Where South Australia’s elite sporting coaches are teaching

The next generation of sports stars need elite coaches. Here are the SA schools where the greats are already coaching kids.

Brett Ebert, Ange Foley, Leanne Eichler, James McRae, Sally Martin, Phil Stubbins, Peter Bubner, Sarah Sutter, Nathan Eagleton, Ryan Kitto, Peter Sleep, Johan Botha, Todd Perry, Jarrod Lienert, Michelle den Dekker, Lauren Soderberg and Tim Weatherald.

They’re elite names in the sporting world – from rowing to rugby, netball, AFL, soccer, tennis and volleyball – but they also have something else in common; they’re sharing their expertise in our schools to deliver the next generation of stars.

And it’s not only the top private schools luring big names to their fields and courts. From Paralowie to PAC, Heathfield to Henley, Mt Gambier to inner Adelaide, South Aussie high school kids are being given unprecedented access to current and former elite sports coaches and sporting legends – even sports psychologists – while at school.

Principals and sports teachers told the Sunday Mail the power of inspiration can’t be underestimated.

When it comes to inspiration, there is no greater example than Paralympian Neil Fuller, who has been director of sports at St Peter’s Girls’ School since 2008.

Inspiring leader: Paralympian Neil Fuller is director of sport at St Peter's Girls’ ... he is pictured with sport prefect Rose PIttman. Picture supplied.

A promising young soccer player, Fuller turned to athletics after losing the lower part of his right leg due to an on field injury.

“Mr Fuller’s story clearly showcases triumph over adversity – the fact he came back from such a horrific injury to win as many Paralympic medals as he did is phenomenal,” says St Peter’s sport prefect, Rose Pittman.

Three-time Olympian and former Australian and world champion rower James McRae has coached St Peter’s College first VIII boys for the past three seasons and says it’s great to see kids getting access to high-level expertise and skills.

“I think it is probably something that has been a little underrated in the school system, the importance of people around who have that deep understanding of a sport, to make sure it is implemented well in the school environment,” McRae, who grew up in Murray Bridge, says. “Even if the school kids don’t necessarily want to row in the Olympic Games, or play basketball for Australia, just having the knowledge there is that pathway there, and they can take it if they want, is definitely worthwhile.”

So much has McRae enjoyed his school coaching gig, he’s gone back to school himself to qualify as a teacher (he has an engineering degree and had planned to pursue that as a career post rowing).

Former Olympic rower and St Peter’s College first VIII coach James McRae with this year’s head of the river winners. Picture supplied by St Peter’s College.

“People actually laugh at me because I get a lot more nervous coaching than I ever did as an athlete,” he says.

McRae’s “boys” have won the past three Head of the River events but he says he gains more satisfaction in watching boys pursue rowing past school, than winning a single competition.

“Angus Dawson is one, he is in the U23 Australian team at the moment … he is certainly one of the most talented rowers to come through the state in the past few years,” McRae says.

At Seymour College students are relishing in the appointment of a new middle school football coach, AFLW Crows vice-captain Ange Foley.

Tallulah, in Year 9, says: “I was so excited (to learn) the vice-captain of the Crows was going to be coaching me this season … how fantastic to be coached by such an amazing sporting hero, I (can’t) believe how lucky we are!”

It is a sentiment shared by teammate Alice. “Due to the high-level experience that Ange has, the girls and I have respect for her knowledge and listen eagerly to what she says,” she says.

Ange Foley with aspiring young Seymour College footballers Sophie, Maddie, Alice and Tallulah. Picture: Tom Huntley

As for Foley, a qualified teacher, she too is enjoying the appointment.

“I have been taken back, really, by how enthusiastic the girls are … they just love their footy and are willing to learn and are like little sponges — their enthusiasm has been the thing that has stood out for me,” she says.

“I suppose it is exciting for young kids to be able to have someone, whether it is myself or whoever it is, to be able to aspire to and it is nice for me to be able to come in and pass on the knowledge I have as when I was their age I wasn’t exposed to that.”

Former Australian netballer and specialist coach of the Adelaide Thunderbirds, Jenny Borlase, has also recently joined the sports team at Seymour as the school’s Open A netball coach.

