Paralympic Sport Coaching and High Performance
PARA-TRIATHLON – Corey Bacon, Head Coach, Triathlon Australia
[H1]TITLE
PARA-TRIATHLON – Corey Bacon, Head Coach, Triathlon Australia
I originally came from a speed water skiing background, competing at the highest level in the sport. I started water skiing at age 7 with my family every weekend. However, at age 21, I had a serious accident on the Hawkesbury river and was helicoptered to hospital with suspected spinal injuries. The result was a badly bruised brachial plexus nerve, so my arm was temporarily paralysed for about 3 months. I was lucky not to sever the nerves as I hit the water so hard that it was like hitting a brick wall. I’d actually decided to retire after that race, given the high risk of the sport, and then the accident happened. It was clearly time to move on.
After that I took up triathlons. I dabbled for many years, representing Australia twice at Age Group level, but I was not an elite competitor. I didn’t have a coach, so there was no one to tell me to slow down, or stop if I had an injury. I just kept plugging away. In my coaching life now, I’m able to put that knowledge back into the athletes and ensure they have rest and rehabilitation of injuries.
In 2007, I started coaching a little with a couple of people. I got my qualifications and in 2008 took over the ACT Junior program, turning it into a great program and producing good athletes, which really signalled the start of my coaching career. I took opportunities where they came and worked really hard to make success happen, working 70-80 hours a week.
I then started my own squad, coaching 6-7 athletes. I didn’t have time for age groupers, so coached juniors during the week before and after my full-time work in the public service. After a number of years, I started getting invited to national camps and trained some very good athletes, including my first para-athlete.
[H2]TAKING ON PARA-ATHLETES
Michael Milton is a dual Paralympian – summer (cycling) and winter (skiing). He wanted to do triathlon and came to talk to me. Normally, the coach interviews the athlete to see if they want to take them on, but it was the other way around with Michael! We worked well together and went to the Para World Championships in 2012.
After this, I was asked to run an AIS para-triathlon camp because para-triathlon was announced as a new sport for Rio, and Triathlon Australia were keen to get things started. A number of athletes from around Australia came to the camp, and it was an overwhelming experience because I hadn’t experienced the different disabilities before. I ended up taking on another young guy called Jonathan Goerlach, who is a visually impaired athlete. He is the best visually impaired triathlete in the country and is the fastest 5km runner in the world for triathlon, and one of the fastest cyclists, but swimming was his downfall. We’ve worked on it intensively over the last few years and he’s now competitive.
In January 2015, we had the national championships, after which I gained more para-athletes: Katie Kelly, Kate Doughty, Emily Tapp, Nic Beveridge and Jack Swift. By the World Championships in September that same year, I had a world champion, Katie Kelly, in the visually impaired, No.2 in the world with Emily in the wheelchair class, and No.3 in the world with Kate Doughty in PT4 amputee class. In 7 months, we had 3 podiums at world level. Things changed dramatically then. I’d already been named Head Coach for the para-triathlon team, but we had to find out what classes had been chosen to debut at Rio. Some athletes missed out, like Jonathan, as they chose not to run his visually impaired class, but several others were able to qualify to compete in their classes.
There are 5 classes in para-triathlon. PT1 are your wheelchair athletes, male and female, and PT5 are the visually impaired athletes. Between those, PT2, 3 and 4 are based on the severity of their disability. PT2 is the most severe, such as an above the knee amputee. PT3 often encompasses cerebral palsy and a few other disabilities. PT4 is usually below the knee amputation, or missing a hand, or similar. PT2s are usually slower than PT3s, and PT3s slower overall than PT4s.
At Rio, for its first inclusion, they couldn’t run all 10 para-triathlon classes, so 6 classes were chosen to showcase the sport. This means the PT1 male wheelchair class was in but not the female class, both male and female PT2 got in, no PT3 classes at all, both PT4s did, and then only female PT5s (visually impaired) got in, but not males. Obviously we were disappointed that Jonathan didn’t get in, being a PT5 male, but we’re hoping that some of the discarded classes for Rio will instead make the 2020 Tokyo Games.
What will happen after Rio is that the classes will change again inevitably, as there has been a lot of discrepancy surrounding the classifications for some classes. For example, Jack Swift who has a partial leg amputation is racing against guys who have two legs but are missing a hand. While Jack is the best leg amputee in the world, he just can’t compete with guys with two legs. It’s just not fair. No athlete competes just to make up numbers – they all want to do the best they can possibly do. Obviously classification is a work-in-progress. At least with visually impaired guys like Jonathan, the severity of blindness is factored into the class, where completely blind guys get a head start on those who have partial vision. It makes it fairer across the board.
