As part of Shooting Australia’s Coach Development Program (CDP), coaches from rifle and shotgun came together in Sydney for a coach-focused learning weekend built around the theme Coaching in Action – Observe. Understand. Design. Reflect. Adapt.
The weekend created space for coaches to experiment with their approach, work with athletes they didn’t know well, and learn alongside each other. Connection was woven throughout, with athletes contributing directly to the coaches’ learning through structured sessions and formal debriefs.
The coaches were supported by a multidisciplinary consultant team, bringing perspectives from athlete wellbeing, skill acquisition, sport psychology, and high-performance coaching. Mindfulness and breathing in shooting also provided coaches and athletes with another lens through which to consider their own practice and performance.
They brought different perspectives to the coaching environment, working together to broaden the coaching lens.
Coaches were encouraged to step outside their usual approach — asking more questions, explaining less and listening more deeply. Following each session, they reflected on their process before hearing directly from the athletes. As one participating coach said “Hearing from the athletes was very helpful and important. It also helps to build relationships with them faster.”
These conversations helped coaches understand what was working for the athletes and what might need to change, with another coach highlighting the value of “Hearing firsthand from the athletes helps shape the next session.”
Alongside coaching practice, the weekend explored coach wellbeing, encouraging coaches to consider how looking after themselves can positively influence how they support others, with one coach reflecting that “It made me think about myself more than just others. If we don’t look after ourselves then we can’t look after others.”
Aurelie Gibson, Coach Development Lead reflects. “What we’re seeing through the program is coaches experimenting, listening, reflecting and learning — from each other, from their athletes and from their own practice- and then being able to take those learnings back into their own coaching environments.”
The Sydney workshop reinforced that excellence grows through purposeful planning, curious questioning, and listening to understand – with each coach finding their own way to put these ideas into practice.
