UK Sport has announced the recruitment of its latest cohort for the prestigious Elite Coach Programme, a cornerstone initiative designed to accelerate the development of world-class coaching talent across Olympic and Paralympic sports.
Running from 2025 to 2027, the programme aims to equip coaches with the strategic, technical, and leadership skills required to drive medal success and enrich athlete experiences.
Meet the Cohort
- Ryan Livingstone – Aquatics
- Laura Turner-Alleyne – Athletics
- Rikki Bingham – Boccia
- David Ralph – Hockey
- David Daniell – Para-Cycling
- Rob Aubry – Para-Swimming
- Andrew Rushton – Para-Table Tennis
- Steve Trapmore – Rowing
- Richard Wigglesworth – Rugby
- Ben Rhodes – Sailing
- Adam Elliott – Triathlon
- Ian Johns – VI Judo (pictured below)
The Elite Coach Programme is tailored to provide bespoke learning opportunities, combining immersive residential experiences, mentoring, and cross-sport collaboration. Its overarching goal is enabling participants to learn from leading experts across sport, business, and performance environments. Alumni include renowned figures such as Gareth Southgate (Football), Mel Marshall (Swimming), and Paula Dunn (Athletics) all of whom have gone on to shape British sporting success at the highest level.
This initiative aligns closely with the ambition to grow a thriving sporting system in the UK Sport Strategic Plan 2021–2031. By investing in coaching excellence, UK Sport reinforces its commitment to winning with integrity and fostering diversity and inclusion across the high-performance community.
The first residential for the new cohort will take place in December 2025, marking the start of an intensive development journey. Further residentials are scheduled throughout 2026, offering opportunities for deep learning and collaboration across disciplines.
Speaking about the programme, Danny Kerry MBE, UK Sport’s Coaching Lead, said:
“We recognise that exceptional coaching is at the core of enriching athlete experiences and achieving competitive success. The Elite Coach Programme addresses a critical need within British high-performance sport: a network that supports and helps to develop our coaches with the strategic, technical, and emotional resources to excel in the face of extraordinary demands.”
As UK Sport embarks on this next chapter, the Elite Coach Programme continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the leaders behind Britain’s greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments; reaching, inspiring and uniting the nation.