The para-athletes had to qualify for Rio selection by winning at Nationals, winning the Oceania Championships or being on podium at the World Championships. Katie Kelly qualified a spot for Australia because she won the World Championships, and is selected to compete in the visually impaired class. Because of her visual impairment, Katie has to use a guide by riding a tandem bike. Her guide is legend Michellie Jones, a multiple world champion and Olympic silver medallist herself, now age 46, and also helps Katie with her training. From my squad, Kate Doughty and Nic Beveridge also qualified and were selected for the team.
[H2]DIFFERENCES TO ABLE-BODIED COACHING
For coaching para athletes, there’s only small differences, mostly in the rules. It’s still swim, bike, run, but visually impaired athletes have to have a tether when they swim and run. These are the little bits and pieces you need to know and learn in terms of coaching, but I don’t change how I coach them. To me they are normal people and I don’t treat them any differently. Of course, I have to take into account their disability, understand what they can and can’t do, along with their personal traits. How hard can I push them? Can they handle it? Like any new athlete to the sport, it’s all an introduction of trying to determine how an athlete functions best. I have to push them to the level they’re preparing for, as I know the British and others are doing it just as well, if not better.
When we went to the 2015 World Championships, we equalled America for the highest medal count on their home turf. The year before we only won 1 medal, but at Chicago we took home 7. We’re now definitely one of the top nations in the world for para-triathlon.
Getting funding is the biggest issue we have. A lot of athletes have to pay for themselves for the things they need and going on camps. By comparison, the able-bodied triathlon budget is 10 times ours. There’s simply not enough money to fund it. Compared to the big sports like swimming and athletes, ours is only a small program. It’s amazing that you only need $300,000 a year to fund it really well, and we really need a corporate sponsor rather than trying to crowdfund it. It would be fantastic if we had a Lottery arrangement as Britain do.
[H2]MY COACHING JOURNEY
As a coach, I’ve had mentors along the way, and Triathlon Australia has been fantastic. They’ve given me opportunities, such as the para Head Coach position. I’ve been on many national camps and had lots of development opportunities. Darren Smith had his elite squad alongside us in Canberra in the lead up to the London Olympics, so it was great to rub shoulders with those guys. My coaching pathway has always been a little unique, as I’ve created and taken advantage of opportunity where I could. My goals are to put a junior on the World Junior team and to qualify someone for the World Championships in Hawaii, which I did this year. But I’ve also learnt a lot as a coach in the para space.
I’ve got the knowledge from doing the sport, but competition knowledge alone doesn’t make you a good coach. Having worked in client service-type jobs for 20 years, I know that building and maintaining rapport with the athletes is important. Obviously I’ve done the coaching qualifications to get to this level, but it’s more about the experience of being around other coaches and getting hands-on experience. You learn from your athletes and from your mistakes. I’m not perfect, I might over-train athletes on occasion or get something else wrong but I learn from that. You have to use your brain and common sense to make sure the athletes are in the right environment with great athletes, facilities, coaches and a daily training environment. This is why our athletes are doing so well. A good coach will pick and choose things that will be right for their squad.
I’m very passionate about what I do, and I want to produce athletes to world level. Key focuses for me are my junior elite, some of which are overseas in Europe at the moment, and obviously the Paralympics. I’ve also now got a junior who, at 16, has already been earmarked for the 2024 Olympics.
In regards to my Rio expectations, in the end it’s just another race. The athletes have to focus on the process and if they get it all right, then hopefully there’s a medal at the end of the finish line for them.
ONES TO WATCH
In the PT1 class, we’ve Bill Chaffey who is the current 5-time World Champion and his main competitor will be a great Dutch guy. In Kate’s class, we’ve got two strong girls: a Brit and an American. In Katie’s class there’s another good Brit to watch out for. The British and Americans are very strong and considered one of the 3 powerhouses including ourselves, and then you’ll have the odd country, like the Dutch, who will produce an amazing athlete.
TOP TIP
Be patient with the athletes. Think about the process and development of the athlete. When I first started coaching, I was trying to do too much too early. Over the years I’ve settled down, and obviously my knowledge and experience has grown significantly. I’m now a little bit more reserved. It’s about the longevity of the sport, staying injury-free and allowing a little bit of freedom. The squad is a family and we thrive off each other. They make me get up every morning at 5am and do what I do because they’re so inspiring, so motivational and determined. How can you not get up for that? It’s such a great feeling.