Coaches Corner - Marty and Toby Stolberg

 For Marty and Toby Stolberg, coaching is a true family affair. From Little Athletics to Australian representatives to Masters athletes, they’ve built a squad that spans generations — and together, they’re creating a culture of care, fun, and technical excellence.

What do you love about coaching? 

Marty: Coaching all levels is very rewarding.  I still coach beginners, masters, primary, secondary school and now Australian Reps who are at University.  Each level has its challenges – however the rewards outweigh the challenges for the most part.  The look in someone’s eyes when they finally “get it” is incredibly satisfying.  I have been lucky to have some wonderful coaches in my life over a few different sports.  I coach now to ‘pay it forward’ and shine a positive light as far as I can to as many as I can.

What do you find most rewarding about each stage of development (from juniors to masters)?

Marty: Personally, I find all levels rewarding – from beginner through to high performance.  It’s quite easy to get PB’s and improved technical gains at the beginner level and that is quite addictive, it’s another story to get PB’s and increased performance from your higher-level athletes.

How do you tailor your coaching to meet the very different motivations and physical needs of each group?

Marty: Planning and preparation.  High Performers have a higher demand for structure and program planning.  Young athletes and masters – I tend to group into the one program.  We have a basic outline of the season, I add the ‘fun’ element into it then break down techniques that I want to master and work on those bit by bit.

What have you learnt from working with master’s athletes, and how does that compare to coaching juniors or elites?

Marty: Masters Athletes are a wonderful group to coach.  They are willing to learn, try new techniques and are engaging.  We have learnt that you need to make sessions enjoyable as well as productive.  Keep it simple and only work on a handful of technical goals each session.  Always ask for feedback – how are they feeling?  Any niggles etc. and change the program accordingly.

How do you adapt your approach to suit the needs of older athletes, especially those returning to sport after long breaks?

Marty: Slow and steady.  Build a solid base with general prep then go from there. I like to find out what they are aiming for competition wise, so I know a timeline to prepare.

What has it been like coaching together as mother and daughter?

Toby: It is fun to coach with Mum.  When I speak to the athletes it sounds like mum is speaking to the athletes – but it’s me.  I realize that I have picked up on a lot of Mum’s coaching cues and sayings since I was little.  We work pretty well together as a coaching team when we do end up coaching together.  I am good at demonstrating the specific drills that mum wants the athletes to achieve.

Was there a moment when you realised coaching was something you both genuinely loved?

Marty: for me it was in 1991 when I first started coaching for Little Athletics QLD.  I realised almost straight away that this was something I really enjoyed. 

Toby: I started coaching after I left high school and became a coach for my former school in Basketball, Netball and Athletics as a part time job.  I really loved coaching primary netball because I could make it really fun for the girls, and they seemed to love each session.  Team sports are a good way to have a break from athletics, as I take athletics coaching more seriously.

 What was it like being coached by your mum? Were there boundaries or challenges you had to manage?

Toby: I like being coached by my Mum because she knows everything about me, so when she schedules sessions, it’s based around what I have going on in my life.  She knows any injury, illness that I have going on and I don’t have to explain any of that to her as she just knows.  For high jump coaching she is a ‘motherly coach’ – she is supportive and kind but also very technically specific and tries to make the sessions enjoyable.  We are usually on the same page as we are very similar in our thought processes.  From time to time I feel the relationship is too much mother and daughter and she does not push me as hard as other coaches would and I may voice my opinion too much in sessions.

What was it like coaching your daughter and what did it teach you?

Marty: I should mention that I have actually been coaching with my eldest daughter longer than I have been coaching with Toby!  My eldest daughter is now a teacher and is an excellent throws coach, basketball coach and netball coach! My son is also an up-and-coming basketball coach and has started coaching representative basketball for the Brisbane capitals.

There have been many pro’s and cons over the years.  When she was younger and was constantly missing out on teams because other kids I was coaching at the time out jumped Toby.  It was very hard to have Toby crying because she missed a team while I was still trying to keep calm and composed for others in the squad who were super excited to be hitting their goals.  As the years have gone by the pro’s have outweighed the cons.  Planning for Toby is easier than other athletes as I just know what is going on with her.  Now my squad has gotten bigger it’s important that I take the time to have one on one sessions with her when I can so she doesn’t feel ‘left out’ because I tend to focus on others instead of her in a group setting. Coaching Toby has been the highlight of my coaching career so far.

Where can people find you?

If you want to train with Marty or Toby look for ‘Marty Squad’ on IG and Facebook – Toby is one of the Assistant Coaches.  Training is at UQ, QSAC and St Peters Springfield.

You can contact Marty on 0410401909 or e-mail marty@adaptitgroup.com.au