Training for and taking part in the Rottnest Channel Swim as a team of 4. Training for and completing both a sprint and Olympic distance triathlon and also an open water swim race at Mullaloo.
Degree in Sport & Exercise Science.
Accredited Strength & Conditioning Coach.
Diploma in Sports Massage.
Diploma in Sports Taping & Strapping.
Level 1 & 2 Crossfit Coaching.
Level 1 & 2 British Weightlifting Coaching.
Level 2 Gym Instructor
Beginning in Sports from a very early age my parents placed me in Karate & Swimming, my earliest memories are of me taking part in and enjoying some form of sport. The school was always full of sports and other than playing football for hours before during breaks and after school, we also had dedicated school sports at least 2 times a week. One term of Rugby, one of Football, and one of Cricket all year round. My love of sports grew from a very early age and my parents worked hard to put me in as many after-hours extras as possible. Kickboxing, Badminton, Basketball, and Extra Football as I grew up. You could say that the number of hours, days, weeks, months, and years that I was coached and had coaching has led me on the path I'm on today. I think I've always enjoyed communicating and learning about movement, health, and performance. This continued into my later academic years when I studied Sport & Exercise Science at Leeds Metropolitan University in England. Continuing to play sports namely American Football I began to gain experience of doing the coaching as opposed to just being coached. I gained a Strength & Conditioning Internship and began working in the High-Performance Centre at the University. Primarily working with Volleyball, Netball, and Rugby League. While in that environment I was able to spectate the Great Britain Olympic Weightlifting team training for the London 2012 Olympics. My interest grew for the Sport and I began another Internship with British Weightlifting. Spending time, watching, listening, and learning anything I could from the Coaching Team piqued my interest in the sport and high-level performance coaching. This led to further involvement in Olympic Weightlifting as I gained the role of Regional Talent Development Coach for the North of England. Aiding in the delivery of both technical teaching and Strength & Conditioning education at the Great British Talent Development level. I completed my UKSCA Strength & Conditioning Accreditation and both my level 1 & 2 British Weightlifting Coaching Qualifications and later began teaching those same Weightlifting Courses. I began my own Weightlifting club called Leeds City Weightlifting and we were extremely successful from Youth age groups all the way up to Masters with a number of national champions. I established and managed the Northern Lifting League a Regional Division of the Lifting League spanning Yorkshire & Cheshire. I Wrote articles for the ‘ukolympicweightlifting.co.uk’ website. A non-profit site for coaches, athletes, enthusiasts, and beginners to come together and form a community. Aiding to increase the recognition of the sport across the UK. I attended the Tri Nations Competition in Norway as a result of being selected as the British Weightlifting Development Coach for the England Team.
My understanding of life has always been "work to live not live to work" and yet I find it harder and harder to remove myself from this as responsibilities grow. My enemy has always been myself, I'm my harshest critic and my toughest coach. Making mistakes is a learning experience but also can be a sign of poor planning and improper execution in Sports this has detrimental results. My strongest flaw is allowing this type of thinking from decades of playing sports to bleed into my personal and professional life. This has caused me to overthink, ruminate and annoy myself and the people around me. I think about all options and contemplate repercussions constantly and this leads me to be in my own ahead and not in the moment or even being attentive, this can lead people to believe that I'm not listening or don't want to continue to converse. I'm naturally an Introvert and have a quota for interaction and work best when I can break up interaction with some alone time.
My passion and dedication to coaching have never waivered, It's the only job I've ever had since I was 18 years old and at the age of 34 right now I still love it! I think if I won the lottery I'd still coach because that's my passion, maybe just not as many hours. I'm a keen gamer and always enjoyed the concept of leveling up, working at something over time to get to the next level. With every new level came advantages and new skills to learn. This is how I view coaching, I enjoy being part of the process of people leveling up. Not only performance-based but also health whether it be physical or mental health which is becoming more and more important to me as I spend more time on this job.
