Anne Marie Van Daalen | Coach Appreciation Month

Through a thick South African accent, there is no mistaking Anne Marie Van Daalen’s love for athletics. With a passion for people and the patience for progress, the Queensland coach is one of many unsung heroes building the sport from the ground up.

On a casual commute some time ago, Van Daalen cranked the radio. Rather than bobbing her head to her favourite song, the South African expat was shaking her head to the results of a survey – soon becoming a catalyst for change.

“The turning point for me was when I was in the car one day listening to the radio. They had results on the radio from a youth sport survey and specifically about girls’ participation in sport, and how girls are leaving sport during their teenage years at a rate much faster than boys,” Van Daalen says.

“I thought to myself being a parent to a daughter, maybe I can do a small part in that. I went and did the courses at Athletics Queensland.”

Athletics Australia’s latest accredited coach was not a complete novice. Van Daalen laid down her experience as a runner and love of athletics as the founding pillars of her newfound coaching career, putting certificates to her knowledge with Level 3 qualifications in Jumps, Sprints, Relays and Hurdles.

“I love working with the youth and am very passionate about athletics, my passion in life is keeping kids active. Seeing them improving or mastering skills and even just growing in confidence, I absolutely love that! That feeling of satisfaction and kids reaching their goals in wonderful,” Van Daalen says.

“Getting kids to engage in sport at a young age really sets them up for a lifetime of staying healthy, even if they don’t get to the Olympic level. For them it’s about building self-esteem, a positive attitude and loving coming to the sessions.”

First applying her craft in the amateurs, Van Daalen has built an impressive resume across a number of clubs and schools (Caboolture, Wamuran, Bribie Island, Grace Lutheran College, St Paul’s Lutheran Primary School, GSP Running Club) – jumping from opportunity to opportunity through the simple habit of saying yes.

“I have my own goals leading into the sessions and I want them to feel that sense of achievement when they leave. The social element is really important as well, it is so nice to have that team element of training and encouragement at competitions,” Van Daalen says.

While contributing to Australian athletics, Van Daalen’s heritage continues to shape her direction in coaching, none more so than Ans Botha – coach of Olympic 400m champion and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa.

Van Daalen tells the story of Botha with affection as though she knew her personally, recounting the story of the 74-year-old receiving a coaching book in the mail from South Africa and taking up coaching at her local school in Namibia.

“Ans Botha had a quote that in essence says life is not about the years that you live, it’s about what you contribute in those years – I have kind of adopted that as my motto,” Van Daalen says.

“My first language is Afrikaans, so when I break things down to the kids I think I break it down in really basic English. I think that actually really helps because we have a lot of African kids come through.”

Crediting a host of coaches as her inspiration from 89-year-old Martin Roberts who was influential in the early careers of Cathy Freeman and Benita Willis, to Sharon Hannan and even Athletics Australia’s Blair Taylor – Van Daalen is simply searching to create the best version of her coaching self. 

“They all have different styles and there is something about each one that I like,” Van Daalen says.

Anne Marie Van Daalen is just one of many coaches we say thank you to this Coach Appreciation Month in December. Don’t forget to #ThankYourAthsCoach and share their story on social media.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 22/12/2022