Twenty early-career women coaches from Victoria and Tasmania have completed the 2026 AIS-VIS ASPIRE Coach Program, three days dedicated to building the skills, confidence and networks needed to progress into high performance coaching.
From 2 to 4 October, 20 women coaches from 13 sports came together at the Victorian Institute of Sport for the 2026 AIS-VIS ASPIRE Coach Program, delivered in partnership with the Australian Institute of Sport.
The program was built around three key themes: Knowing Self, Trusting Self to Guide the Way and Embracing the Unknown, each inviting coaches to look inward before looking ahead. The first day began with an Acknowledgement of Country and time to connect with Land and Country, before coaches met their ASPIRE buddies and the support crew who would walk alongside them. They then explored the HP 2032+ Win Well Sport Strategy and pledge, reflected on their coaching philosophy and began shaping a framework for their own development.
On the second day, coaches turned to the power of their own stories, working through storytelling, communication and their individual Spotlight Profiles. Over lunch, they sat down with high performance stakeholders and leaders to talk through how to navigate the high performance landscape. The final day looked beyond the coach to the whole person, before coaches mapped out their horizons, reflected on what they had learnt and considered who they can reach out to and who is in their network.
Michelle De Highden led the program, with sessions facilitated by Hannah Every-Hall OLY, Stacia Strain, Jo Banning, Kylie Moulds, Stacey Morlang, Jamie McPherson and Daniel Dymond, who shared their time and experience with the cohort.
ASPIRE was developed through the Women in High Performance Coaching (WiHPC) Project to address the barriers women face in entering and progressing through high-performance coaching. It sits within the AIS High Performance Coach Development Strategy and the HP 2032+ Win Well Sport Strategy, both of which prioritise a stronger and more diverse coaching workforce on the pathway to LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032.
Its purpose is clear: to ensure the women ready to lead in high performance sport have the pathway, the support and the network to do so.
The three days may be over, but the program is not. Virtual workshops over the coming months will keep the cohort connected and learning as each coach takes their next step.
