Health and Sport Science Faculty

Barbara Kushubar,
Associate Professor of Health and Sport Science

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 434-791-5687
Office: Grant Ctr 112

Some people are born athletes. Meet Professor Barbara Kushubar.

She realized that she was an athlete when she was in elementary school: “Oh, yes. Kickball. I wanted to play it the rest of my life. Everything about it was right for me — it fit my personality, my competitiveness, everything … I loved it all. LOVED it.”

Of course, nothing lasts forever, not even kickball. But growing up in Stamford, Connecticut, Kushubar spent her few non-kickball times doing other athletic things, such as swimming in the ocean and ice-skating in the winter. By the time she reached high school, she was killer at all sorts of sports — tennis, field hockey, basketball, track and field …

“Actually, I was warming up for my high school discus practice one day when a graduate who was then enrolled at Averett handed me the discus — while wearing an Averett T-shirt. A couple weeks later, recruiters from Averett showed up at my high school. Hmm.”

As she thought about it, she fell in love with the idea of going to college in the South. “I asked if this Averett place had tennis, field hockey, etc. Yes? Sign me up! Put me in, Coach!”

She had looked at big schools and realized that being just a number was not the way for her to attend college. “Also, I was going to major in sports, for sure, so I applied to Averett and was accepted before I had been there for a visit. I enrolled right away.”

Her success as an Averett student led her to a master’s degree from the United States Sports Academy … and eventually back to Averett as a coach and teacher — quite obviously her life’s calling.

“The biggest gratification for me is when I see a student graduate who four years earlier walked in the door with an ‘I can’t possibly do this’ look on her face. But then one day you see the change. She gets it. She can do it.”

Kushubar gives Averett credit for helping young people make the tough transition from high school to college. “This is a place where you have people help you take that big step,” she says. “You’ll learn time management; we’ll give you the tools to communicate, both orally and in writing. You will grow spiritually, as well, learning to give back to the community.”

There is, of course a catch: “You’re the one who has to do the work, both on the field and off. We will hold you accountable, and we’ll know you. You can’t hide.”

The payoff, she promises, is worth it. “We give you the tools to succeed here, and in your first job and then for all that comes after. We prepare you for life.”

Including kickball, if she has her way.

Credentials:

Master of Sports Science, Sports Medicine, the United States Sports Academy

Bachelor of Science, Health/Physical Education/Wellness, Averett University