We’re extremely happy to announce the two Development Coaches who will be working with the Ellipsis Women’s and Men’s teams throughout the 2019 nationals seasons.
Congratulations and welcome to the Ellipsis family Ciaran Hudson (Men), and welcome back to Ash Martens (Women). The entire club is excited to be working with Ash and Cron to develop their coaching abilities this season. It’s a great opportunity for them and the club.
2019 Coaching Staff
Ash Martens
Ash is a household name in Australian Ultimate – she has represented Australia numerous times including the Crocs in 2009, and most recently co-captaining the Firetails in 2016. Ash has also played with the Ellipsis Women’s team since its inception in 2016 and cannot wait to take her experience into the coaches box.
2019 is a playing hiatus for me. To remain connected to the club that I love and believe so strongly in, it seemed like a logical step forward when the opportunity came up to work alongside Ellipsis athletes in the Development Coach role. While I’ve played in many elite Ultimate teams over the years, my only previous coaching experience was super early in my career as a playing coach for the Tasmanian Bush women’s team and the mixed UTAS AUGs team.
The depth of experience and fresh talent in both the men’s and women’s Ellipsis teams this year is breathtaking and I’m keen to refine my coaching approach with a focus on profiling individual athletes.
This role is entirely new for Ellipsis. It will be a year of personal learning and growth, laying the groundwork alongside the leadership for individual, team and club development on the road to WUCC 2022. I’m looking forward to being a part of the incredible forward momentum of Ellipsis in 2019.
Ciaran Hudson
Ciaran has a wealth of experience to bring to Ellipsis. He has represented Australia numerous times as a player – both on grass and beach – and has been a key part of the Australian U20 Women’s program for several years now. Ciaran was also a part of the coaching staff for the Asia-Oceanic All Stars who toured the US in 2018. We’re so excited to see Ciaran take the next step in his coaching, and are so happy that he will be doing so at Ellipsis!
My mate Alex Ladomatos once said to me ‘you only get better when you consistently work and acknowledge the he need to improve, often’. With this in mind I decided to apply for the ‘Development Coach’ role. In this case, something different to my usual, I decided to coach men.
I’m super excited about the opportunity to build on a strong brand, with a large group of athletes who I look up to – being around an amazing group of empowered women could teach me a lot. Another big one for me was that this actually felt like a homecoming opportunity, with many of my very first ultimate team mates, all in one place (Melbourne University Alumni). Finally, being part of a club that has a real chance of taking both national titles is something unique in itself.
From this season, I’m keen to develop a more holistic skill set and approach to coaching. This, mixed with working alongside some of my best mates and superstars of Australian Ultimate, just the chance to observe how hard working people like Cat Phillips , Georgia Egan-Griffiths , Tom Tulett and others go about their weekly routines could teach me. The last point to this is professionalism, in the form of changing how people see me as a coach. With the help and advice of my mate Max Halden, I have adopted the challenge of a different approach to this group of athletes, with strategy, learning and thinking first, loud energy second.
We can’t wait to see what Ash and Ciaran bring to the upcoming season, and Ellipsis is pumped to have them on board!