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Matt Beckenham: Making His Mark on the International Coaching Scene
by Chris Wainwright
In 2000 Matt Beckenham was representing Australia at the Sydney Olympics in the 400m hurdles. A decade on he will be playing an important role as coach to the likes of Melissa Breen, Lauren Boden and Brendan Cole as they step out onto the track at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games.
We caught up the 34 year-old Beckenham just prior to his trip over to Singapore for the Youth Olympics, where he will be leading some of Australia's top youth track athletes.
Matt Beckenham
My coaching business now MattyB DEPT. of Athletic Coaching ( www.mattybdept.com) was set up whilst I was still running. A couple of parents showed interest in me working with their kids and before I knew it I had a squad of 5 local athletes in 2 different venues. Amazingly, almost 8 years on, 2 of them are still in the squad including the original member Patrick Elliott and also Lauren Boden.
I actually started a Bachelor Applied Science (Sports Coaching) at University but switched to Sports Administration because I figured if I wanted to be a coach I would just do my coaching qualifications and it would help me more to understand the administration side of sport in the long run.
I finished my serious athletic career due to injury in 2004 and by the end of that year I had a squad of approximately 10 athletes in my senior squad and also about 30 junior athletes attending weekly coaching sessions. Whilst the thought of coaching interested me it wasn’t until I really started doing it that I found out how much I love it.
RT
MB
From there the results just continued to flow. Luke Storta won my local Queanbeyan Gift in December and Chloe Jamieson broke national record after national record in late 2009. There were multiple squad winners in various gifts and then the big bang in April with Tom Burbidge winning the Stawell Gift and Melissa, Brendan and Lauren taking out national titles and gaining automatic selection for the Commonwealth Games.
Then we got the exciting news that Grant Billingham was selected for World Juniors after running a huge personal best at the Junior National Championships which was an outstanding reward for his commitment to me by moving to Canberra from Wagga Wagga in January 2010.
The month of May saw another period of great results for the squad. Lauren made a huge step forward in becoming a potential world top 8 athlete with victory and a huge PB (55.25) at the Osaka Grand Prix. Also at that meet Brendan ran a season best of 49.85 which has secured him a berth in the Continental Cup and Melissa got a wonderful opportunity to race Veronica Campbell Brown in the 100m.
Grant’s selection for World Juniors along with the 3 in the Commonwealth Games team brought the squad tally of selection in a national team to 19 from 5 different athletes and this year the squad racked up their 30th national open or junior title from 7 different athletes since 2005. In the professional running side the squad has won 44 sashes from 18 different athletes since 2006 and well over $100,000 in prize money.
RT
MB
The next 3 months is a critical period for all 3 athletes going to Commonwealth Games. Brendan finished 5th in 2006 and despite a wonderful top 16 result at the World Championships last year it really is time for Brendan to show his true potential. At 29 he has about 3 good years left and despite the fact that his PB was 50.9 when I started with him in February 2005 and he is now ranked number 7 all time at 49.35 I will honestly feel like Brendan has not reached his true potential if he doesn’t break into the 48 second range before hanging up the spikes. It has been a real “awakening” period since nationals in April which included some real soul searching and honest appraisal of what he could improve to give himself the best chance to reach his potential. He is now the most committed and determined ever and I am very proud of the changes he has made and that is why Osaka’s result was so pleasing.
Lauren could medal in Delhi. It is going to be an unknown until we know exactly who is competing but as her coach I will be looking for her to continue this current wave of form and go into the games without any limits on what time she could run. One thing she has is great belief and confidence as a result of recent performances and this is a real weapon for any athlete. It has been a long term approach with Lauren which is now 7 years along the path and 2010, at the age of 21-22, was always the year when we planned to put the name Lauren Boden on the world scale.
