With the beginning of the new year, 2021 marks the 10^th year for the Journal of Kinesiology and Wellness (JKW). In many respects JKW is a new journal, still finding its place within the fields of kinesiology, heath, and wellness. Although the journal is still evolving, JKW has been creating an identity and beginning to make its mark among the plethora of online journals. With this in mind, I thought the time was right for our first “Message from the Editor”. I hope this editorial message becomes the norm as we begin new years and new volumes in the years to come. There are far too many things I could write about in this first “Message from the Editor”, therefore, I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight some of JKW’s most recent developments that have, hopefully, improved our journal.

I was given the editorial reigns of JKW in 2018. Although JKW is a unique journal, I don’t think my goals as editor were any different than editors of other small journals. First and foremost, I wanted to improve the journal. In its simplest form, improvement from the editor’s desk can be measured by number of submissions, the quality of accepted manuscripts, and readership. There are many ways to improve a journal, thus, this is where the uniqueness of JKW comes into play. From my perspective, the best way to improve the journal was to seek input from others, specifically WSKW members, authors, reviewers, and readers. And that’s exactly what I did. Having gathered all the input, I took my first steps in improving the journal. Before I go on, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that when I talk about “improving” JKW, this is not to say that the reigns of our journal were handed over in disarray or anything needed to be fixed. To the contrary. The previous editors were excellent stewards of JKW and created a journal that WSKW was proud of. Therefore, by “improving” this is really more synonymous with “growing” the journal. Thus, simply “growing” the journal led to “improvements” for JKW.

So how do we grow and improve a journal? By meeting the expectations of the scientific community. Providing a laundry list of changes isn’t what’s important for this editorial message. In fact, there are changes/updates made that authors and readers will never notice, and that’s a good thing. While there are other changes/updates that authors and readers will recognize, and that’s’ what I’m proud of. For those that have been with JKW from the beginning, and perhaps even some of our new readers, you will see a professional journal with a diverse editorial board. You will find novel and quality publications that both compliment and further scholarship in our field. JKW is a no-cost to readers online open access journal that is indexed and easily searchable. You’ll notice a journal that is responsive to its authors, reviewers, and readers. In doing so, JKW is on the right path for growth and improvement. However, as editor, what I’m most proud of, is leading a journal that supports our students and the future scholars in kinesiology, health, and wellness.

With that, I am delighted to celebrate our Student Edition, which has proved a success in its first year. There are a limited number of journals geared toward student works, and JKW has taken a step toward filling this missing, and important, niche within our field. The JKW Student Edition provides an avenue for student scholars to showcase their work. The primary goal of this special edition of JKW is to provide an initial, and authentic, publication experience for young scholars. It provides an important opportunity for students to address issues in the field and disseminate their research. As JKW becomes more established, I envision the Student Edition playing a valuable role in supporting our student scholars, and helping to prepare future academics and researchers. With the launch of our second year for the JKW Student Edition I hope it will become the primary option for student research in Kinesiology, health, and wellness.

As JKW continues to make strides in our field, our focus will always be to provide both an educational and informative journal. WSKW, the JKW Editorial Board, as well as myself look forward to our 2021 volume. On behalf of JKW, I welcome future submissions to both our Annual and Student Editions. If you wish to submit a manuscript or to view the journal home page, please go to https://www.wskw.org/journalkw/.

In closing, I would like to express my gratitude to WSKW for their support and for making JKW the official journal of the organization. I would like to thank our Associate Editor, Dr. Ovande Furtado Jr., for his assistance with all parts of JKW. Thank you to our Editorial Board Members, Dr. Seung Ho Chang, Dr. Min Kim, Ms. Laura Robinson-Doyle, and Dr. Heather Van Mullem for their outstanding work. I would also like to recognize our newest Board Members, Dr. Gioella Chaparro and Dr. Jongil Lim. And of course, a special thank you to all our authors, reviewers, and readers.

Your questions, suggestions, or concerns regarding JKW are always welcomed.

Address Correspondence to:

Jeff Bernard, PhD

Department of Kinesiology

California State University, Stanislaus

1 University Circle

Turlock, CA 95382

Email: jbernard1@csustan.edu