Coaching
We provide the best possible training environments and opportunities for athletes of all ages and experience levels across all triathlon and multisport distances and formats, to achieve their own personal goals.
Meet our coaches
A reformed smoker, Col stumbled into triathlon in 2011 as a motivation to avoid relapse, and soon found himself completely hooked after wheezing his way around his first sprint distance race. From there, Col gradually progressed to take on the longer triathlon distances with an impressive resume of results that continues to build, including SA titles at Sprint, Standard and Long distance, as well as multiple podiums at Ironman full and half races,including winning his Age Category at Ironman WA in 2022. Having now competed in over 100 events across all distances, Col’s true passion is for long course triathlon, having qualified for Kona on 4 occasions and racing in 2015 and again in 2024.
After a 31-year Air Force career, Col moved into triathlon coaching looking for opportunities to give back to the sport, that has provided him so much. Applying the extensive experience acquired teaching young pilots the physical and mental skills to effectively fly and fight military aircraft, Col’s transition to triathlon coaching has been both seamless and very
successful, identifying remarkable similarities between the two coaching disciplines.
Col’s is a strong believer that no two athletes are the same and therefore generic ‘cookie cutter’ training programs cannot possibly be effective. Each athlete needs a program that suits their individual strengths, aspirations, lifestyle and limitations in order to achieve their personal goals and enjoy the experience. Central to Col’s coaching philosophy is athlete engagement – open, honest and regular communication forms the foundation of the coach/athlete relationship. Athletes understanding not just the ‘what’, but the ‘why’ of their training program is fundamental to intrinsic motivation to train and the ability to make good decisions in training and racing.
Col is passionate about working with every single athlete and has experience working with both Adults and Juniors, from absolute beginners to Age Group champions and Kona qualifiers. His goal is enjoyable, sustainable, effective training for long term health and happiness.
I have been in the world of triathlon for over 5 years having started at an entry level with Olympic distance triathlons and progressing all the way through to my first full distance Ironman within the same year. From the beginning I not only always strived for the best performance but also to gain a better understanding of how to go about structuring and putting together a program that would best enable that. During this time, I was also helping a good mate to train for his first 100km ultra marathon and wanting to assist, I became keen to put my knowledge towards helping more with that process by tailoring his program to his specific needs. This background has led me to coaching so that I can continue to be able to help others achieve their goals and dreams.
I have now raced in four Ironman distance races and one 70.3 race in the past 4.5 years. My first Ironman race was in September 2020 at Cairns where I placed 1st for my age group in a time of 10:50, qualifying for Kona on my first attempt. I went back to Cairns in 2021 and 2022 where I placed 1st in my age group again both times and securing a Kona slot again with times of 9:22 and 9:16. In 2022 in achieved my dream that I had been striving for since starting triathlon which was racing on the Big Island n the Ironman World Championships. To fulfill this dream was surreal and the to experience of the race in all is glory was a truly special experience. I placed 23 rd in age group with a time of 10:00 hrs.
To be able to get the best out of yourself and your coach I believe a strong communication base is essential, where both parties can be open and honest. This allows the athlete to have a greater understanding of why they are doing each session as well as letting the coach know any areas that might be affecting the athlete. The coach doesn’t know how the athlete’s body is feeling which makes it hard for the coach to know the fatigue levels which is why it is vital for communication.There is no set way to structure a program – each athlete requires vastly different styles and programs to be able to gain the best out of themselves. The most important aspect of the program is to ensure the athlete maintains their enjoyment levels while training (racing is the party time) but also to understand that it’s not always going to be easy and fun – there will be hard sessions & there will be times that you don’t want to get out of bed. But
by having goals – both big and small – it enables you to enjoy making progress, which in turn makes training a little bit easier.
Starting my triathlon journey with the Weetbix kids triathlon I never thought I’d end up doing triathlon as a sport. Between the ages of 8-14, I played just about every sport there is to play, from tennis to baseball to soccer. My eventual decision to focus on triathlon came after being beaten one too many times and deciding I didn’t like that feeling.
Skip forwards 4 years and I have competed at multiple junior national championships, won multiple state titles, and countless hours of training. In recent times I have switched my focus towards cycling more so, I now loo forward to seeing how far I can progress in the world of cycling.
From the very beginning in Triathlon, I have always been fascinated by the inner workings of my training spending countless hours staring at data and asking my fair share of questions (to my coach’s delight I bet) which has eventually guided me towards becoming a coach myself, so that I can relay all of the knowledge I have gained so that I can give someone else the opportunity to better themselves in the sport of Triathlon just as I have done.
My philosophy is that while not everyone will be a world champion or even a state champion, everyone can be better than they were yesterday. Consistency, communication, and application to training are the three biggest contributors to success that I have found over my time in the sport. Every athlete is different and therefore has different needs and goals. However, the underlying goal of competing in triathlon is to have fun.
I am keen to coach everyone from first-timers to professional hopefuls. I look forward to being able to help you get the best out of yourself!
