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A weekend of learning, reflecting and feeling inspired! 🏃‍♀️✨

I am feeling very grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from some incredible people, challenge my thinking and take away so many valuable ideas to bring back to my own coaching from the Australian Athletics National Coaching Conference.

Some important points I took away:

🌱 It’s about more than just performance. As coaches, we have the opportunity to help shape not only better athletes, but more confident, resilient and capable young people.

🤝 Connection is everything. Taking the time to understand your athletes, build trust, celebrate successes and make them feel valued can have just as much impact as anything you do in a training session.

💪 Play the long game. Every athlete develops differently, and sometimes the best thing we can do is slow down, focus on the foundations and remember that progress takes time.

🧠 Keep asking why and explain the why. Whether it’s understanding training loads, recovery, athlete health or the purpose behind a drill, there’s always more to learn and ways to improve & communicate.

🙌🏽Don’t forget about yourself. A good reminder that looking after my own wellbeing, setting boundaries and making time to reflect are important parts of becoming a better coach too.

One of my favourite coach to athlete communications from the weekend was using an “EBI”- Even better if as a tool for feedback. And using the phrase “You can do it, just not yet.” Something so simple, but such a powerful message to carry into coaching for an athlete’s self-belief. Most importantly, learning to coach the athlete in front of you. Every athlete is different, and sometimes the kids will teach you how to coach them.

I definitely walked away with plenty to think about, a few things I want to do differently and a renewed appreciation for the impact we can have as coaches.

Still so much to learn, but that’s one of the things I love most about coaching. Always learning, always growing, and hopefully helping my athletes do the same.

$Chris takes the stage today at the Australian Athletics Coaches Conference to break down the science and practical application of Flywheel Resistance Training (FRT) for athletic performance! Whether you coach sprinters, distance runners, or multi-directional sport athletes, flywheel technology provides a dynamic, gravity-independent stimulus that traditional weight training cannot replicate. Here is a quick breakdown of what Chris is covering in today’s session: Ballistic Force Profiles & Eccentric Overload Unlike standard weights, flywheel systems utilize rotational inertia (I = m \cdot r^2) to store kinetic energy during concentric acceleration and return it as intense eccentric overload—simulating dynamic force profiles without high joint impacts. 📊 Proven Transfers to Running Performance Learn how flywheel loading directly enhances performance on the track, backed by research showing gains in running economy, jumping power, sprint capabilities, and overall endurance. 🛑 Deceleration, Braking & Injury Resilience Rapid horizontal deceleration requires absorbing extreme braking forces. Chris will highlight strategies for leveraging eccentric loading to build muscular stiffness and protect against hamstring strains, Achilles issues, and joint overload. 🔄 Autoregulation & Safe Loading Mechanics Because resistance dynamically auto-adjusts to match output on every single rep, athletes avoid traditional “sticking regions” and fatigue safely. Harness options also unload the spine, making high-intensity strength work accessible for athletes of all levels. 🏟️ Trackside Portability & High-Density Training Discover how portable, lightweight flywheel platforms let coaches deliver high-density strength, post-activation potentiation (PAP), and in-season maintenance directly on the track or field. If you’re attending today, or would like Chris to attend your conference or organisation for a Flywheel workshop make sure to with Chris afterward to discuss bringing research-backed flywheel protocols to your athletes! 🙌 #Athletics #StrengthAndConditioning #FlywheelTraining #TrackAndField #CoachingConference EccentricOverload RunningPerformance SportScience$

Australian Athletics Coach

@athscoachaustralia