"YJ" Yonjoong Ryuh, Ph.D.

Office

Advising Area

• Lifetime Physical Activity

About

• Director, Golf & Motor Learning Laboratory
• Co-Director, Seawolf Fit: Movement, Physical Activity, & Sports for All
• Faculty Fellow, Center for Community Engagement

• He came to Sonoma State in the Fall of 2020 as an Assistant Professor.
• He was born in the State of Indiana, but moved to South Korea when he was a year old.
• He was a Division 1 soccer player at Seoul National University (SNU), South Korea, under Korea University Football Confederation (KUFC), and then became an assistant coach for the SNU soccer team while he is working on his Master’s degree.
• In Korea, he was a PE teacher, athletic trainer for high school student-athletes, and director of many adapted physical activity programs.
• He came to Mississippi State University to study motor behavior and exercise science in individuals with all abilities. Currently, he is working on connecting both areas of study, motor learning and adaptive physical activity, to support the disability population and their family to be more physically active and healthier.
• He is not currently playing soccer although he would love to; instead, he enjoys golf and tennis. He is a single golfer (handicap: 7 over par) and won a champion of the Rohnert Park Tennis Club adult doubles league (USTA 4.0) in 2021.

His Curriculum Vitae

Education

• Ph.D. in Exercise Science, emphasis on motor learning in intellectual disability, Department of Kinesiology, Mississippi State University, MS State, MS, 2020
• M.S. in Adapted Physical Activity, Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, 2014
• B.S. in Physical Education, Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, 2012

Selected Publications & Presentations

EXTERNAL GRANT

• 2025, T-mobile Hometown Grant, $50,000 (awarded), PI, Enhancing Accessibility and Engagement on the On-Campus Walking Trail: Butterfly Garden and Interactive Exercise Posts with QR Codes
• 2025, NIRSA Research Grant $10,611 (submitted), Co-PI, Beyond Access: A Comparative Study of Campus Recreation Engagement and Inclusion Among Students With and Without Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
• 2023, United Cerebral Palsy, $20,000 (Rejected), PI, The impact of a single-bout aerobic exercise on cognitive function and EEG frontal alpha activity in children with Cerebral Palsy

RECENT PUBLICATION at Sonoma State

1. Ryuh, Y., & Chen, C.-C. (submitted). Rethinking the Impact: No Cognitive Boost from Vigorous Exercise in Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research [JIDR-05-2025-0206-OMr]
2. Chen, C.-C., & Ryuh, Y. (submitted). Do Males and Females Think Differently? A Study on Confidence and Attention in Golf Putting, Discover Psychology [f0cb3b7f-85fa-4d8e-b2be-1f6df148e57b]
3. Chen, C.-C., Ryuh, Y., & Lamberth, J. (submitted). Variations in Perceived Confidence and Attention Focus Between Males and Females During a Golf Putting Task, Acta Psychologica [ACTPSY-D-25-00696]
4. Choi, P., Lim, S., Muniz, S., & Ryuh, Y.*, (submitted). Gamified home-based pair exercises for children with developmental disabilities and their parents. Mental Health and Physical Activity [MENPA-D-25-00348]
5. Chen, C.-C., Ryuh, Y., & Pan, C.-Y. (2025). Impact of Adapted and Inclusive University Soccer on Mental Health in Young Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Sports Science for Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-025-01408-8
6. Ryuh, Y., Geschwender, C., Kim, J., & Becker, K. (2024). The Distance Effect in Focus of Attention: Spatial or Temporal Distance?. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 1-6.
7. Chen, C.-C.(JJ), Ryuh, Y., Lamberth, J., Pan. Z., & Conners, F. (2024). The effects of different exercise modalities on visuospatial working memory in healthy young adults. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 19(4), 1084-1094. https://doi.org/10.55860/xhx8j351
8. Chen, C.-C. (J.J.), Ryuh, Y-J, Tomporowski, P.P., Lamberth, J., Pan, Z., & Conners, A. (2023). Acute effect of skill random practice versus cardiovascular exercise on motor learning of a golf putting task. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 54, 140-151.https://doi.org/10.7352/IJSP.2023.54.140
9. Chen, C.-C., Ryuh, YJ, & Mackey, K. (2022). The Cognitive Effect of Unified Flag Football Program in Young Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: The Exploratory Study. The Physical Educator, 79, 615-628. https://doi.org/10.18666/TPE-2022-V79-I6-11024
10. Chen, C.-C. (JJ), Ryuh, Y-J., Donald, M., & Rayner, M. (2022) The Impact of Badminton Lessons on Health and Wellness of Young Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 68(5), 703-711, https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2021.1882716
11. Chen, C.-C.(JJ), Ryuh, Y., Luczak, T., & Lamberth, J. (2022). Examining Different Foci of Attention on Golf Putting Performance in Novice Learners. The Physical Educator, 79(4), 466-483.
12. Ryuh, Y.J, Chen, C.-C. (JJ), Pan, Z, Gadke, D.L., Elmore-Staton, L.S., Pan, C.-Y., & Cosgriff, A. (2022). Promoting Physical Activity through Exergaming in Young Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 68(2), 227-233. https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2019.1605771
13. Chen, C.-C. (JJ), Kulinna, P.H., Spring, K.E., Ryuh, Y., & Holmes, M.E. (2022). The Evaluation of Physical Literacy of Preservice Physical Educators. The Physical Educator, 79(5), 548-568. https://doi.org/10.18666/TPE-2022-V79-I5-10908
14. Chen, C-C, Ryuh, Y., Luczak, T., & Lamberth. J. (2021). The Effects of Attentional Focus and Skill Level on the Performance of Golf Putting. Journal of Motor Learning and Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/jmld.2020-0072.
15. Chen C.-C. (JJ), Ringenbach S.D.R., Ryuh Y.J., Hardwick H. (2021). A Preliminary Exploration of Relationships between Executive Functioning and Motor Skills in Young Adults with Intellectual Disabilities. Global Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities, 8(2): 555733. DOI: 10.19080/GJIDD.2021.08.555733
16. Chen, C-C (JJ), Holmes, M.E., Wood, K., Ryuh Y., & Kulinna, P.H. (2020) Are You Better Than a 12-Year-Old Student? A Pilot Study to Explore Physical Literacy in Preservice Physical Education Teachers. The Physical Educator, 77(1), 130-153.