Noel Donaldson – Legacy [01:16]

Noel Donaldson is a rowing coach. Noel Donaldson was a coxswain and competed at the 1979 world championships and then transitioned in to coaching in 1980. In the 1990 in began coaching Australia’s Oarsome Foursome, who won Olympic Golds in 1992 and 1996 and 5 world championships. He also coached Georgina Douglas to World Championships in 1998 and 1999. In 2013 became the coach of the New Zealand team of Hamish Bond and Eric Murray who also won back to back Olympic Gold medals. Noel is a serial winning coach whose wisdom transcends sport. Some of the key highlights of the interview are:

• The importance on treating each new campaign as something separate from the last one. And setting goals that are appropriate for that team, not simply reflecting on the past to set future expectations.
•  How the ‘Oarsome Foursome’ would go about debriefing after a performance and importantly how they had the ability to switch on and off, which is something that he thinks is lacking a little today with athletes.
•  His learning as he has matured as a coach that winning at all costs can cause mental health challenges that end up meaning that winning is only temporary.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com