LIZ GRAY 

I have been involved with Athletics for over 50 (!) years, starting Little Athletics as a 5 yo and competing through until 27. All of my competitive athletics was done in Victoria. I was a fairly successful middle distance athlete, medaling or winning at every Junior Nationals from U12 to U20 in the 800m and often the 1500m as well. I held numerous State records over these distances, some of which stood for 20-30 years.

I started my coaching journey in Victoria, coaching at a few private schools and with my own personal squad. Amongst my private squad, I had athletes win state titles, break state records and one medal at Nationals. After moving to Launceston 8 years ago, I had to start my coaching from scratch, in a state where nobody knew me. I have gradually built up my squad and now have around 15 serious athletes and 10  or so others that train more casually. Our squad has been very successful, winning many state titles for track and cross country, a number of state records, a couple of medals at National championships and one member of a World Junior team. My most successful athletes include AJ Creak, Chanel Charles and Sophie Marshall.

My qualifications include a 4 year sport science degree and I am currently completing my AA Level 4 qualification. I was a TIS scholarship holder last year and am currently one of 12 women from around Australia selected to participate in the inaugural Women in High Performance coaching program run by AA; a 2 year program designed to promote more females into High Performance roles in the sport.

TIS Scholarship:

I was fortunate to be successful in receiving a scholarship grant for coaching education through the TIS last year. This enabled me to complete a number of online and in-person courses during the year. The scholarship funded a trip to Canberra, to complete my Level 3 qualification (after having done the first half pre-Covid). I also had a trip to Sydney to participate in a workshop on becoming a better coach next season, and an SMA course on running injuries in Hobart, both of which I found extremely valuable and great learning experiences.

The scholarship recipients also attended online meetings on Leadership (6 sessions) and sessions on Sports Psychology with the other recipients from a variety of sports. It was great to hear about other sports and their coaching practices and challenges.

Overall, this was a really valuable year, allowing me to increase my knowledge and gain confidence in many areas of my coaching.

Coaching Committee:

From my participation in the coaching committee, I am hoping to achieve or address some of the following:

• Increase or instil a sense of community amongst the coaches throughout Tasmania and encourage greater collaboration. My experiences with coaching in Tassie are very different to in Victoria and I feel   that there is plenty we can do to enhance the experience for all coaches.
• Increase the profile of coaches within the Athletics community and provide greater acknowledgement of the coaches, particularly in the north and north-west.
• Address some issues that exist in the north amongst the coaches and with track usage/ etiquette.
• Be able to provide greater educational opportunities for the coaches in Tasmania.
• Review practices for team selection, team travel and the TTPsquad/ program to ensure really positive experiences for all athletes on those teams. Look at coach involvement in those areas.
• Look at ways to encourage transitions from Little Aths to seniors, through the involvement of the coaches.

More communication with coaches from AT and the TIS.