Current Students

SPPARC Current Students


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Matthieu Boisvert

Hometown: Montreal, Quebec

Academic Background:
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Specializaton in Psychology, Concordia University
MHK in Sport and Exercise Psychology, University of Windsor
PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology (In progress), University of Windsor

Research Interests:

  • Athlete leadership
  • Group dynamics
  • Team cohesion

About Me: 
My interest in sport and exercise psychology stems from my experiences as a competitive hockey goaltender, where I learned first hand about the importance of the mental aspect of performance. Theses experiences led me to pursue an undergraduate degree in psychology, where I had the opportunity to gain experience in the field of sport psychology conducting research on coaches and the coach-athlete relationship. My graduate research interests focus on athlete leadership and group dynamics. My master’s project involved conducting a leadership development program that targeted the enhancement of athlete leadership behaviours of youth hockey players. For my doctoral research, I will be conducting a meta-analysis on athlete leadership and focus group interviews to assist in the development of an online athlete leadership development program.

Contact: boisverm@uwindsor.ca


a person with short dark hair wearing a dark shirtNathan Clark

Hometown: Windsor, Ontario

Academic background:
Fourth-year undergraduate student (movement science) who is working in the SPAARC lab while completing an undergraduate thesis.

Research Interests

  • Athlete leadership
  • Group dynamics
  • Application of psychological skills training

About me:
My initial interest in sport and exercise psychology stems from my experiences as a competitive athlete locally (hockey, volleyball) and past experiences in leadership positions. Throughout my undergraduate courses I’ve seen the impact of psychological skills and leadership in athletic settings and how it can help people's performance in many settings resulting in me joining the SPAARC lab.

Contact: clark91@uwindsor.ca


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Samantha D’Agostino

Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario

Academic Background:
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Psychology and Community Health Promotion, Daemen College
MHK in Applied Human Performance, specialization in Sport and Exercise Psychology, University of Windsor
PhD in Kinesiology, specialization in Sport and Exercise Psychology (in progress), University of Windsor

Research Interests:

  • Psychological resilience in athletes
  • Psychological skills training
  • Imagery

About Me:
Sport is a foundational part of who I am and has been a great influence on my academic interests in sport and exercise psychology. As a competitive athlete, it wasn’t until later in my career where I noticed how little I had learned about sport psychology. Whilst being a collegiate athlete and completing my undergraduate degree in psychology, I spent years searching for links between what I was learning in classes and how I could apply them to my sport to enhance both personal and team performances. Therefore, I find my research interests laying within understanding different psychological factors and skills that affect athletes mental and physical performance. I am beyond grateful to continue my academic career at the University of Windsor and I look forward working with the students in SPPARC.

Academic Achievements:
OGS Recipient (2021-2022)
SSHRC CGS-M (2022-2023)
Outstanding Graduate Research Award – Master's for Applied Human Performance (2023)

Scholarly Activities:
Ely, F. O., Paré, M., D’Agostino, S., & Munroe-Chandler, K. J. (2023). The sequence of basic mental skills: A guide for psychological skills training. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 14(1), 40-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2022.2104978

D’Agostino, S.A., Ely, F.O., Paré, M.A., & Munroe-Chandler, K.J. (2022). What’s the lineup? The selection and sequencing of mental skills for a PST program. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 44(S1), S72. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2022-0071

D’Agostino, S. A., Ely, F. O., Paré, M. A., & Munroe-Chandler, K. J. (2023). A knowledge translation tool? Exploring the effectiveness of an infographic to disseminate information on psychological skills training. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 45(S1), S73. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2023-0077.

Contact: dagosti2@uwindsor.ca


a person with long dark hair wearing a dark shirtAshley Flemington

Hometown: Burlington, Ontario

Academic background:
B.Sc. Honours in Kinesiology, Queen’s University
M.Sc. in Kinesiology, McMaster University
PhD in sport and exercise psychology (in progress), University of Windsor

Research interests:

  • Athlete leadership
  • Leadership development
  • Group dynamics

About me:
I was drawn to the field of sport psychology through my experiences as an athlete, a sport coach, and a strength and conditioning coach. Throughout my experiences I have been a part of teams that succeed, surpassed expectations, and those that fell short. What always interested me was the variety of personalities and leadership structures that took place, and I wanted to better understand why this happens and how it impacts a team. As I pursue my PhD, I am excited to learn more about these relationships and how we can improve the performance and experiences of young athletes.