At Pulteney Grammar School it is former Australian netball great Michelle den Dekker – who represented the nation in 84 tests including as captain for a record 71 of those – that is inspiring a new generation of netballers. Port Adelaide defender Jarrod Lienert – and SANFL’s 2016 Star Search winner – is coaching the school’s Year 6/7 footballers. “You just know that listening to him, he is going to teach you good things because if he has gone up to the AFL, you know the drills he is going to teach you, are going to be at a good level and are going to help you as a footballer and are going to help develop you,” 12-year-old Harry says.

For the past five years, Phil Hopton has headed up the specialist cricket program at Adelaide High School which sees the student cricketers train alongside elite players at Adelaide Oval’s indoor cricket centre as part of a Memorandum of Understanding with Cricket SA.

“In winter we get access to that and that is obviously where the Redbacks and Scorpians train during their pre-season and end-of-season, so (our kids) get a fair few incidental opportunities to meet the cricketers they look up to,” he says.

Adelaide High offers a specialist cricket program: Students Erik Carrington, Tejas Gill and Rachel Church are pictured here with former student, Redbacks player Cam Valente. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“It gives the kids an insight into what a high-performance environment looks like – it makes (career cricket) less of a dream and more of a reality.

“Our students are really fortunate and they don’t take if for granted, either … they are very humble and thankful that in a public school in the city they get access to specialists in an area of interest to them.” Former scholars who’ve gone on to secure Redbacks’ contracts in recent years such as Michael Cormack, Jake Winter and Cam Valente also provide invaluable inspiration to current students, returning to the school to work with the aspiring cricketers whenever they can.

For students enrolled in the cricket program their sport of choice is treated as a regular school subject, leading to accredited level 1 coaching and umpiring qualifications as a minimum.

“We are really big on using their interest in cricket as a vehicle to make them great people — good cricketers but better people and use their interest and ability in cricket to teach them not only about the game of cricket but all the intangible benefits of sport as well and help keep them involved in the game for life, not just while they are at school,” Mr Hopton says.

National Recruiting Manager for the Richmond Tigers Matthew Clarke. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos

Students further afield are getting similar opportunities.

In the state’s southeast, Mt Gambier High School offers specialist programs in athletics, basketball, cricket, football, netball and soccer.

Special Sport Program co-ordinator Kerran Wingard says kids are given access to range a visiting high profile sportspeople. Jason Gillespie, Andrew Zesers, Glenn McGrath, Rod Marsh, Shelley Nitschke and Matthew Elliott are among the cricketers who have given their time.

While, in terms of AFL, students have travelled to Adelaide for an indoor training session with Crows midfield development coach Paul Thomas and have ongoing access to Richmond Football Club’s national recruiting manager, Matthew Clarke.

“Through our specialist programs, kids get access to higher-level coaching and the time and opportunity to increase their knowledge of a sport they love and to hone skills and techniques while at school – for country kids to have the opportunity, and not feel like they need to travel up to Adelaide is hugely important,” Mr Wingard says.

Former students drafted to the AFL include Tim O’Brien (Hawthorn), Mathew Allen (West Coast), Jordan Murdoch (Geelong/Gold Coast), brother Brodie Murdoch (St Kilda) and Nathan Stark (Melbourne).

Coach Shane Willsmore runs the Australian Rules Football Academy at Charles Campbell College. The school works closely with the Norwood Football Club. Picture: Phil Heaton

Charles Campbell College, a public R-12 school in Paradise, works closely with the Norwood Football Club to roll out its Australian Rules Football Academy which includes Redlegs players taking training sessions and visiting as guest speakers.

“We also liaise with Norwood about young players who we feel deserve a tryout for their underage development squads,” explains the school’s Helen Martin.

Students involved in the Australian Rules Football Academy at Charles Campbell College train inside one of the school’s fitness rooms. Picture: Phil Heaton

At Paralowie R-12 School, a specialist volleyball program – headed by state coach Derek Slater – is proving fruitful, the school placing in the top three in various divisions and year levels for the past seven years at the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup with the Open Boys’ team bringing home a silver medal last year.

But the school’s volleyball co-ordinator Josh Farmer says the focus is much wider than equipping kids with high level sports skills.

“The volleyball program aims not only to help students develop for elite level but also instil life skills, camaraderie and team work,” Mr Farmer says.

Paralowie volleyballers celebrate a silver medal at last year’s national school championship. Picture supplied

“This program provides students with opportunities they may not necessarily experience outside of the school context and we feel it sets the foundation for them to be successful following high school and into adulthood.”

