Fast-track to success for WAIS coaches
The rapid progression of Athletics Coach Danny Kevan is set to pay dividends for WAIS athletes in 2023 and beyond. Originally from Manchester in the UK, Kevan is entering his second year of the Australian Institute of Sport’s National Generation 2032 Coach Program (GEN32) and his ambitions are clear.
With the upcoming World Championships in Paris commencing this July, Kevan has been working hard to prepare Para sprint athletes and WAIS scholarship holders Ella Pardy and Rhiannon Clarke (who have both already qualified for the 100m), to chase gold. These goals are more achievable through the full-time coaching capacity the GEN32 program permits.
“The program really gives me the chance to focus on the coaching, it’s not a second thought. It’s also allowed me a chance to be embedded into the system a little more and work with service providers directly – it makes the program more holistic and gives the athletes the best chance to reach their potential” he said.
Sprinter Clarke mentioned the ‘now’ full-time capacity of Danny’s role has meant that it has become, “a lot easier to fit sessions in at preferable times and receive instant feedback that’s critical for our development and with World Champs around the corner, we’ve been training six times a week – some days, two times a day,” she said.
The aim of the GEN32 program is to increase the number and diversity of high-performance coaches around Australia, through a two-year intensive coach development program for aspiring pathway and early career high performance coaches. Kevan has had the opportunity to learn from an array of sporting programs and coaches around the country, allowing him to explore new possibilities in the way he coaches his own athletes.
“The biggest takeout of the program so far has been the ability to analyse myself, through the AIS Learning Labs – we get to go away and work with multiple coaches from various sports” says Kevan. “Being able to work with people from outside of athletics has given me the ability to look at myself as a coach and how I think. It’s meant I’ve been a little less blinkered in my approach and I’m more open to explore new coaching possibilities and implement my learnings”.
Working full-time at WAIS, operating as part of the Performance Enhancement Team, and with ongoing support from the AIS including recently appointed WAIS Coach Development Lead Belinda Stowell, the Gen32 coaches are aiming high as we enter an exciting decade of high-performance sport in Australia.