Contact: flemin41@uwindsor.ca


a person with long wavy hair and a dark shirtKatie Hirsch

Hometown: Durham, North Carolina, USA

Academic Background:
Bachelor of Science (BS), Psychology and Sociology, Furman University
MHK, Specialization in Sport and Exercise Psychology, University of Windsor
PhD(c) in Kinesiology, Specialization in Sport and Exercise Psychology (in progress), University of Windsor
 
Research Interests:
  • Athlete leadership
  • Leader fairness
  • Group dynamics
  • Body image in sport
Academic Achievements:
OGS Recipient (2018-2019, 2020-2021)
Graduate Assistant and Teaching Assistant (GATA) Award in Educational Practice (2020)
Outstanding Graduate Research Award – Master's for Applied Human Performance (2020)
AASP Conference Student Abstract Award (2020)

About Me:
My interest in sport and exercise psychology stems from my involvement in sport as a child when I participated in soccer, softball, basketball, and volleyball at varying levels of competition. My involvement as a player sparked my interest in coaching, refereeing, and mentoring in the sport environment. As a result of my experience viewing sport form different perspectives, I was able to see how influential team relations and leadership components are to a team's success on and off the field. Additionally, I have grown to better understand how important off-the-field dynamics can play into the success and development of an athlete on and off the field. Discovering the field of sport psychology has enabled me to build upon my experiential knowledge of group dynamics and leadership to now include research-based findings. I look forward to continuing to study these aspects of sport psychology and finding new aspects that excite my interests. 

Scholarly Activities:
Loughead, T. M., Munroe-Chandler, K. J., Hirsch, K. E., & Boisvert, M. M. (2021). Athlete leadership in sport. In L. Davis, R. Keegan, & S. Jowett (Eds.), Social psychology in sport. Human Kinetics.

Loughead, T. M., Munroe-Chandler, K. J., Boisvert, M. M., & Hirsch, K. E. (in press). Athlete leadership. In E. Filho & I. Basevitch (Eds.), Sport, exercise, and performance psychology: Research directions to advance the field (pp. 161-175). Oxford University Press.

Blomquist, K. K., Hirsch, K. E., Lomas, E., Montgomery, K., & Becker, C. B. (2021). Dissemination of a dissonance-based body image promotion program in church settings: A preliminary controlled pilot study with adult women. Body Image, 36, 263-268.

Kirsch, K. E., Ely, F. O., Doan, M. M., Loughead, T. M., & Munroe-Chandler, K. J. (2021). A crisis management framework for athlete leaders: Reflections from university athletes’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 43, S71.

Ely, F. O., Hirsch, K. E., Doan, M. M., Munroe-Chandler, K. J., & Loughead, T. M. (2021). From physical to virtual: University athletes’ perceptions of team communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 43, S63.

Hirsch, K. E., & Blomquist, K. K. (2020). Community-based prevention programs for disordered eating and obesity. Current Obesity Reports, 9(1), 81-97.

Loughead, T. M., Hirsch, K. E., Boisvert, M. M., & Maechel, C. (2020). Athlete Leadership in Youth Sport. In M. W. Bruner, M. A. Eys, & L. J. Martin (Eds.), Group Dynamics in Youth Sport (pp. 73-89). Elsevier/Academic Press.

Loughead, T. M., Boisvert, M. M., & Hirsch, K. E. (2020). Coaching cohesive teams. In R. Resendre & R. Gomes (Eds.), Coaching for Human Development and Performance in Sports (pp. 321-339). Springer.