Melissa Breen faces the very difficult task of racing some very fast Women. With 6 of the 8 from the World Championship final from Commonwealth countries there is no denying the strength of sprints. Whilst it is possible that Shelly Ann Fraser or Veronica Campbell Brown may not turn up the reality is Jamaica could field their number 3rd, 4th and 5th runners and we would still see a sub 11 result. Throw in the Bahamas, England and several others countries and you are looking at a time of 11.20ish to make the final in Delhi. Having said all that Melissa is an extremely talented athlete with huge future potential and I do believe that she can run under 11.30 in the short term in India.
Based on the experience of last year (not running village entry and being sent home) it is quite obviously a significant event for Melissa this year. She has responded with maturity and applied herself with great professionalism to become a better athlete and her consistency throughout the domestic season and in Japan was a testament to this.
RT
MB
Unfortunately since 2006 for many possible reasons there has not been an opportunity for me to work at the AIS as a full time coach. Looking back I think I was spoilt in the beginning and now I have a taste for the support that some of our full time coaches and also the athletes that work with those coaches get and hope that my continued success in my private coaching may lead to employment again in the future. To be honest this issue is one that has given me quite a bit of stress in the past. I struggled to understand why walls were put up to prevent my ongoing development or direct involvement in the system. I started to get very bitter because I thought I could have a positive impact on the national program with new enthusiasm and ideas but I now simply accept that I must just worry about things I can control.
Consequently I believe I have turned this situation into a positive and I am proud of my business and the results I am getting working as a private coach.
I had a 10 hour per week role as program coordinator at ACTAS (ACT Academy of Sport) but despite this program performing way above its weight the track and field program ceased and that meant no further role for MattyB. I also spent 12 months as a post grad scholar in Biomechanics and in the past 6 months I have had a role within the Greater 400m Hurdles centre which shows some promise but the role is still being developed.
To answer your question on surviving as a professional coach I charge my athletes between $150-$300 per month in coaching fees plus a percentage of prize money. Do I think it is unfair that my top athletes pay me $3000+ per year compared to other athletes in Canberra on AIS scholarship who receive well over $20000 a year in support? Definitely!
As a former AIS scholarship athlete I know the wonderful support you receive and still think it is something that many athletes outside of Canberra don’t fully understand but this then makes it difficult to swallow when I know that there are athletes I work with who are forced to choose between an AIS scholarship or keeping me as their coach. Thankfully all have stayed in their current successful situation except for one athlete (Brittney McGlone) who took up an AIS scholarship and left the squad after returning with bronze from the 2008 World Junior Championships.
Currently I am also looking at running some junior coaching clinics (MattyB’s FIT4FUN) within the ACT. I presented the concept at a recent ACT Little Athletics AGM and the feedback was quite positive. I have put 7 of my senior athletes through a coaching course so that they can run the sessions and earn some money to help them cover some of their expenses. I will act in a mentor role and try and offer local little athletics clubs with a mechanism for retention of athletes and also provide a coach development and training service.
{part 2 - coming soon to RT}
In 2000 Matt Beckenham was representing Australia at the Sydney Olympics in the 400m hurdles. A decade on he will be playing an important role as coach to the likes of Melissa Breen, Lauren Boden and Brendan Cole as they step out onto the track at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games.We caught up the 34 year-old Beckenham just prior to his trip over to Singapore for the Youth Olympics, where he will be leading some of Australia's top youth track athletes.
RT
Thanks Matt for taking this opportunity to speak with RunnersTribe.
I have been looking back through the results that your squad members have achieved over the past 12 months and at the end of the day you would have to be excited at what you’ve achieved. Firstly, take us through why you set up MattyB's FIT4FUN (in November, 2002)? Secondly, did you always know that coaching was for you after retiring as a successful 400m hurdler (49.47sec PB and 2000 Olympian)?
Matt Beckenham
…..RT thank you for taking the time and showing the interest to interview me. It has been a sensational year for the squad and one I will look back on with very fond memories indeed.
My coaching business now MattyB DEPT. of Athletic Coaching ( www.mattybdept.com) was set up whilst I was still running. A couple of parents showed interest in me working with their kids and before I knew it I had a squad of 5 local athletes in 2 different venues. Amazingly, almost 8 years on, 2 of them are still in the squad including the original member Patrick Elliott and also Lauren Boden.
