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Sam S. Dardaman

Clinical Assistant Professor

University of North Texas

Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation

Email: sam.dardaman@unt.edu

Education

  • PhD, University of North Texas, 2024
    Major: Human Performance and Movement Science
    Dissertation: Kinesiophobia, Self-Efficacy, and Body Image of Female Athletes Following ACL Injury.
  • MS, University of Texas at Tyler, 2018
    Major: Kinesiology
  • BS, University of Central Florida, 2015
    Major: Sport & Exercise Science
    Dissertation: Investigation of the Evolution of the Minimalist Shoe

Professional Positions

    Professional

  • Head of Sports Performance, Kayser Physical Therapy & Fitness. Kayser Physical Therapy & Fitness. (2018 - 2023).

Licensures and Certifications

  • Certified Speed and Agility Coach, National Sports Performance Association. (2020 - Present).
  • Olympic Weightlifting Coach - Level 1, USA Weightlifting. (2020 - Present).
  • Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach, National Strength and Conditioning Association. (2019 - Present).
  • Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, National Strength and Conditioning Association. (2018 - Present).
  • Certified Personal Trainer, American College of Sports Medicine. (2013 - Present).
  • First Aid/CPR/AED Certification, American Red Cross. (2025 - 2027).

Professional Memberships

  • Association of Applied Sport Psychology. (2022 - Present).
  • National Strength and Conditioning Association. (2017 - Present).
  • American College of Sports Medicine. (2013 - Present).

Development Activities

  • Workshop, Involve and Inspire Students with iClicker from Day One, UNT DSI Clear Faculty Development. Denton,TX,United States of America. (January 8, 2025).

Teaching

Teaching Experience

    University of North Texas

  • HLTH 2200 - Family Life and Human Sexuality, 3 courses.
  • KINE 2010 - Fundamentals of Strength and Conditioning, 69 courses.
  • KINE 4050 - Quantitative Analysis in Kinesiology, 7 courses.
  • KINE 4310 - Advanced Strength and Conditioning, 3 courses.
  • KINE 4325 - Fitness Testing, 1 course.
  • KINE 5860 - Practicum, Field Problem or Internship, 2 courses.
  • KINE 5910 - Special Problems, 2 courses.
  • KINE 5950 - Master's Thesis, 1 course.

Non-Credit Instruction

  • Seminar, Psychosocial Aspects of Sport and Exercise, 15 participants. (January 12, 2025).
  • Guest Lecture, Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation, 108 participants. (October 26, 2025 - October 26, 2025).
  • Guest Lecture, Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation, 55 participants. (February 26, 2025 - February 26, 2025).
  • Guest Lecture, Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation, 35 participants. (November 14, 2024 - November 14, 2024).
  • Workshop, National Strength and Conditioning Association, 75 participants. (November 9, 2024 - November 9, 2024).

Directed Student Learning

  • Internship Advisor, "Strength and Conditioning Internship with UNT/TWU ROTC," Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation. (January 12, 2026).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, "When the clock runs out: Alumni athlete mentorship and its impact on current college athletes' perceptions of the athletic retirement transition," Educational Psychology. (November 18, 2025).
  • Supervised Research, "Muscularity concerns and sport confidence in male bodybuilders: The role of coaches," Psychology. (August 26, 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, "The role of mental toughness and athlete identity in over-conformity among combat athletes," Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation. (June 10, 2025).
  • Supervised Research, "Perfectionism, self-efficacy, and anxiety in amateur bodybuilders," Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation. (January 26, 2025).
  • Internship Advisor, "Strength and Conditioning Internship with UNT Athletics Department," Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation. (January 26, 2025 - May 11, 2025).
  • Supervised Research, "The effects of career length on physical self-efficacy in female soccer athletes following ACL injury," Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation. (December 15, 2024 - May 11, 2025).
  • Supervised Research, "Exploring the psychosocial challenges and resilience of female firefighters: A narrative review," Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation. (August 8, 2024 - May 11, 2025).
  • Supervised Research, "Kinesiophobia and return-to-sport of female volleyball athletes following ACL injury," Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation. (March 1, 2024 - May 11, 2025).

Awards and Honors

  • Golden Eagle Award, University of North Texas. (August 15, 2024).
  • Nominated for Outstanding Teaching Fellow Award, University of North Texas. (August 15, 2024).
  • NSCA Foundation Minority Scholarship, National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). (May 5, 2024).

Research

Published Intellectual Contributions

    Academic Dissertation

  • Dardaman, S.S. (2025). Kinesiophobia, Self-Efficacy, and Body Image of Female Athletes Following ACL Injury. University of North Texas Libraries. https://doi.org/10.12794/metadc2415932

Presentations Given

    Oral Presentation

  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author & Presenter), Bailey, C.A. (Author), Colombo-Dougovito, A.M. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), Association of Applied Sport Psychology 40th Annual Conference, Kinesiophobia, self-efficacy, and body image of female athletes following ACL injury: A mixed methods study, Association of Applied Sport Psychology, Montreal, QC, Canada. (2025 - 2025).
  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author & Presenter), National Strength and Conditioning Association Texas State Clinic, Sports Burnout: The Hidden Price of Performance?, National Strength and Conditioning Association, College Station, TX, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).