Contact: hirschk@uwindsor.ca


a person wearing glasses and a dark jacketMegan Kalbfleisch

Hometown: Mount Pearl, Newfoundland

Academic Background:
Bachelor of Human Kinetics (BHK), University of Windsor
Master of Arts in Kinesiology (MA), Western University
PhD Student in Kinesiology, Specialization in Sport and Exercise Psychology (in progress), University of Windsor

Research Interests:

  • Team psychological safety
  • Coach and athlete leadership
  • Group dynamics

About me:
For as long as I can remember, sport has been part of my life. I played a variety of sports at multiple levels; however, I fell in love with volleyball in high school and continued this journey as a varsity athlete at the University of Windsor during my undergrad. Over the course of my athletic career, sport psychology played a big role in my life, and I developed a passion for understanding how group dynamics and leadership can contribute to team sports. Through the SPPARC lab, I have been able to work with varsity and club level athletes on leadership development and have started working towards understanding team psychological safety in sport. In my free time you can find me coaching high-performance club and varsity volleyball, and spending time outdoors with my friends!

Scholarly Activities:
Sheppard, M. B., Kalbfleisch, M. E., Loughead, T. M. (2023, June 1-3). Examining the predictive validity of the Shared Professional Leadership Inventory for Teams: Testing the athlete leadership-cohesion relationship. [Poster Presentation]. North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA), Toronto, ON, Canada. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2023-0077 

Contact: kalbflem@uwindsor.ca


a person with short dark hair, a beard and moustache in a dark shirtAidan Kovacs

Hometown: London Ontario

Academic Background:
Honours spec in psychology from King's University College at Western
Master of Human Kinetics: Applied Human Performance (in progress).

Research Interests:

  • Athlete mental health
  • Use of psychological skills

Academic Achievements:
Ontario Graduate Scholarship Recipient 2023

About me:
I grew up in London Ontario, where I attended Western University for psychology. Having grown up with sports being my biggest passion, and being thoroughly interested in psychology, I decided to attend Windsor for graduate school to combine these interests. Growing up I played competitive basketball and soccer, which eventually led to making the Western varsity soccer team during my undergrad. During my undergrad I also developed a passion for dunking, and I spend lots of my time outside of school and work trying to improve my vertical and dunking ability. I also love to hike and camp out west with my girlfriend, Kendall, and my dog, Dover.

Contact: kovacs5@uwindsor.ca


Melissa Paré

Hometown: LaSalle, Ontario

Academic Background:
HBSc in Health Sciences, Wilfrid Laurier University
MKin, specialization in Sport and Exercise Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University
PhD in Kinesiology, specialization in Sport and Exercise Psychology (in progress), University of Windsor

Research Interests:

  • Psychology of sport injury and rehabilitation
  • Psychological skills training
  • Mental health and exercise
  • Athlete retirement and transitions

About Me:
My interests in sport and exercise psychology stems from my experiences as a varsity basketball player. Throughout my career, I sustained numerous severe injuries and was fascinated by the psychology of injury and rehabilitation.  Specifically, my research interests revolve around psychological responses to injury and rehabilitation, and how athletic therapists can use psychological skills training to help injured athletes. Additional research interests include the influence of exercise on university student mental health. From an applied perspective, I have experience as a mental performance coach at the university, college, and youth level. In my spare time, I enjoy coaching youth basketball, bird watching, and walking my dog.

Scholarly Activities:
Paré, M. A., Muir, I. L., Munroe-Chandler, K. J. (2023). Mental health and exercise: University students’ insight into the UWorkItOut UWin program. International Journal of Kinesiology in Higher Education, 7(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/24711616.2022.2081826

Ely, F. O., Paré, M. A., D’Agostino, S. A., & Munroe-Chandler, K. J. (2023). The Mental Skills Pathway: A guide for sequencing psychological skills training. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 14(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2022.2104978

Tracey, J., Russell, H., & Paré, M. (2019). Reactions to concussion rehabilitation: Amy Parent, a freshman basketball player. In M. Arvinen-Barrow & D. Clement (Eds.), the psychology of sport injury and performance injury: An interprofessional case-based approach (pp. 62-79). New York: Routledge.