I actually started a Bachelor Applied Science (Sports Coaching) at University but switched to Sports Administration because I figured if I wanted to be a coach I would just do my coaching qualifications and it would help me more to understand the administration side of sport in the long run.
I finished my serious athletic career due to injury in 2004 and by the end of that year I had a squad of approximately 10 athletes in my senior squad and also about 30 junior athletes attending weekly coaching sessions. Whilst the thought of coaching interested me it wasn’t until I really started doing it that I found out how much I love it.
RT
In May this year you took out your fourth Athletics ACT coach of the year in a row, and had all of your elite athletes take home individual awards (Lauren Boden, Melissa Breen and Brendan Cole). Also, you coached Tom Burbidge to the Stawell Gift and your athletes won over $70,000 in prizemoney on the professional gift running circuit (in NSW and Victoria). Do you take the time to step back and look back at what you’ve achieved over the past 12 months? What’s it like to have three athletes competing at the Commonwealth Games and another competing at the World Juniors (Grant Billingham)?
MB
As previously mentioned 2009/10 season was full of many great moments each extremely special in their own right and I think it is important to take some time to reflect and celebrate when things go to plan. For the past 2 years we have commenced the season as a squad at the NSW relay championships and I take great pride in having 2 men’s and 1 women’s team in the 4 x 100m, 4 x 200m and 4 x 400m relays. I am determined to have a men’s squad team break 40 seconds for the 4 x 100m (40.85 is the current squad record so far) and break 3.10 for the 4 x 400m (3.12.44 is the current squad record)
From there the results just continued to flow. Luke Storta won my local Queanbeyan Gift in December and Chloe Jamieson broke national record after national record in late 2009. There were multiple squad winners in various gifts and then the big bang in April with Tom Burbidge winning the Stawell Gift and Melissa, Brendan and Lauren taking out national titles and gaining automatic selection for the Commonwealth Games.
Then we got the exciting news that Grant Billingham was selected for World Juniors after running a huge personal best at the Junior National Championships which was an outstanding reward for his commitment to me by moving to Canberra from Wagga Wagga in January 2010.
The month of May saw another period of great results for the squad. Lauren made a huge step forward in becoming a potential world top 8 athlete with victory and a huge PB (55.25) at the Osaka Grand Prix. Also at that meet Brendan ran a season best of 49.85 which has secured him a berth in the Continental Cup and Melissa got a wonderful opportunity to race Veronica Campbell Brown in the 100m.Grant’s selection for World Juniors along with the 3 in the Commonwealth Games team brought the squad tally of selection in a national team to 19 from 5 different athletes and this year the squad racked up their 30th national open or junior title from 7 different athletes since 2005. In the professional running side the squad has won 44 sashes from 18 different athletes since 2006 and well over $100,000 in prize money.
RT
What are your expectations of Melissa, Lauren and Brendan in New Delhi? Is it an important stepping stone to a bigger goal of having all three athletes competing for Australia in London in 2012?
MB
The next 3 months is a critical period for all 3 athletes going to Commonwealth Games. Brendan finished 5th in 2006 and despite a wonderful top 16 result at the World Championships last year it really is time for Brendan to show his true potential. At 29 he has about 3 good years left and despite the fact that his PB was 50.9 when I started with him in February 2005 and he is now ranked number 7 all time at 49.35 I will honestly feel like Brendan has not reached his true potential if he doesn’t break into the 48 second range before hanging up the spikes. It has been a real “awakening” period since nationals in April which included some real soul searching and honest appraisal of what he could improve to give himself the best chance to reach his potential. He is now the most committed and determined ever and I am very proud of the changes he has made and that is why Osaka’s result was so pleasing.
Lauren could medal in Delhi. It is going to be an unknown until we know exactly who is competing but as her coach I will be looking for her to continue this current wave of form and go into the games without any limits on what time she could run. One thing she has is great belief and confidence as a result of recent performances and this is a real weapon for any athlete. It has been a long term approach with Lauren which is now 7 years along the path and 2010, at the age of 21-22, was always the year when we planned to put the name Lauren Boden on the world scale.
