StudySpot combines the two loves of Steve Udvari, founder of StudySpot Educational Services, hockey and education.  Playing in the OHL in the late 1980s, Steve learned the value of coaching to teach, mentor, and motivate young athletes.  When Steve attended the University of Toronto as a graduate student in School and Child Clinical Psychology, he began working for a Toronto-based Educational Psychologist administering educational assessments and supporting students in one-to-one study skills development.

Here, Steve saw first-hand the benefit that a skill focused intervention, coupled with the mentoring relationship of a coach could have on an adolescent student. He believed that this style of intervention would not only benefit students diagnosed with a learning disability, but any student who struggled academically or who was not reaching his or her academic potential.  Steve recognized that working with children and adolescents in academic environments should be no different than working with children and adolescents in athletic environments.  The coaching model should be applicable to both settings, and in 1999, Steve launched StudySpot Educational Services.

In 2003, John Williams joined Steve as a partner in StudySpot.  John, a former hockey teammate and coach, brought to StudySpot his philosophy and approach to communicating and motivating teenage boys and girls. He adopted a traditional model for athletic success and applied it to academic success, one that focuses on the interplay between natural ability, effort, and skill development.

StudySpot opened its first location in the east end of Toronto in Leaside in 2007.   Here, they created a unique space where coaches and students could work together to develop their academic skills.  A second location in Etobicoke was opened in 2009 in response to the growing demand, and the need to be geographically available for students in the west end of the city.

In 2012, it was determined that to better meet the needs of families and coaches, public libraries would be a more convenient and appropriate workspace from which to hold coaching sessions. This change allowed StudySpot to provide academic coaching anywhere a student, a coach, and a library could be found. This new service model has allowed StudySpot to grow significantly and service a much greater geographic area.

Geographic growth led to challenges with servicing communities outside of the Toronto area.  In 2017, StudySpot created licensing opportunites to individuals who wished to utilize the StudySpot brand and materials to deliver academic coaching services in his or her own community.  StudySpot now provides locally delivered services to students in communities across Canada.

In response to the pandemic, StudySpot began to offer our coaching services virtually.  During the two years that the pandemic limited our ability to meet in person, StudySpot adapted and learned how to take advantage of the available technologies.   StudySpot learned that not only was online meeting convenient and flexible for both families and coaches, but the ability to share screens and share documents in real time made the coaching easier and more productive.   Emerging from the pandemic, StudySpot continues to offer virtual coaching as an option when meeting in person is not possible.

Our Mission

From its inception, StudySpot believed that the best way to support students in their academic pursuits was to teach them the skills necessary for success in school.   It is our mission is to provide capable students the structure, tools, and motivation required for them to reach their academic potential.