Athlete to Coach Pathway Program underway

Six athletes, including an Olympian and multiple Commonwealth Games representatives, will begin their transition to become world-class coaches as part of Athletics Australia’s new Athlete to Coach Pathway program. 

The Athlete to Coach pathway program, funded by the AIS Performance Pathway Grant, aims to assist recently retired athletes or athletes who are moving towards retirement, to use the knowledge and experiences gained as competitors in the coaching arena.

The program is a key initiative of Athletics Australia’s High Performance Coach Strategy which aims to support and develop system and personal coaches for the Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.

Athletes who will be the first to undergo the program include: Jared Tallent, Lyndsay Troode, Nicole Fagan, Robbie Crowther, Kim Mulhall and Larissa Pasternatsky.

“When an athlete’s competitive career is finished, the knowledge and experience about what it takes to win in high performance sport is often lost as they move on to their next phrase of life,” Athletics Australia National Performance Pathway Lead – Coaching, Dianne Huxley said. 

"This program specifically focuses on helping high level athletes who have retired or athletes that have the desire to coach at an elite level to use their knowledge experiences gained as competitors in the coaching career."

“We believe that these athletes selected today have the commitment and dedication to our sport, and with help from our program, they will have what it takes to help foster a new generation of athletes to succeed at the highest level,” Athletics Australia National Coach Development Coordinator, Mark Stewart said. 

“I’d like to congratulate each of them on their selection to the pilot program, and we look forward to working with them as they embark on this new chapter of their athletics journey.”

Australia’s most decorated track and field athlete, Olympic gold medallist Jared Tallent is just one of the recently retired athletes who has aspirations to develop the sport.

“I really enjoyed my time coaching my sister to Olympic representation in 2016 and sharing my knowledge and experiences with her. The thrill of seeing her compete and knowing I had helped get her there was humbling,” Tallent said.

“However, to take the next step in becoming a coach at an elite level, I need to gain further expertise from other coaches to truly be able to develop my coaching and mentoring skills. I want to start by working with athletes in my home state of South Australia, helping them in their daily training environment, and my main goal in becoming a coach will be to help the athletes reach the same levels that I did during my career.”

The Athlete to Coach Pilot Program has commenced, with each successful applicant working on a development plan tailored to their individual needs with guidance and support from key AA coaches and support staff.

Athletes selected to the Athlete to Coach Pilot Program:

Kim Mulhall
Kim has represented Australia in the discus on multiple occasions, as both a youth and junior athlete (2007-2010) and at senior level at the World University Games (2013) and Commonwealth Games (2014 & 2018). Kim has been developing her coaching skills in the school athletics as well as now working with higher level athletes and has also been proactive in seeking to improve her coaching knowledge through formal education. These experiences will provide her with a great platform to launch her into coaching in the high-performance domain.

Jared Tallent
Jared has had a very long international race-walking career, which began in 2001 at the World Youth Championships and culminated in multiple Olympic medals. Jared is one of Australia’s most successful athletes, having won medals at 12 major international competitions including Gold, Silver and Bronze at the Olympics. While Jared has experienced many highs throughout his career, he has also had his share of setbacks and disappointments both of which he can draw on as a coach. Jared has coaching experience, working with his sister Rachel Tallent as she won the 20km Walk National title and achieved Olympic representation. Capturing this knowledge and experience and helping him through the program to harness this into coaching is very exciting for both Jared and the sport, and specifically for the walks community in Australia.  

Lyndsay Troode
Lyndsay has extensive knowledge of track and field through her experience as an athlete (400H/400m), club committee member, and in management and marketing with AthleticsWest. Lyndsay also holds coaching qualifications and recently begun working in an assistant coach capacity while juggling full-time work and motherhood. As Lyndsay was a medallist at National level for over 10 years before making her first senior international team, she understands the time it takes to make this transition, and this will benefit her greatly as she embarks on furthering her coaching career.

Robert Crowther
Robbie will bring a unique perspective and understanding as an athlete into coaching. Having been a World Junior champion he understands the difficulties in transitioning from elite junior to elite senior. As a scholarship holder at the AIS and QAS over a 10-year period he has a very good understanding of how multidisciplinary teams and support networks benefit both athletes and coaches. In addition, his roles as an ambassador and role model coaching young indigenous talent in rural communities has provided further experience that will benefit his future coaching career,

Nicole Fagan
Nicole’s varied experiences as a race walker, coach, teacher, and as a volunteer with the National Aboriginal and Sporting Chance Academy and a Children's Rights Organisation in the Philippines, bring a well-rounded perspective to this new opportunity in her coaching journey. As an athlete her 10-year progression from junior national level to senior international in race walking brings an understanding of the skills, knowledge and patience required to continue to develop the young athletes she has been working with in NSW. As she has coached several national medallists at the junior level this program will be instrumental in her developing and expanding her skill set as she focuses on transitioning juniors to success as a senior and eventual representation on the global stage. Additionally, Nicole’s teaching skills and expertise together with her humanistic approach/lens ensures a holistic approach to coaching and provides an excellent foundation for the next step in her coaching career.

Larissa Pasternatsky
Larissa recently retired from elite level athletics having represented Australia as a sprinter at the Commonwealth and World University Games. She successfully combined her athletics career with a degree in Commerce from The University of Sydney, along with working as Head of Fitness instructor and Coach within a school setting.  Like others in the program, Larissa has developed a good understanding of the pitfalls of success as a junior athlete and what is necessary to develop and prepare a junior athlete to progress successfully into elite senior ranks.  Having experienced a variety of coaching relationships, together with her current role as Sport Coordinator at Wheelchair Sports NSW/ACT, she will bring a well-rounded approach and understanding to her coaching as she fully transitions from athlete to coach.
 

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 13/9/2021