Coach Profile: Jacinta Doyle

27 May 2020

Coach Profile: Jacinta Doyle

Sutherland Shire coach, Jacinta Doyle is a coach on the rise. In this profile, she maps out her 10-year pathway in coaching, the world class mentors that have influenced her and for her the challenging of continuing to learn about her craft, solving ‘puzzles’ and noting that “every athlete is different and therefore needs to be coached and programmed in a particular way.”

Jacinta Doyle got her start in coaching, as many do through schools.

“I began coaching at St Joseph’s College in 2010 at the age of 20,” Doyle said. “My coach (Paul Hallam) was Head of Athletics at the time and needed more coaches as they approached the GPS season, so he asked if I would like to work with their hurdlers each Friday.”

It was a busy time in Doyle’s life as she was studying primary teaching, dance teaching (five days/week) and undertaking her own athletics training. Over the next few years the role at St Joseph’s grew to 2-3 days/week and she started coaching 1-2 days/week at her local Little Athletics Centre.

“By 2014, I decided to open my own coaching business in the Sutherland Shire (OUTfit Coaching). Within one year I had gone from coaching two days/week to full time.”

Within a year her own successful athletics career had wound down. As a junior she placed sixth in the 100m hurdles at the World Youth Championships and captained two NSW teams and her Australian Youth Olympic Festival team. She competed in events up to the 800m, all hurdles and long jump, winning over 25 national junior titles. She recorded impressive personal bests of 11.79 (100m), 23.96 (200m), 54.48 (400m), 13.98 (100m hurdles), 59.93 (400m hurdles) and 5.86m (long jump).

Doyle now coaches across many of the diverse events she competed in, including sprints, distance, cross country, hurdles and horizontal jumps. She also draws athletes from one of the strongest sporting communities in Australia.

“Being situated in the Sutherland Shire, a very sporty/athletic community, fortunately means that there are a lot of talented and motivated juniors coming through. It’s very exciting!”

Why coach?

“I simply love what I do. To me, it’s not a job, it’s just who I am. I’ve always loved working with kids and track and field has been a big part of my life since I was eight-years-old, so it just made sense really.

“I truly believe you need to pursue what you’re passionate about. Helping young, developing junior athletes is rewarding and I love the satisfaction that comes along with coaching.

“Yes, there are unfortunately many ‘low’ moments in sport (especially as the athlete gets older) but that’s just part and parcel of sport. The special moments and ‘highs’ are incredible and very satisfying. Makes everything worth it.”

And some of those moments?

“It is extremely heart warming and very special when your athletes win an Australian or State Championship title. It is without a doubt, an incredible and irreplaceable moment, as you know what both the athlete and coach have put into get there. If I’m being honest though, the best moments for me, happen day-to-day down at the track. We have built an incredible community and I just love seeing all of our athletes happy and enjoying their training each day. When they run a PB or encourage and support their training partners through a tough session. That’s a special moment!”

Doyle has a large squad ranging from 7-21 years, including:

• Jessica Wardrobe (16 years) has improved dramatically over the past three years. Jess has won many state titles over the 200/400m and won her first national title - 400m in 2019. Jess is hard working, determined and a pleasure to coach. Jess is a great role model to our younger junior athletes.
• Tammin Lampret (12 years) is a talented sprint hurdler. Tammin has four Australian best performances/ records to her name (60m hurdles) and has won every state title over the past four years. Tammin is our little pocket rocket with a heart of gold.
• Ivy Boothroyd (13 years) has only been involved in track & field for three years and within that time has won many Australian and state 400m/800m/1500m/XC Titles. Ivy has beautiful rhythm and a competitive nature. Ivy certainly has a bright future ahead.
• Carson Siblings (Brooke & Miles) 12/14 years respectively, are both middle-distance runners and also relatively new to the sport. Within a 12-month period, both began to medal at a state level and Brooke placed second at the Australian Cross Country Championships in 2019. Both incredibly hard working and a joy to coach.

Doyle has been mentored by some of the best coaches in the world. Starting with her own coach and former national relay coach, Paul Hallam.

“I was coached by Paul for over 15 years. Paul is extremely knowledgeable, loves track and is well respected within the athletics community. It’s safe to say, that most of what I know has been learnt through Paul.” She has also learnt from a range of international coaches.

“Over the years, Paul has invested a lot of time into coach education, travelling to spend time with coaches such as Dan Pfaff, John Smith and Charlie Francis. I was fortunate enough to go on a couple of these trips to visit both Dan Pfaff and John Smith throughout my junior years.”

Doyle now closely follows two international coaches. “I try to study both Dan Pfaff and Gary Winckler’s work daily. Even if it’s just 30 minutes a day, I’ll find any lecture, article, tutorial or presentation that I can, in order to learn more from the ‘greats’ of our sport.”

This appetite for knowledge and growth as a coach is typical of Doyle when asked about her own coaching philosophy.

“I am quite young, so I am still developing this and ‘cementing’ my philosophy. I will continue to learn more and more until I am 100% confident in what I believe in. In saying this, I currently go by a few things:

• Athletes want to be a part of an energetic, positive environment where they accomplish things. You want a lot of engagement within your program. You get ‘buy in’ by getting athletes engaged, involved and excited.
• Nurture talented, developing athletes. These kids are special and we want them in the sport long term. Never over train an athlete.
• Sound mechanics are the basis for every event. There is real life validity to training quality and only what athletes can handle. Focus on quality, be positive and keep athletes in a healthy position.

Doyle combines her busy coaching with a growing family. In 2017 she married former 400m athlete Kurt Mulcahy and they have two boys under five and are expecting their third baby in September.

Thanks Jacinta for what you are doing for a large group of youth athletes in the Sutherland Shire. It is clear you have a positive and enjoyable coaching environment, resulting in good results, but also growth and development of your athletes.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW

Image: Jacinta Doyle coaching