Melissa Breen faces the very difficult task of racing some very fast Women. With 6 of the 8 from the World Championship final from Commonwealth countries there is no denying the strength of sprints. Whilst it is possible that Shelly Ann Fraser or Veronica Campbell Brown may not turn up the reality is Jamaica could field their number 3rd, 4th and 5th runners and we would still see a sub 11 result. Throw in the Bahamas, England and several others countries and you are looking at a time of 11.20ish to make the final in Delhi. Having said all that Melissa is an extremely talented athlete with huge future potential and I do believe that she can run under 11.30 in the short term in India.
Based on the experience of last year (not running village entry and being sent home) it is quite obviously a significant event for Melissa this year. She has responded with maturity and applied herself with great professionalism to become a better athlete and her consistency throughout the domestic season and in Japan was a testament to this.
With less than 2 years until London the games in India will be a vital stepping stone and I am determined to ensure they perform well and come away with a positive experience.
RT
Many people don’t understand just how difficult it is to become a successful coach, with limited financial support. How have you found the support network in Australia for track and field coaches and how do you survive financially (I’m sure the Stawell Gift win helped!!)?
MB
I was lucky enough to be very well supported through my development years. I worked as AIS scholarship coach for 2 years which paid me a full time salary and gave me a wonderful opportunity that I tried to maximize as much as I could. During that time I completed my Masters in Applied Science (Sports Coaching) and spent some time with a variety of elite coaches learning all that I could.
Unfortunately since 2006 for many possible reasons there has not been an opportunity for me to work at the AIS as a full time coach. Looking back I think I was spoilt in the beginning and now I have a taste for the support that some of our full time coaches and also the athletes that work with those coaches get and hope that my continued success in my private coaching may lead to employment again in the future. To be honest this issue is one that has given me quite a bit of stress in the past. I struggled to understand why walls were put up to prevent my ongoing development or direct involvement in the system. I started to get very bitter because I thought I could have a positive impact on the national program with new enthusiasm and ideas but I now simply accept that I must just worry about things I can control.
Consequently I believe I have turned this situation into a positive and I am proud of my business and the results I am getting working as a private coach.
I had a 10 hour per week role as program coordinator at ACTAS (ACT Academy of Sport) but despite this program performing way above its weight the track and field program ceased and that meant no further role for MattyB. I also spent 12 months as a post grad scholar in Biomechanics and in the past 6 months I have had a role within the Greater 400m Hurdles centre which shows some promise but the role is still being developed.
I think the perception for some people may be that I am AIS coach but the reality is I am a private coach in Canberra. There is actually a very strong contingent of athletes in Canberra with most athletes, besides the well performed walkers and AWD, NOT being AIS at all.
To answer your question on surviving as a professional coach I charge my athletes between $150-$300 per month in coaching fees plus a percentage of prize money. Do I think it is unfair that my top athletes pay me $3000+ per year compared to other athletes in Canberra on AIS scholarship who receive well over $20000 a year in support? Definitely!
As a former AIS scholarship athlete I know the wonderful support you receive and still think it is something that many athletes outside of Canberra don’t fully understand but this then makes it difficult to swallow when I know that there are athletes I work with who are forced to choose between an AIS scholarship or keeping me as their coach. Thankfully all have stayed in their current successful situation except for one athlete (Brittney McGlone) who took up an AIS scholarship and left the squad after returning with bronze from the 2008 World Junior Championships.
Currently I am also looking at running some junior coaching clinics (MattyB’s FIT4FUN) within the ACT. I presented the concept at a recent ACT Little Athletics AGM and the feedback was quite positive. I have put 7 of my senior athletes through a coaching course so that they can run the sessions and earn some money to help them cover some of their expenses. I will act in a mentor role and try and offer local little athletics clubs with a mechanism for retention of athletes and also provide a coach development and training service.
{part 2 - coming soon to RT}
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