Humble Horsnell named finalist in Sport NSW Awards

Humble Central Coast coach, Matt Horsnell was this week named a finalist for Coach of the Year in the 2019 Sport NSW Awards. He is nominated alongside extraordinary company, including NSW Blues State of Origin winning coach Brad Fittler, Suncorp Super Netball winning Swifts coach Briony Akle and A-League champion Sydney FC coach Steve Corica.

“I feel very privileged to be nominated and very honoured to represent the sport we love,” said Horsnell on the news of the announcement.

Horsnell received the nomination for his outstanding work with Commonwealth Games bronze medal-winning high jumper Nicola McDermott and a squad of jumpers on the Central Coast – a group which includes many junior national champions.

McDermott’s 2019

The performances by Horsnell’s leading athlete, Nicola McDermott, have been exceptional in 2019. She commenced the year with a PB of 1.91m and closed the year with a new best of 1.96m, elevating her to equal number three in Australian history. McDermott’s clearance at 1.96m was the equal best by an Australian for 25 years.

McDermott competed in five Diamond League Meets on three continents, the best result being third in Monaco.

To assist McDermott in this individual sport, Horsnell and his wife self-funded their travel to Europe, supporting and coaching her as she trekked to numerous competitions. Horsnell also travelled to Doha twice (for the Diamond League and World Championships) for a total of over 100 days overseas in 2019.

Long term development of his athletes

Horsnell understands the big-picture approach to the development of athletes.

“As a coach, being responsible for planning an athlete’s development and then witnessing their progression to elite-level performance is what we live for,” Horsnell said.

“Putting a team together of professionals who work together for the athlete development and not just for their own gain has been something I will always cherish and be thankful for. The team is responsible for this result.

“Sometimes success for the coach is not about winning gold medals but being able to see and find things with the athlete’s development that keeps them improving and developing their journey injury free over the long term. Gold medals are the bonus.”

Many of Horsnell’s athletes started in Little Athletics and were not the stars, but with cautious progress, Horsnell has witnessed some inspiring results. Horsnell, who has coached McDermott for 12 years, since she was 11, has guided her careful development.

“Seeing an athlete (McDermott) progress from Little A’s as an 11-year-old who wasn’t always the best athlete, who with hard work, dedication and discipline, is now the Open Australian high jump champion and was challenging the world’s best athletes at the World Championships and will be competing at the next Olympic Games in Tokyo, is the most satisfying point of my coaching career.”

Quiet achiever

Horsnell’s dedication to coaching is best summed up by Margaret Beardslee, the Mingara Club Secretary: 

“Matt’s one of those silent achievers – he just goes about his business and gets his job done. It’s obvious with how much Nicola’s achieved that he’s got some incredible gift in helping people reach their potential. He’s there for the athletes day after day after week after year.”

The 2019 Sport NSW Awards will be held on Monday 18 November 2019 at The Star, Sydney. To support Matt, you can book and attend the awards.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW

Image: Matt Horsnell (courtesy of David Tarbotton)