The Department initiated a new outreach program in Fall 1992, the Sports Skills Program. The purpose of this program is to offer coaching and instruction in sports skills to children and adults with disabilities who reside in the greater Lansing area. The Sports Skills Program will provide participants with an opportunity to improve their skills and fitness, whether they are preparing for competition, or simply interested in having fun and achieving better health and fitness. Sports offerings vary by semester, with swimming, soccer, basketball, boccia, and developmental sports skills offered in the fall, and swimming, softball, tee-ball, track and field, and developmental sports skills offered in the spring.

The Sports Skills Program serves as the lab component of PES 465 - Physical Activity for Special Populations. Students in PES 465 acquire "hands-on" experience and knowledge about disability issues through their work as instructors and coaches in the program. Future plans include the provision of on-site advice about injury prevention, management, and rehabilitation by student athletic trainers and sports medicine fellows, who will work in the program as part of their academic preparation.

The Sports Skills Program is directed by Dr. Gail M. Dummer, an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Education. She is assisted by Dr. Lynnette Overby, an Assistant Professor in the Department, and by a 10-member Advisory Committee that includes Fiona Connor, Allen Jacobs, Kathryn Lindahl, Jeff Monroe, Susan Peters, James Renuk, Leonard Sawisch, Vern Seefeldt, David Stewart, and Duncan Wyeth.