College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences
Department of Sport SciencesSport and Exercise Psychology Faculty
Dana D. Brooks, Dean, Professor
Click here for Dr. Brooks' web page
Dr. Brooks, who currently serves as Dean of the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, has published and presented scholarly papers at national and international conferences in the academic fields of sport sociology and sport social psychology. Dr. Brooks' research foci are primarily in the areas of African-American athlete experiences in sport, youth sport programs in America, and the assessment of coaching and administrative leadership effectiveness. He is an active member of the North American Society for Sport Sociology and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD); and is past President of the Midwest District of AAHPERD. Dr. Brooks is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the West Virginia University Social Justice Award and the West Virginia AAHPERD Ray O. Duncan Award. He received a B.S. degree from Towson State College and M.S. and Ed.D. degrees from West Virginia University. His research interests include the African-american athlete experience, youth sport, and coaching and administration effectiveness. Dean Brooks can be reached at 304-293-3295 ext. 5257 or Dana.Brooks@mail.wvu.edu.
Damien C. Clement, Assistant Professor
Click here for Dr. Clement's web page
Dr. Clement joined the Sport and Exercise Psychology staff as an Assistant Professor in 2008. He received a bachelor of science degree from University of Charleston (Charleston, WV) and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from West Virginia University. He teaches undergraduate sport and exercise psychology courses and graduate athletic training courses, including Social Psychology, Science and Theory of Rehabilitation, Psychological of Injury, and Integrated Functional Human Performance. Dr. Clement is currently a Certified Athletic Trainer, a National Certified Counselor as well as an Association for Applied Sport Psychology Certified Consultant. Dr. Clement’s research interests span both Sport and Exercise Psychology and Athletic Training. More specifically he is interested in attitudes towards sport psychology, professional issues in sport psychology and psychology of injury. He is also a frequent presenter at the national AASP conference. Dr. Clement is originally from Trinidad and Tobago. Dr. Clement can be reached at 304-293-3295 ext. 5306 or Damien.Clement@mail.wvu.edu.
Edward F. Etzel, Associate Professor
Click here for Dr. Etzel's web page
Dr. Etzel teaches a variety of sport psychology courses, such as Performance Enhancement, Counseling College Student-Athletes, and the Psychological Aspects of Sport Injury. Ed serves as a licensed psychologist for the WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. He is also the liaison between the WVU Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services and the Athletic Department. Previously, Ed served as coach of the WVU Rifle team, where he coached over 30 WVU All-Americans, and guided his teams to five NCAA national Championships. Dr. Etzel was the Gold Medalist in the Men's English Match Rifle event at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. He received a B.S. degree from Tennesse Technologial University and M.S. and Ed.D. degrees from West Virginia University. His research interests include cCounseling athletes, ethics and professional issues, and psychological aspects of Injury. Dr. Etzel can be reached at 304-293-3295 ext. 5589 or Edward.Etzel@mail.wvu.edu.
Vanessa Shannon, Assistant ProfessorClick here for Dr. Shannon's web page
Dr. Shannon joined the Sport and Exercise Psychology staff as an Assistant Professor in 2008. She served as department chair and assistant professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at Tennessee Wesleyan College. She has authored numerous publications and has made various professional presentations, both national and international. She received a B.S. degree from Rice University, a M.S. degree from Kansas State University, Manhattan; and a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in Exercise, Sport, and Leisure Studies with a specialization in Sport Psychololgy. Dr. Shannon can be reached at 304-293-3295 ext. 5307 or Vanessa.Shannon@mail.wvu.edu.
Jack C. Watson II, Associate Professor
Chair, Department of Sport SciencesClick here for Dr. Watson's web page
Dr. Watson joined the West Virginia University sport psychology faculty in 2001 after completing both a Ph.D. degree in sport psychology and a post-doctoral respecialization in Counseling Psychology at Florida State University. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the WVU Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services. He teaches a variety of courses in the area of social psychology of sport at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is also the faculty advisor to the Undergraduate Major's Club. Dr. Watson has several publications in both sport psychology and counseling psychology, and is a frequent presenter at the national AAASP conference. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Virginia, a M.S. degree from West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. and Post-Doctoral Respecialization in Counseling Psychology from Florida State University. His research interests include Professional Issues in Sport Psychology: Ethics, Mentoring, Supervision, Anger and Aggression, Motivation, Youth Sport. Dr. Watson can be reached at 304-293-3295 ext. 5273 or Jack.Watson@mail.wvu.edu.
Samuel J. Zizzi, Associate Professor
Dr. Zizzi is an Associate Professor teaching courses in sport and exercise psychology, statistics, and research methods. In January 2006, he took over the position of Program Coordinator for the SEP program from his mentor, Dr. Andy Ostrow. Dr. Zizzi's primary research interests include lifetime physical activity and applied sport psychology. He is the resident statistical consultant in the department, adding his "expertise" and love of statistics to several graduate programs at WVU, including athletic training and counseling psychology. His favorite areas of research methodology include survey development, univariate statistics, and psychometric testing.
On the applied side, Dr. Zizzi supervises graduate students, works with WVU athletes on performance enhancement and is a Certified Consultant (AAASP) and member of the US Olympic Committee's Sport Psychology Registry. He also coordinates two exercise adherence and weight loss programs run through the university for community members.
When not slaving away on academic pursuits in his windowless office, Dr. Zizzi can usually be found with his beautiful wife Elizabeth engaging in physical activites including swimming, basketball, racquetball, rollerblading and raftball. He has also been known to host musical jamborees on his deck and prefers to spend considerable time bonding with his acoustic guitar and smiling puppy Lucy.
Dr. Zizzi can be reached at 304-293-3295 ext. 5306 or Sam.Zizzi@mail.wvu.edu.
Education
B.A., James Madison University
M.A., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Ed.D., West Virginia UniversityResearch Interests
Applied sport psychology training and practice
Physical activity promotion, exercise psychology
Professional issues (certification, supervision, accreditation)
Emotional intelligenceCourses Taught
Psychology of Sport; Statistics; Exercise Psychology; Psychology of Injury
Sam Zizzi, Ed.D., curriculum vitae
Program Coordinator and Associate Professor
szizzi@mail.wvu.edu; Dr. Zizzi's web page
(304) 293-3295, x5240Chung-Ju Huang (“Glen”), Visiting Scholar from Taiwan
Dr. Huang joined the West Virginia University sport psychology program as a two-year-termed visiting scholar in February 2007. He received his doctorate in Sport Psychology from National Taiwan Normal University . Dr. Huang currently is a professor in the Department of Sports Science at Taipei Physical Education College. In Taiwan , he has taught several courses in the area of sport psychology and statistical software application at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Huang also has some experience in the field of applied sport psychology, providing services to athletes, coaches, and sport teams at all competitive levels. In addition, he has coached the college women’s basketball team of TPEC. He has been the Assistant coach of Chinese Taipei women’s basketball team for the Universiade 2001, Beijing . His areas of research include survey development, application of structural equation modeling, sport confidence, mental toughness, anxiety and other applied issues. Dr. Huang has published some articles in Taiwan local journals, attended international conferences, and received several grants from his government to support his work. Now, he is active to try to publish his research results in international journals. Dr. Huang has served on the executive board of the Society of Sport & Exercise Psychology of Taiwan. Being a visiting scholar at WVU, he is looking forward to learning practical experience regarding applied sport psychology and to working with the faculty and graduates doing research. In the meantime, he would like to taste of the totally different weather, environment, and culture here in the USA . Personally, Dr. Huang enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing tennis, and traveling to good places.