Henley, Heathfield and Wirreanda are all examples of public high schools offering students access to elite coaches, exercise physiologists, physiotherapists, and sports mentors in specialist sports programs across a range of sports, from athletics to basketball, dance, golf, hockey and even surf life saving.

“We use volleyball to develop skills and dispositions we want these young people to come out with at the end of their schooling,” says Heathfield’s volleyball program manager Stuart Scott.

He says 20 to 30 of the school’s students make state junior teams each year with several former scholars also on scholarships in the US.

Big name coaches at Prince Alfred College include former Adelaide United and Newcastle Jets coach Phil Stubbins, who is coach of the school’s first XI, and the AFL’s Martin McKinnon, a former Crows, Geelong, Brisbane player, who coaches the first XVII.

“It is great to have experts who have achieved at high levels because they bring a distinct understanding of what it means to be successful in an elite environment,” says PAC’s director of Co-Curricular Activities, Troy McKinnon.

Former Adelaide United and Newcastle Jets coach, Phil Stubbins is one of PAC’s soccer coaches. Picture supplied (by PAC)

“Boys who have opportunities to play sport grow their confidence and develop their skills as a result. As they develop these skills, their confidence also improves.”

At Scotch College, Adelaide right winger Ryan Kitto is among those inspiring eager young soccer players.

“Having talent in a school – whether it is academic, artistic or sporting – inspires young people to think at a higher level and gives them the motivation to strive for more,” principal Dr John Newton says.

“By inspiring students to aim high in sport, or simply to find their niche and stick with it, we promote wellbeing in the deepest sense.”

Elite coach and organisational psychologist Jenny Williams, too, agrees there is value in exposing young people to experts.

Williams, who represented the state in six sports, including lacrosse, cricket and AFL, runs athlete psychology development sessions with Year 10, 11s, and 12s at Immanuel College, as part of the school’s high performance program.

“(In a school environment), it does two things – it gives kids time to learn and it also means they have a cohort to talk about what is good, what they can practice and how they can get better, rather than just having to do it individually.

“I applaud schools – and clubs – who are giving kids an opportunity to understand that psychological development is as important as physical development … (I am teaching kids) what champion thinking looks like,” she says.

SPORTING LEGENDS IN SA SCHOOLS

Seymour College:

Ange Foley – AFL, current AFLW Crows vice captain

Jenny Borlase – netball, former Australian netballer and specialist coach of the Adelaide Thunderbirds (Borlase is a three-time world champion and Commonwealth Games gold medalist

Lee Apthorpe – netball, former Australian men’s netball player

Monica Bello – basketball, Forestville Premier League coach

Emily Grist – hockey, current National League hockey player (and former student)

David Fryer – athletics, previosuly coached a UK Olympic 400m champion

Travis Dodd – soccer, former Adelaide United captain

Immanuel

Sarah Vidmar (nee Angove) – netball, former elite netballer, won three state-league premierships with Contax and represented SA in netball at the national level

Troy Clements – AFL, played 209 games for Norwood where he was vice captain (and former scholar)

Jenny Williams – athlete psychology development sessions, represented Australia in Lacrosse, and SA in six sports including AFL, inducted into the SA Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 (old scholar, elite coach and organisational pyschologist)

Westminster

Tim Weatherald – head of preparatory sport/high performace team, a prominent feature of the SANFL scene from his debut with Sturt in 1995 until his retirement at Norwood in 2010 (311 games); inaugural senior coach of the NT Thunder Womens’ team in the VFLW; assistant coach of the Adelaide Crows AFLW team for the 2019 season.

Sally Riley – pre-school PE teacher/AFL, AFLW Crows midfielder

Marg Angove – netball, former elite coach (national and international), former head coach at Contax, Netball SA coach consultant

Sarah Sutter – netball, Commonwealth Games gold medallist (1998), former Adelaide Thunderbirds vice captain, Test player, Netball World Cup gold medal (1995)

Lauren Soderberg – volleyball, Olympic volleyball coach, assistant coach at Volleyroos women’s beach volleyball team

David Tiller – AFL, 290 SANFL games, former captain of North Adelaide

Rostrevor College

Alex Spina – AFL, current North Adelaide vice captain

St Peters College

James McRae – rowing, fomer Australian national champion, world champion, three-time Olympian (2008, Beijing; 2012, London; 2016, Rio) and two-time Olympic medal winner (silver in silver in men’s squad scull in 2016/ bronze in 2012)

