I am a professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University where I served as the Director of the School from 2006-2019. My research interests are in the areas of youth sport, coaching, positive youth development, and sport expertise. I also hold a cross appointment as a visiting professor in the School of Human Movement Studies at the University of Queensland in Australia, and at Gloucestershire University in the UK. I have a PhD from the University of Ottawa, an MSc from the University of Montréal, and a BSc from the University of Ottawa. In 2012, I received the Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision for the social sciences and humanities at Queen’s. In 2009, I received the 4th EW Barker Professorship from the Physical Education and Sport Science department at the National Institute of Education in Singapore.
My research interests include the examination of (a) the interaction between youth, their social dynamics (e.g. coaches, parents, peers), and the environment for the development of personal assets and the full engagement of youth in constructive activities such as sport, and b) the factors that affect personal development, participation, and performance in sport. Since 1999, I have received as a Principal Investigator six consecutive grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to fund my research work. My most recent Insight Grant involves the use of observation techniques to examine the influence of different types of coach-athlete relationships and the development of a Transformational Coaching workshop that focuses on positive youth development.
I have served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, The Sport Psychologist, Revue International des Sciences du Sport et de l’Education Physique, International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, International Sport Coaching Journal, and Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. I was also the editor of the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology from 2008 to 2011.
I have published more than 150 refereed papers on a variety of sport psychology and youth sport topics and 50 book chapters. I am regularly invited to present my work to both sport governing organizations and academic conferences throughout the world and have delivered 60 keynote addresses at major national and international conferences.
I also co-edited the first comprehensive book on talent development in children’s sport which was published in 2013 by Fitness Information Technology.
I have been an invited lecturer or visiting professor at various institutions around the world including the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), University of Queensland (Australia), Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (Brazil), University of Leipzig (Germany), Nippon Sport Science University (Japan), University of Thessaly (Greece), European University of Madrid (Spain), Wingate Institute (Israel), University of Limerick (Ireland), University of Gloucestershire (UK), and the University of Georgia (USA). I have also assisted different international organizations as a research advisor or through the completion of position papers such as the International Olympic Committee, National Federation of State High School Associations, American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, Sport Coach UK, National Basketball Association, UNESCO, International Council of Coaching Excellence, the English Premier League, UK Sport, Fédération de Golf Française, and Irish Sport Council.