Paré, M. & Munroe-Chandler, K. (March 25, 2022). Didn’t you learn this in school? A proposed content analysis of sport psychology courses in CATA accredited athletic therapy programs (PROPOSAL). [Oral Presentation]. Eastern Canada Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Paré, M., Muir, I., Munroe-Chandler, K., Loughead, T., & Sutherland, C. (2021, November 3). The UWorkItOut UWin program: Improving the mental health of students. [Panel Discussion]. Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health, Online.

Paré, M., Muir, I., Munroe-Chandler, K., Loughead, T., & Sutherland, C. (2021, October 10). University students’ perceptions of exercise counselling: A qualitative examination of the UWorkItOut UWin exercise program. [Oral Presentation]. Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), Online.

Paré, M. & Tracey, J. (2020, October 21). The days, months, and years after the last game: retirement transition of Canadian student-athletes [Oral presentation]. Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), Online.

Contactpare41@uwindsor.ca


a person with short blonde hair wearing a dark shirtMason Sheppard

Hometown: Burlington, Ontario

Academic Background:
Honours Bachelor of Human Kinetics (BHK), University of Windsor
Master of Human Kinetics: Sport and Exercise Psychology (MHK), University of Windsor
PhD Student in Kinesiology, Specialization in Sport and Exercise Psychology (in progress), University of Windsor

Research Interests:

  • Athlete leadership
  • Shared athlete leadership
  • Leadership development
  • Group dynamics

About Me:
My interest in sport and exercise psychology stems from my past experiences playing and coaching a variety of sports, including ice hockey, volleyball, baseball and squash. These experiences motivated me to pursue an undergraduate degree in Human Kinetics. After taking Dr. Chandler and Dr. Loughead’s undergrad classes, I completed my MHK in the SPPARC lab. I wanted to continue my Ph.D in the SPPARC lab in order to work with varsity teams and continue researching athlete leadership, leadership development and group dynamics principles.

Academic Achievements:
OGS Recipient (2022-2023, 2023-2024)
Outstanding Graduate Research Award – Master's for Applied Human Performance (2022)

Scholarly Activities:
Loughead, T. M., Sheppard, M. B., & Hirsch, K. E. (2022). All athletes can lead in their own way. Frontiers for Young Minds. doi:10.3389/frym.2022.686407

Loughead, T. M., Sheppard, M. B., Munroe-Chandler, K. J., & Hirsch, K. E. (2021, May 13-15). Athlete Leadership: “What are We Sharing?”. In S. A. Wolf & V. V. Wergin (Chairs), Carrying the weight of the team on your shoulders: Task-related, positional, situational, and role-related social indispensability and its consequences [Symposium]. German Association of Sport Psychology 53rd Annual Conference, Tubingen, Germany.

Sheppard, M. B., Kalbfleisch, M. E., Loughead, T. M. (2023, June 1-3). Examining the predictive validity of the Shared Professional Leadership Inventory for Teams: Testing the athlete leadership-cohesion relationship. [Poster Presentation]. North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA), Toronto, ON, Canada. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2023-0077

Sheppard, M. B., & Loughead, T. M. (2023, March 25-26). Implementation of a leadership development program with a varsity hockey team: A proposed action research study [Conference presentation]. Eastern Canada Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium (ESCEPS), Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.

Sheppard, M. B., & Loughead, T. M. (2023, March 25-26). Implementation of a leadership development program with a varsity hockey team: A proposed action research study [Conference presentation]. Eastern Canada Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium (ESCEPS), Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.

Sheppard, M. B., Loughead, T. M., & Munroe-Chandler, K, J. (2022, July 11-15). Examining the psychometric properties of a shared leadership inventory for the study of athlete leadership. [Conference presentation]. European Federation of Sport Psychology (FEPSAC), Padova, Italy.

Sheppard, M. B., Loughead, T. M., Munroe-Chandler, K, J. & Bloom, G. A. (2023, June 1-3). Assessing the factorial validity of the Shared Professional Leadership Inventory for Teams. [Poster Presentation]. North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA), Toronto, ON. Canada. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2023-0077 

Contact: shepp113@uwindsor.ca