Today’s In-Focus is Rodney Jenner – one of the country’s longest-serving and most experienced coaches and coach trainers.
Question 1: In your officiating life, what track and in what role are we most likely to find you?
I have coached at most tracks around Australia. From around 1996 I traveled across Australia doing schools/coaching courses in every state as well as New Zealand, Norfolk Island and a number of courses in the USA. In America the training was mainly ATV and SXS. Now however the only coaching I’m doing is the QMP School Holiday Camps and occasionally assisting other coaches Like Jemma Wilson if she needs another coach on a course.
Question 2: How long have you been an official and what other capacities and/or locations have you acted?
I did the first level 1 Coaching course run in Queensland around 1994-1995, and than started to help out running the level 1 courses after that. I’m still running most of the Queensland Level 1 courses today, and I also have run most of the level 2 coaching courses in Canberra for MA.
I was the chair of the Queensland coaching committee when it was up and running and am still a member of the National coaching committee.
I run the under 21’s elite training camps in Queensland that we started back in 2003 with the help of Chris Urquhart and now am assessed by Jemma Wilson and was involved in a lot of the National elite camps assisting Stephen Gall and also running a few when he wasn’t available.
Question 3: How did you come to find yourself officiating?
I was a late starter at racing and within 3 months of joining a club (The RTCB) Stephen Gall came an did a coaching course for the members. I though I was pretty before the course, but afterward I couldn’t believe how much I learnt and who much better I could ride. After that I was hooked. I probably averaged about 3 or 4 schools a year with Stephen after that including at least 2 trips a year to Sydney to do his 5 day camps.
Then after returning from the ISDE in America I was visiting family in Sydney and caught up with Stephen while I was there. he had a 5 day school on the next week and asked if I would like to help so i drove back to Brisbane to get my bike and headed back to Sydney for that school.
From there I traveled most of Australia with Stephen doing schools and also got to work with some of the best coaches in Australia, Like Paul Broomfield, Shane Booth, Chris Urquhart and Lyndon Heffernan.
Question 4: What keeps you coming back?
This question is not the easiest to answer, because I don’t really know.
1. I love the sport, most of the time.
2. I guess I do like seeing other people improving.
3. I enjoy the science of understanding how the bike and rider work together and how that is always ever so slightly changing. I always wish my science teacher new how to ride a bike, cause I would have done so much better at understanding things like Newton’s Three Laws of Motion.
Question 5: Who is the most amazing rider you’ve encountered along the way?
It would have to be Stephen Gall. I remember watching him on TV back in the Pepsi days. But then to get coached by him over a number of years, and more so have the opportunity to work with him was amazing. I’ve meet a lot of other if not most of Australia’s top riders over the last 30 years including working with Chad Reed and Eddie Warren at one of Stephens school but none of that would have ever been possible without Stephen giving me the opportunity to coach and learn from the best.