Pittwater Life March 2017 Issue

Marty is King
of the Mona
Vale kids
He spent 28 years at
sea serving the Royal
Australian Navy. And
before he received a promotion
as a Lieutenant Commander,
Martin Cowper
was awarded an OAM while
serving as a Warrant Officer
on the aircraft carrier HMAS
Melbourne.
These days ‘Marty’, as he
is better known, is the head
coach of the Mona Vale SLSC
juniors – and the kids absolutely
adore him.
Jayme Saggers says: “He
puts so much time and effort
into every training session.
He’s always there on time
and he cracks me up with his
jokes.”
Adds Kira Beuzeville: “He’s
an amazing coach. He can be
strict but then really funny.”
And Mia Paltridge chips
in: “He makes us do really
hard stuff and he teaches us
new things every training session.
I’ll never leave Mona Vale
unless Marty does.”
High praise indeed. But
Marty has no intention of
leaving. His job is far from
finished.
Like his previous time
at Newport SLSC when he
coached just a handful kids,
it was the same story when he
arrived at Mona Vale.
“I suppose there were about
half a dozen kids at Mona
Vale when I first got there –
now there’s 40,” Marty said.
“‘Now they are all making
individual finals and qualifying
for State… it says to me
that all the hard work over
the past two years, especially,
is paying off and it is rewarding
for the kids.”
Marty developed some extremely
talented girls at Mona
Vale but, unfortunately, they
moved to Newport.
“Hopefully, we can hold onto
this current group,” he said.
While Nutri Grain rookie
ironwoman Maddie Spencer
competes for Newport,
she coaches the swimming,
while Kim Moran looks after
the beach kids at Mona Vale.
“We are lucky to have both of
them,” Marty says.
But one of the interesting
things Marty has done with
the older juniors is introducing
them to ski paddling.
“We’ve got them on the ski
already at 13, to give them
GUIDANCE: Super coach Marty Cowper with some of his Mona Vale juniors
and Kris Monnock.
a good grounding,” he said.
“We’re thinking, ok, let’s get
these kids having fun… we
don’t work them that hard on
the ski. Some are very competent
paddlers on flat water.
We’ll take them in the ocean
in the off-season.
“Next year the best of them
I will send to Performance
Paddling and put them onto
K1s. They will be coached by
two ex-Olympians.
“We are trying to develop a
craft ethos at Mona Vale.”
Marty was over the moon
with some of the results at the
Branch Championships last
month.
The club picked up several
medals in board relays
and board rescue events
and the combination of Kira
Beuzeville, Mia Paltridge and
Jayme Saggers won gold in the
under 13 girls board relay.
Mia’s younger sister Macy
is one for the future. She won
the under-9s surf and board
races.
What is Marty hoping to
achieve at the State titles at
Blacksmiths in Newcastle on
March 5?
“Obviously some finals
and for the kids to give me a
mistake-free race – that’s what
I am really after,” he said.
After he gained his Bronze
Medallion at Palm Beach SLSC
in Queensland, where he
originally hails from, Marty
then found his way to Avalon
Beach, while stationed in the
Navy at Quakers Hill.
“I actually used to hitchhike
to get to the beach,” he
recalls.
He spent time at Shoalhaven
Heads SLSC and next stop
was Newport.
But he won’t be leaving
Mona Vale in a hurry.
– John Taylor
News
MARCH 2017 19