Research Interests

My research interests relate to the developmental and psychosocial factors that affect sport and physical activity performance and participation. I am interested in the complex interaction of children, parents, and coaches in the development of talent and in the achievement of personal excellence. The purpose of this research is to identify variables and behaviours within families, performers, and coaches that create favourable conditions for excellence, participation, and personal development in sport. To accomplish this task, I utilize various qualitative and quantitative methodologies including unstructured and structured interviews, observation, video-task analysis, and questionnaires.

My research interests lie in the general area of sport psychology with a particular focus on group dynamics principles. More specifically, I am interested in the psychosocial influences present in sport and physical activity settings, and how individuals’ can be influenced by, but can also influence the groups to which they belong. My current projects involve the investigation of group processes such as cohesion, cliques, social identity, and leadership on both individual and team level outcomes in child/youth and elite sport populations. Generally, the main focus is to develop a better understanding of certain psychosocial factors that can be used to inform interdisciplinary and policy relevant research aimed at enriching the sporting environment.