The most sought after award in the Department of Kinesiology is the William Wohlgamuth Memorial Fellowship for the Study of Youth in Sports, which was established and is funded annually by Douglas and Carol Rearick of Brighton, Michigan.
Doug Rearick and Bill Wohlgamuth were roommates at Michigan State University between l968 and l972, and both were coaching minors who worked with Dr. Vern Seefeldt. Dr. Wohlgamuth’s bachelor’s and master’s degrees were from MSU. He received a doctorate from Louisiana State University in the area of business communication.
Bill Wohlgamuth died from cancer of the esophagus in l986, and the Rearicks decided to initiate the fellowship for the purpose of supporting a master’s or doctoral student interested in the study of youth sports. The fellowship criteria call for the recipient to work with the Youth Sports Institute staff in conducting coaches’ education workshops and on research projects related to youth sports.
Recipients in the past have included: Linda Lyman, 1990-91; Bob Neff, l991-92; Keith Chapin, l992-93; Ray Allen, l993-94; David Wisner, 1994-95; Susan Walter, l995-96; Peter Katzmarzyk, l996-97; and Sean Cumming, l997-98
This year’s recipient is Tempie P. Brown. Tempie is pursuing her Ph.D. in sports psychology. She received her B.S. in Kinesiology and her M.S. in exercise physiology from the University of Michigan. While at Michigan, she played on the basketball team. Her research focuses on the coaches of youth sports, and it will be the basis of her dissertation. She is studying the achievement motivations of high school coaches – their job satisfaction and coping mechanisms and differences related to gender. She wishes to become a professor at a large university.