about 15 years, and estimates he’s taught about 800 students to tie flies, cast a fly rod and understand the ecosystem where the fish they’re hoping to catch thrive.

“Our classes are about fly fishing made simple, but also about the environment that supports the fish and why that’s important,” Watts says. “We also take the time to talk about conservation of our natural habitats and why that matters.”

Fly fishing is one of more than 150 one-credit learning options students can take in subjects such as dance, shotgun sports, yoga, fitness, outdoor recreation, sports and first aid. Class sections are taught by experts in each respective field and coordinated by Clemson’s parks, recreation and tourism management department, which applies a research focus to course development and management.

Students take a leisure skills class for a number of reasons, such as introducing themselves to new activities, or exploring potential new hobbies or career options. Fly fishing is one of the program’s most popular class options.

Eleven years ago, the fly fishing class started growing exponentially, so Watts brought on another instructor to meet the demand. Watts and Mike Harvell have been splitting fly fishing classes ever since. Harvell has been fishing since 1960 and says that teaching the class has helped him continue to share his passion for the hobby with others.

“I’ve always liked fishing,” Harvell says. “I learn new things every time I go out, and I like seeing our students experience that, too.”

Classes are taught using the philosophy that the fisherman that only enjoys the catching of the fish is a miserable person 90 percent of the time.

“The point of fly fishing is partly to catch a fish, but it also helps you build an understanding of what fish eat and how that relates to different flies,” says Watts. “You need to know the natural environment to successfully catch a fish and would do it differently if you’re trout fishing in the mountains or salt water fishing on the coast.”

After their leisure skills class ends, many students keep fishing through the CU Fly Fishing Club, with about two-thirds of them becoming members or participating in club events and many more following them on their Instagram account, which has more than 1,200 followers. The group plans group fishing expeditions and shares photos of successful catches by its members. The club was founded by Watts and former student Robert DiBenedetto, who found his passion for fly fishing is also furthering his career.

“My first job interview centered around my leadership of the CU Fly Fishing Club and got me a job in the United States House of Representatives,” DiBenedetto says. “I also just formed a new relationship with a prominent businessman because of our mutual love for fly fishing and my background with the fly fishing class and club at Clemson.”

Another of their former students, Sam Caruso, who graduated from Clemson University with a Bioengineering degree in 2015, says that the weekly classes were an opportunity to break away from the rush to complete their degree by giving them something else to focus on.

“The best part, however, is the continual growth and connection that takes place after the course,” says Caruso, who’s kept in touch with Watts long after his class ended.

Dan Anderson, who runs the leisure skills program, says that Watts and Harvell have found a unicorn of sorts on campus.

“Creating a huge fly fishing community on campus from scratch and then keeping the student club going through leadership changes every couple of years is a major achievement,” Anderson says. “Their ongoing work with these classes and that club demonstrates the passion they have for the students and the sport.”

Information about Clemson University’s leisure skills classes are available in the undergraduate catalog.

Scuba divers never dive alone. A diving buddy is needed to make sure the diver is able to get out of the water quickly and safely, if the unexpected happens. Robbie Bogan, owner of Upstate Scuba in Clemson, says that same general rule also applies to running a successful business.

Robbie’s buddy? The Leisure Skills program managed by Clemson’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management department, which helped him build and grow Upstate Scuba, a local scuba diving business that trains divers in more than nine counties throughout South Carolina and parts of Georgia.

Robbie, who’s been teaching a scuba diving course for the program since 2004, has always had a passion for diving and rescue.

“I started diving as a child, and worked as a firefighter for several years,” he says. “one of the areas I always wanted to explore was rescue diving – applying my scuba experience to underwater rescue and training others to do it too.”

On a trip to Clemson in 2004 and after discussions with people in the community, he realized the area had everything he needed to start a scuba diving business. There were no existing options to learn how to scuba dive in the region, giving him an untapped market.

Most importantly, says Clemson’s Leisure Skills program Director and Senior Lecturer Dan Anderson, a local scuba diving training option didn’t exist for Clemson University students who may need certification to build their careers, such as for some jobs in marine biology.

“When we spoke with Robbie, we saw an opportunity to help our students earn a certification that was otherwise locally unavailable,” he continued. “Scuba diving is a perfect fit for our Leisure Skills program, which helps Clemson students learn new skills, get more involved on campus and broaden their network opportunities.”

Students take leisure skills program for a number of reasons, including introducing themselves to new activities, and potential new hobbies or career options. More than 150 one-credit learning options were offered last spring in subjects such as dance, shotgun sports, yoga, fitness, outdoor recreation, sports and first aid. Class sections are taught by experts in the field, like Robbie.

The Leisure Skills scuba diving course teaches basic open water diving techniques and helps students gain the knowledge they need to meet requirements of an open water diving certification. Students take four classes to learn the basics of open water diving and practice what they’ve learned in three pool sessions.

At the end of the course, students are required to pass a swim test for certification by an internationally recognized and accepted certifying agency. The test requires them to complete three dives one day and two the next. When they pass the swim test, students earn one credit towards their undergraduate degree at Clemson University, while also gaining an international certification that they can use to dive anywhere in the world.

Students can maintain that certification for life, says Robbie.

“All they need to do to maintain their certification is to keep a log of their dives,” he says. “If they complete and record two dives per year, they keep their certification. If they don’t complete their dives, they have the option of taking a half-day update class to get them back up to speed and get re-certified.”

Robbie says that after starting to work with Leisure Skills to train Clemson students, he’s never looked back. His business continues to grow, having certified more than 3,000 students over the past 15 years, and is able to offer rescue diving training to first responders.

He credits his success to Clemson University.

“We’re now making a huge impact in the region by building underwater rescue capacity, but if it weren’t for the university’s leisure skills program, we wouldn’t be doing this,” he says. “The impact of the Leisure Skills program on my small business and so many others has impacted the Clemson community in ways that they may not even realize. We’re very fortunate and appreciative.”

He also says that the program helps people in more fields than you would originally expect.

“We’re seeing scuba diving being used in a number of different professions, such as for engineers doing underwater bridge inspectors, or even astronauts, as being underwater can mimic the experience of being in space,” he says. “Some of our former students have even become rescue divers themselves. Even if they don’t ever need to actually rescue anyone, the peace of mind knowing they’re ready to help is huge.”

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Clemson’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management department employs experts in leisure studies and outdoor recreation. Learn more about its Leisure Skills program.