New AIS program helping coaches take careers to the next level

After helping guide skateboarder Keegan Palmer to back-to-back Olympic gold medals, Coach Alex Donnini is turning attention to his own development as part of a new Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) program to guide and mentor the nation’s future head coaches.

Donnini is one of 33 coaches from 23 sports selected to take part in the inaugural AIS Enhance Program, an 18-month program designed to ensure Australia’s coaches are worlds best in the lead up to the Brisbane 2032 Games and beyond.

With the group boasting a total of 24 Olympic and Paralympic campaigns as athletes and a further 33 as a coach, Donnini said the new AIS program was exactly what he needed to further his career.

“After my last two successful Olympic campaigns in Tokyo and Paris, I was looking for an environment that would stimulate some personal growth and a new means of support and mentorship that understood the complexities and nuances of getting your athlete to their third Olympics with two gold medals already around their neck,” Donnini said.

“The AIS Enhance program was suggested and what particularly interested me was the opportunity to be able to share experiences with other high performance coaches from different disciplines.”

The introduction of Enhance means the AIS now provides coach development and support at every level of high performance sport, with the new offering bridging the gap between the highly successful Summit Coach Program, opens in a new tab for national head coaches and the National Generation 2032 Coach Program (Gen 32), opens in a new tab for those just beginning their HP coaching journey.

It will also ensure coaches have the support and tools to balance the pursuit of excellence with wellbeing, aligning with the Win Well Strategy, Australian sports’ united roadmap to make the most of the generation opportunity of Brisbane 2032.

“World-class athletes depend on world-class coaches which is why the AIS is investing in programs like Enhance,” Australian Sports Commission Executive General Manager of AIS Performance Matti Clements said.

“The sports and the National Institute Network are focused on ensuring our coaches have what they need for athletes to win well and do Australia proud on the world stage and we thank for them for their ongoing support.”

The sessions will be facilitated by leadership expert Matt Williams and AIS HP Coach Development Manager Bill Davoren with six respected ‘learning leaders’ hand-picked to support the development of the HP coaches.

Learn more about AIS Enhance and other programs to support Australia’s high performance coaches here, opens in a new tab.

AIS ENHANCE 2025-26 Coach Cohort:

David Reid – Athletics

Shayne Watson – Baseball

Shane McDonald – Basketball

David Betts – Cycling

Shane Kelly – Cycling

Shane Perkins – Cycling

Stuart Tinney – Equestrian Eventing

Tais De Morais Rochel – Fencing

Alex Andre – Fencing/Para Fencing

Ritchie Smith – Golf

Xiaoqing Li – Gymnastics

Yusuf Topari – Gymnastics

Eoin Murray – Handball

Taip Ramadani – Handball

Tim Strapp – Hockey

Stacia Strain – Hockey

Titouan Dupras – Paddle, Canoe Slalom

Laurence Fletcher – Paddle, Canoe Sprint

Christine MacLaren – Rowing

Nick Mitchell – Rowing

Shannon Fraser – Rugby Union (7s)

Rafa Trujillo – Sailing

Alex Donnini – Skateboarding Park

Kerrie Porter – Softball

Peter Rees Duncan – Surfing

Will Scott – Swimming

Harley Connolly – Swimming, Para

Maxi Seear – Triathlon

Joshua Slack – Volleyball, Beach

Andrew Yanitsas – Water Polo

Jacki Northam – Water Polo

Facilitators and Learning Leaders:

Matt Williams – Artem Group

Alan McConnell - HP Coach Development Lead, NSWIS

Bill Davoren – AIS HP Coach Development Manager

Neil Craig – Pioneer and leader in coaching and sport science roles

Gina Haddad – Experienced coach developer and academic

Michael Nelson – HP Coach Development Lead, SASI

Matthew Wilkie – GM High Performance Capability Development, Rugby Australia

Kylee Byrne – HP Coach Development Lead, QAS

Alan McConnell - HP Coach Development Lead, NSWIS