Alumni Highlight: Joshua Gould MA '19
In the years following his undergraduate career, Josh worked in several different marketing and sales positions in the tech industry that he ultimately found underwhelming. Over the same period of time, he developed a strong passion for basketball and realized he wanted to become a coach, preferably at the collegiate level. Keen and enthusiastic about the Saint Mary’s community setting, he decided to enroll in the Graduate Kinesiology program in order to help him achieve this goal. Josh notes that the learning he was doing in the classroom complimented well the practical experience he gained while working as an assistant coach at Henry M. Gunn High School. Shortly after earning his graduate degree, he was offered a head coaching position at San Mateo High School for the boys’ varsity basketball team.
One of the main reasons why Josh joined the Graduate Kinesiology program was because it includes courses in sports administration as well as exercise physiology, one of the subdisciplines of Kinesiology. In his first semester in the program, he took Applied Concepts in Exercise Science with Professor James Barber. The course includes topics related to human performance such as nutrition and how energy systems are used differently depending on the demands of a sport (e.g., spriting v. long distance running). His class project on plyometrics greatly increased his knowledge related to the movement mechanics used in basketball.
Regarding his short-term goals, he states, “I want us to win the CCS (Central Coast Section) Championship and then potentially aim for the State Championship! All of this is achievable and will promote my coaching skills to where I want to be, which is coaching at the Division I level. I love putting on a show for a crowd and there is no better stage than basketball to do it.” In addition to being in his second year as a head basketball coach, he is the Customer Value Manager at Coupa Software, and is content with juggling both careers at the moment. Nevertheless, he is eager to get the opportunity to coach at the collegiate level when the opportunity arises.