Catching up with Matt Bury from Triamattic Performance Coaching
Our first blog on inspiration coaches, who are helping athletes to reach their potential and in the process build amazing communities.
Being a great coach goes far beyond teaching skills and strategies. They inspire, guide, and empower their athletes to reach their full potential, fostering personal growth, resilience, and a love for the sport they are coaching. These skills like goal setting and understanding that hard work and results go hand in hand, are also directly relatable to life outside of sport. Success is earned, it can never be given. These amazing coaches are not just making better athletes, they are making better people and creating a sense of belonging and community.
So what makes a great coach? Ultimately that's up to the individual, as a great coach or squad for you can be completely the wrong choice for another athlete.
Generally speaking great coaches are shaped by their own athletic experiences and draw knowledge from past coaches, who have either coached them or that they have worked under or with, until they develop the skills and magic recipe that works for them and their own squads.
Just a few of the magic elements and skill sets a great coach has in their tool box include:
- Expertise and knowledge
- Great communication skills
- Listener and at times councillor
- Leadership and motivation skills
- Programing
- Personalised approach
- Technical data analysis and tactical insight on race day
- Adaptability and flexibility
- Positive reinforcement and constructive feedback
- Passion and dedication
- Empathy and emotional intelligence
- Keeping you accountable and on course
We were lucky enough to catch up with Matt Bury from Triamattic Performance Coaching. Matt has helped shape and develop some of the most talented athletes in Australian triathlon over the years. Matt currently has a super talented squad of young athletes, who regularly feature domestically and internationally on the podium. We were lucky enough to ask him a few questions...
Why did you want to become a coach? My first coaching experience came when I was a teenager at our local football club - the grade players were expected to coach the junior teams - I always felt then, as I do now that coaching is a great way to give something back to the community and the pastime you enjoy. Displaying gratitude is a very important value to me and sport has given so much to me personally, so coaching gives me the platform to give something back.
Your tagline is Performance Triathlon Coaching with a smile? How important is a smile? The tag line performance coaching with a smile is just to remind everyone to enjoy what you are doing - High Performance sport is no different to any other pursuit in life - if you’re not enjoying the experience or having fun then it’s time to move on and find something that puts a smile on your dial.
How selective are you in selecting athletes and what are you looking for in athletes or can anyone join the squad? We are a values based squad - meaning that we select squad members around the values of our squad - anyone can join but we might not be the right environment for everyone - which is ok (we also only cater for athletes over 18 years of age) - international athletes are encouraged to check us out - we love diversity
How many athletes do you coach? I currently coach 10 athletes across a couple of sports and countries
For athletes wanting to take the next step and looking for a performance squad, how is Trimattic Performance Coaching different? We work on the individual - our hope is that the people that come through our program become better people and athletes - the performance element is all about the individual becoming better through learning and experiences.
What do you see as the core difference in what you offer? We are a values-based program - with athlete growth the centre of everything we do.
With three key disciplines to train for in triathlon, how much training time / volume do you allocate to each discipline? This is a hard question to answer as athletes are at different levels for their individual needs - for a professional athlete competing in international competitions, a minimum of 30 hours a week is required to progress.
What are the one percenters that athletes often miss, that make all the difference? Show gratitude to others for the opportunities you receive, be hungry to learn and be better every day at every session, be humble and work your bum off.
Do you have a favourite workout? Anything involving being in the ocean with a Volare suit on of course : )
How would your athletes describe you? 100% committed to their growth.
What are your core values as a coach? My Values are honesty, commitment, loyalty.
How will you develop community support for the team? The best way to develop community support for the squad is for the squad to be interested and engaged with the people and organisations around us - this can happen from offering their time to help people or just being interested in the people around them - people love being part of something so be engaged fosters connection with community.
What is your favourite leg in triathlon and why? Another advertisement for Volare here - the swim leg - here comes the ego part - the swim is my competitive leg.
What would be the key attributes you would be looking for as an athlete in a coach? I think the best way for an athlete to find out about a coach and their abilities is to take the time to chat to the athletes they coach - second and I think most important, negotiate and commit to a trail to get a full understanding of what the program offers.
How important is the dynamics of the training squad and when new athletes are coming on board, is group fit something you consider? We talk to the squad about the potential of a new member joining and what they bring to the squad from their inclusion - I really think a trial period is important for everyone - we spend a lot of time together here and overseas so group dynamic is important.
How do you manage teammates who become competitors on race day? Triathlon is an individual sport, and each individual prepares differently - each athlete has an individual plan for each day and we keep them focused on what they are doing.
What is the most important goal of a coach?
To ensure that growth through learning is continuous in sport and life for everyone.
Favourite Quote? Hope is not a strategy.
Do you have a favourite memory or achievement? I just feel grateful for the opportunities that sport and triathlon have given me.
How do athletes get in touch to learn more? I am fortunate to work in a coaching partnership with acclaimed Triathlon Coach Warwick Dalziel so please reach out to either of us via our social platforms or via @Betterhfitness on the Instagram.
