A Tribute to the Legacy of Daryl Siedentop, Physical Educator Leader

By Tammy Miller, Human Kinetics Senior Managing Editor, Journal Division

JULY 2021

Dr. Daryl Siedentop, an undisputed leader in the field of physical education and influential decades-long contributor to the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education (JTPE), passed away on July 15, 2021, after a lengthy illness. During his career, Dr. Siedentop influenced countless scholars in the field of physical education, sport pedagogy, and physical education teacher education (PETE). He created the Sport Education model in the 1980s and published his first book on the subject, Sport Education, with Human Kinetics in 1994. While at The Ohio State University, he mentored over 80 doctoral students, many of whom have gone on to their own influential careers as teachers, researchers, and teacher educators.

He received countless awards for outstanding teaching, research, or mentoring contributions to the field, including the 1984 International Olympic Committee President’s Award (Samaranch Award), which is the highest honor for work in sport pedagogy; the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) Curriculum and Instruction Academy Honor Award; American Alliance for Physical Education, Recreation and Dance’s (AAHPERD) Alliance Scholar and C.H. McCloy Honor Awards; and AAHPERD’s highest honor, the Luther H. Gulick Award.

Dr. Siedentop’s influence on JTPE cannot be overstated. The founders of the journal, Mike Metzler and Mark Freedman, were his students at The Ohio State University, and he contributed numerous publications to the journal from the first Introductory issue in 1981 until his last published piece in 2002. In addition to his JTPE contributions, Dr. Siedentop’s contributions to Human Kinetics journals spanned more than three decades, starting in 1971 and ending with his last publication in 2009.

Dr. Siedentop was also the author of several books on physical education, curriculum planning, and sport coaching, including his most recent title published with Human Kinetics, Complete Guide to Sport Education, 3rd Edition, which he co-authored with colleagues Peter Hastie and Hans Van Der Mars. The forthcoming release of Introduction to Physical Education, Fitness, and Sport-9th Edition was also co-authored by Dr. Siedentop with Hans Van Der Mars.

To honor Dr. Siedentop and ensure that current and future generations of colleagues have access to his work, all of Dr. Siedentop’s work that appeared in any Human Kinetics journal are accessible as open access via this webpage. For those who knew him, we hope you enjoy this tribute. For new PETEs who might not be as familiar with his work and the impact he had on the profession, we hope this access provides an opportunity to learn from one of the truly bright minds in physical education. It is our hope that you will take advantage of and enjoy reading Dr. Daryl Siedentop’s body of work.