Alistair Matthews is our High Performance Head Coach. Alistair has overall responsibility for leading our High-Performance Program. In addition to this leadership role Alistair has direct coaching responsibility for the open and under 23 men’s squad.
2023 will be Alistair’s third season coaching at Mercantile where his focus to date has been on taking the women’s program to terrific results seeing him selected as the winning Victorian Queens Cup coach for the last 2 years and leading exceptional results in para rowing.
Alistair brings a wealth of experience and a passion for the development of athletes, not just as elite athletes but as well-rounded people equipped with the skills to excel in all aspects of their life. Alistair is extremely well qualified for the role including having a Bachelor of Sports Business Sport and a Graduate Certificates in Commerce from Sydney University and is currently completing a Graduate Certificate of Coaching through University of Queensland as part of a coaching scholarship through Rowing Australia.
Alistair said upon his appointment to the senior high-performance position: “It’s a privilege to lead such a talented and motivated group of coaches all focused on providing an environment where our athletes are thriving and can focus on making their boats go fast.”
Over his career Alistair has:
- coached at Sydney University, Rhodes University & St Andrews College in South Africa.
- been Head Coach at Melbourne Girls Grammar School setting them up for their recent National Championship winning form; and
- coached the Australian 2021 under 23 women’s four, Australian 2014 U21 men’s team, and Australian 2013 U19 men’s quad.