James McRae (far left) with his team after winning the silver medal in the Men's Quadruple Sculls Final A on Day 6 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Picture: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Johan Botha – cricket, former South African and South Australian cricketer

Todd Perry – tennis, former Davis Cup player and professional player on the iternational circuit

Stuart Rowlands – badmington, former mixed doubles national champion

Pembroke

Wendy Schaeffer-Macdonald – equestrian, 1996 Olympic gold medallist and former SA Sportswomen of the Year

Sally Martin (nee Causby) – rowing/PE teacher, two-time world champion rower and national champion rower

Scotch College

Nathan Eagleton – AFL, 277 game career with Port Adelaide and Western Bulldogs

Jarrad Schar – rowing, Australian U19 and U21 junior coach

James Seppelt – rowing, two-time national champion, Commonwealth Rowing Championships gold medal (1994), World Rowing Championships silver medal (1994)

Bryn Coudraye – rowing, Australian Olympian (2012)

Alex Hill – rowing (mentor), current top-ranking Australian rower

Olympia Aldersey – rowing (mentor), current Australian rower

Mark Goreham – netball, former state player and national U17 coach

Milan Ivanovic – soccer, past Australian player

Ryan Kitto – soccer, current Adelaide United Player

Scotch soccer coach/mentor and Adelaide United player Ryan Kitto with students at Scotch. Picture supplied by Scotch College.

Brodie Gleeson – hockey, state player

Peter Sleep – cricket, former Australian Test cricketer

Shaminda Eranga – cricket, former Sri Lankan international player

PAC

Greg Chappell – cricket, director of the Greg Chappell Cricket Academy at PAC (opened in 2017) , with a focus on the coaching and development of players and coaches

Ex Australian Test Captain Greg Chappell at his old school Prince Alfred College with current students Carl Arnold, Jesse Lang and Jack McKinnon. Picture: Mark Brake

Ashley Woodcock – cricket, former state cricketer

Deb Trengove – sports administrator, mother of Jack Trengove (Port Adelaide AFL player) and Jess Trengove (SA marathoner), who also assists with coaching PAC’s athletics team

Brian Richardson – rowing (mentor), previously Denmark’s Olympic Rowing Coach and was a crewman on the Australia II which won the 1983 America’s Cup.

Phil Stubbins – soccer, former Adelaide United and Newcastle Jets coach

Martin McKinnon – AFL, former Crows, Geelong, Brisbane player

Peter Bubner – AFL/PE teacher,300 game SANFL player/State player

Peet Arnold – rugby, played international rugby for South Africa

Former South African rugby player Peet Arnold is now a coach at PAC. Picture supplied (by PAC).

St Michael’s College

Brett Ebert – AFL, former Port Adelaide player (won the Magarey Medal in 2003 while playing for Port in the SANFL) and old scholar

Sacred Heart College

Leanne Eichler – netball, former Adelaide Thunderbird and current premier league coach, for Contax

Pulteney Grammar

Michelle den Dekker – netball, represented Australia in netball

Former netball great Michelle den Dekker is now coaching netball at Pulteney Grammar. Picture: Stephen Laffer

Jarrod Lienert – AFL, current Port Adelaide defender, played for Sturt in the SANFL

Malcolm Dolman – cricket, former Australian Test cricketer

Peter Sexton – basketball,former Adelaide 36ers

Indra Reinpuu – volleyball,has coached at Olympic level

Neil Young – soccer, former English Premier League player

Callum Elms – soccer, current Cumberland United player

Lucy Ambagtsheer – volleyball, currently competing for the Volleyroos in Poland (and former Heathfield High specialist volleyball program student)

St Ignatius

Steve McBain – athletics, an accomplished track and field athlete; 1990 Commonwealth Games; Athletics SA Hall of Fame inductee

Henley High

The school’s celebrated sports academy caters for “student athletes” across athletics, basketball, cricket, dance, golf, hockey, netball, soccer, surf life saving/swimming and tennis.

“Students in the academy are guided by a range of industry professionals, including elite coaches, exercise physiologists, physiotherapists, and sports mentors to ensure they get the most out of themselves both in the sporting world and in the classroom,” director of sport Chad Winstanley says.

Wirreanda High School

Wirreanda High School in Morphett Vale offers a specialist sports course to “assist talented student athletes to achieve at the highest levels of performance in their chosen sport”.

Principal Caroline Fishpool says students are given access to state of the art training methods and sport science services such as coaching analysis of their performance, sports injury courses and nutrition.