She is already an inspiration to many throughout the Clarence Valley, and after coaching the Australian Mighty 11s BMX team to victory at the 2024 BMX NZ North Island Titles at the Cambridge BMX Club between October 26-27, Tahlia Marsh’s knowledge, exuberance, and passion for the sport has been passed on to the next generation of accomplished athletes.

Describing the experience as “amazing”, Ms Marsh told the Clarence Valley Independent it was an honour and a privilege to have the opportunity to travel overseas and work with such an incredible and fantastic group of boys and girls from across Australia in a mentoring role and help them achieve the success they deserved.

In her first professional stint as a coach Ms Marsh, a proud Bundjalung woman, said while she definitely experienced a flutter of nerves during her early coaching sessions with the team, she said their natural talent and willingness to listen and learn made her job easy.

“The first two training sessions were the most challenging as we were all still getting to know one another,” she explained.

“As their coach, my role was to help them, advise them, and guide them wherever possible and explain in depth why we were practising new techniques and racing patterns.

“BMX is usually an individual sport, so I was especially focused on encouraging them to work together as a team.

“They were so fantastic to coach.

“They really excelled themselves and I was so happy with how much effort they put into their training.” 

Ms Marsh said she also focused on ensuring the team remembered to have fun and embrace the experience of competing on an international circuit.

“I just wanted them to race to the best of their abilities and work together,” she said.

“And they definitely did that.” 

In a tight contest against a strong and determined New Zealand team, the Australian Mighty 11s BMX boys and girls had a nervous wait before the final points were tallied and they were announced as the overall champions.

Recalling the moment the results were confirmed as “awesome and exciting”, Ms Marsh revealed she didn’t know who would win after both teams delivered outstanding performances on the track.

“I was so proud of the team, and they really deserved it after they worked so hard,” she said.

While she has already raised her hand to coach the Australian Mighty 11s BMX team again, Ms Marsh said the overall experience helped her gain more confidence and taught her new skills which she is looking forward to sharing with her fellow riders at the Clarence Valley BMX Club.

This article appeared in the  Clarence Valley Independent, 13 November 2024.