    • Poster

  • Utter, M.B. (Author & Presenter), Quintero, C.O. (Author), Dardaman, S.S. (Author), Rowden, S.E. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), 2026 Texas State Clinic, A comparative analysis of maladaptive perfectionism in male and female competitive bodybuilders, Texas Chapter of American College of Sports Medicine, Waco, Texas, United States of America. (2026 - 2026).
  • Quintero, C.O. (Author & Presenter), Dardaman, S.S. (Author), Rowden, S.E. (Author), Cachutt, R.E. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), 2026 Texas State Clinic, Bodybuilding is who I am: Differences in athletic identity among age categories, Texas Chapter of American College of Sports Medicine, Waco, Texas, United States of America. (2026 - 2026).
  • Cachutt, R.E. (Author & Presenter), Dardaman, S.S. (Author), Quintero, C.O. (Author), Rowden, S.E. (Author), Utter, M.B. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), 2026 Texas State Clinic, Prep monitoring, coaching presence, and competitive anxiety in bodybuilders, Texas Chapter of American College of Sports Medicine, Waco, Texas, United States of America. (2026 - 2026).
  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author & Presenter), Clark, L. (Author), Association of Applied Sport Psychology 40th Annual Conference, Exploring the psychosocial challenges and resilience of female firefighters: A narrative review of current literature, Association of Applied Sport Psychology, Montreal, QC, Canada. (2025 - 2025).
  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author & Presenter), Peacock, K. (Author), Bailey, C.A. (Author), Colombo-Dougovito, A.M. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), Association of Applied Sport Psychology 40th Annual Conference, Kinesiophobia and return-to-sport of female volleyball athletes following ACL injury, Association of Applied Sport Psychology, Montreal, QC, Canada. (2025 - 2025).
  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author & Presenter), Evans, A. (Author), Bailey, C.A. (Author), Colombo-Dougovito, A.M. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), Association of Applied Sport Psychology 40th Annual Conference, The effects of career length on physical self-efficacy in female soccer athletes following ACL injury, Association of Applied Sport Psychology, Montreal, QC, Canada. (2025 - 2025).
  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author), Cachutt, R.E. (Author & Presenter), Quintero, C.O. (Author), Rowden, S.E. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), National Strength and Conditioning Association Texas State Clinic, Muscularity concerns and sport confidence in male bodybuilders: The role of coaches, National Strength and Conditioning Association, Fort Worth, TX, United States of America. (2025 - 2025).
  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author & Presenter), Bailey, C.A. (Author), Colombo-Dougovito, A.M. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), National Strength and Conditioning Association National Conference, Influences of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury mechanism on perceived pain levels and kinesiophobia in female athletes, National Strength and Conditioning Association, Kansas City, MO, United States of America. (2025 - 2025).
  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author), Quintero, C.O. (Author & Presenter), Martin, S.B. (Author), Texas Chapter of American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, Correlational study of perfectionism, self-efficacy, and anxiety in amateur bodybuilders: A pilot study, Texas Chapter of American College of Sports Medicine, Waco, TX, United States of America. (2025 - 2025).
  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author & Presenter), Chen, K. (Author), Yentes, J.M. (Author), McQuerry, M. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), Association for Applied Sport Psychology 39th Annual Conference, Perceptions of ill-fitting turnout gear of female firefighters: “We don’t need men’s gear in a smaller size!”, Association for Applied Sport Psychology, Las Vegas, NV, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author & Presenter), Henson, R.K. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), Association for Applied Sport Psychology 39th Annual Conference, Standards of practice for program evaluation of collegiate student-athlete services., Association for Applied Sport Psychology, Las Vegas, NV, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author & Presenter), Hayden, K.N. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), Williams, H.P. (Author), American College of Sports Medicine 71st Annual Meeting, Gender differences in incremental force production accuracy following a 3-, 6-, or 12-week strength training course, American College of Sports Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Dardaman, S.S. (Author & Presenter), Hayden, K.N. (Author), Williams, H.P. (Author), Martin, S.B. (Author), National Strength & Conditioning Association Annual Conference, ). Influence of physical self-efficacy on perceived incremental force exertion accuracy following a 3-, 6-, or 12-week strength and conditioning course, Association for Applied Sport Psychology, Las Vegas, NV, United States of America. (2023 - 2023).

Contracts, Grants, Sponsored Research

    Grant - Research

  • Dardaman, S.S. (Co-Principal), Martin, S.B. (Co-Principal), "Fear of reinjury, physical self-efficacy, and perceived self-body image of female athletes following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.," sponsored by Association for Applied Sport Psychology, National, $4508 Funded. (2024 - 2025).

Service

University Service

  • Other (Strength and Conditioning Coordinator), Reserve Officers' Training Corp (ROTC). (January 15, 2025 - Present).
  • Student Org Advisor (Non-Professional Org), Division of Student Affairs - Strength and Conditioning Club (Student Organization). (January 1, 2025 - Present).
  • Other (Ken Bahnsen Gym Manager), Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation. (January 1, 2025 - Present).
  • Director, Program Director of KHPR Undergraduate Strength and Conditioning Concentration. (January 1, 2025 - Present).
  • Committee Member, Search Committee for “Assistant Professor (tenure track) with a specialization in Sport, Exercise, or Health Psychology”. (September 1, 2023 - March 1, 2024).

Professional Service

  • Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Council on Accreditation of Strength and Conditioning Education. Denton, TX. (October 1, 2024 - Present).
  • Reviewer, Conference Paper, National Strength and Conditioning Association. Denton, TX. (January 1, 2023 - Present).
  • Board of Advisors, National Strength and Conditioning Association - Texas Region. Denton, TX. (January 1, 2023 - Present).