Coaches of the Month: Jordan and Warren Williams
Coaches of the Month: Jordan and Warren Williams
Watch a session at Centennial Park or ES Marks in Kensington and it is hard to miss: a squad moving with intent, one coach quietly guiding athletes in the pack, the other scanning the group with sharp eyes, and everyone feeling like they have a place. This is the quiet craft of coaches Jordan and Warren Williams, and we caught up with them to learn more about what drives them and the squad they have built.
Jordan and Warren Williams are both Level 3 Performance Coaches with Australian Athletics, with Warren also holding Level 3 Ultramarathon and Trail Running accreditation. Based in and around Centennial Park in Sydney and at ES Marks Athletics Track in Kensington, their programme has a clear middle and long distance focus, with sessions running seven days a week to suit runners of every level.
For the past ten years they have coached side by side, now supporting more than 250 athletes across three connected groups:
Their junior squad Up And Running for athletes aged six through to the end of school,
Their adult community The Run Squad for all ages and abilities including recreational and competitive runners (with many regularly lining up from 5 km through to ultra marathons)
Their elite group East Elite, bringing together high school athletes, university students, opens, and masters competing at state and national level.
A Family Partnership that Strengthens the Coaching Model
Jordan and Warren share a father-son coaching partnership, and that brings a unique edge to their co-coaching. There is an in built level of trust, shared values, and day to day understanding that can be hard to manufacture in most coaching teams. They know how the other thinks, they can read the room quickly, and they are comfortable having honest conversations about what is and is not working.
It also comes with a challenge that many co coaches do not face. When you are family, it is easy for coaching discussions to spill into personal time, and it can be harder to switch off. Differences of opinion can feel more personal, and strong familiarity can sometimes create assumptions that need to be checked. The fact that they have made it work for a decade is a sign of clear roles, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to the athletes first.
Across the programme, the coaching responsibilities are deliberately shared. Warren tends to take the lead with the youngest athletes, drawing on his school teaching background, while Jordan drives the coaching with the older juniors. For the adult and elite groups, they work side by side, planning sessions together and delivering a consistent approach across the week.
“Jordan and I are a great partnership. We share the coaching role across our entire squads. Being a former school teacher, I take a lead role in looking after the younger members of our squads, Jordan leads the way with the older juniors, and together we collaborate on the programs and coaching of our adults and elite group. It’s a well oiled engine with a huge variety of weekly sessions and long runs on offer seven days a week.”
Their self described styles complement nicely: Warren brings a more “old school” feel, while Jordan is the “encyclopaedia” on current methods. That blend shows up in the range of sessions they deliver across the week, mixing park based aerobic work in Centennial Parklands, dedicated track sessions at ES Marks, longer weekend runs, and targeted strength and conditioning. The result is a programme that stays structured without feeling repetitive, with enough variety in session type and location to keep athletes engaged and progressing across the full year.
A Whole Pathway, Not Just a Squad
Jordan and Warren have built something that looks simple on the surface, but is quietly sophisticated: multiple entry points, one shared culture, and a clear progression from first steps to performance. Their aim is consistent across every group and every age: develop strong athletic ability through quality, effective programs in a supportive, positive environment.
At the foundation is Up And Running, their junior group for ages six through to the end of school. It is designed to help young athletes fall in love with exercise and wellbeing, while also giving talented juniors the tools to race well. The coaching focus is not just “run more”, it is building the athlete: technique, agility, coordination, race preparation and race day execution.
From there, athletes can progress into The Run Squad, their adult community. This is deliberately broad: recreational runners, competitive runners, and plenty of people chasing goals from 5km through to ultramarathons. The key is that everyone trains in a system where the expectations are clear and the environment is welcoming. It is “serious when it matters, supportive all the time.”
“The most rewarding thing is seeing Athletes of any age grow and improve under our watch.”
For athletes ready to push further, East Elite provides a high performance training environment that includes high school athletes, university students, opens and masters competing at state and national level. Importantly, the pathway is not a cliff edge. Juniors can step into senior sessions in the mornings and train alongside experienced adult mentors, and elite juniors can transition into East Elite to train with some of Sydney’s best adult runners in an inclusive setting.
Where the Pride Really Sits
Ask Jordan and Warren about their proudest moments and you will hear plenty about medals, but the real pride lives deeper than podium photos. It starts with the small wins that only coaches notice: a shy kid turning up for the first time, learning the rhythm of a warm up, and slowly realising they belong.
“We’ve had countless moments in our careers including seeing young children joining our beginner groups, building in confidence and fitness, and becoming passionate about Middle Distance Running eventually ending up on the podium at State and National Championships. Probably the standout is the fact that almost all of the State and National Champions in our group are home grown. They started with us at various levels of ability, and with trust, respect for and belief in what we do have succeeded beyond expectation.”
The results back it up. Over the years their squads have produced “numerous State and National Champions in all distances from 400 to 5,000 metres”, alongside athletes who have stepped onto the international stage. They point to Laura Roderick competing in the 5,000 metres at the World Junior Championships in Colombia, and Grace Henry at the World Junior Triathlon Championships in Spain, as examples of athletes prepared not just to race, but to handle big moments.
There are also milestones that capture the scale of what they have built. At the 2025 Australian Cross Country Championships in Ballarat, they had 47 Athletes across all ages U12 to Masters representing NSW, a number they are understanably very proud of. For any coach reading, that sort of turnout is not luck. It is culture, consistency, and athletes who genuinely want to be part of it.
And that is where their proudest moments really land.
“Aside from these achievements in competition, we are most proud of the community we have built over the last decade”
They credit the “collaborative training environment” for bringing “amazing results for all runners”, and they are especially proud of their success with young female athletes, noting “a very strong group of young women of all ages who are very supportive of each other”.
Recognition from the wider community has followed, and it clearly matters to them. They mention being awarded ANSW Recreational Coach of the Year, and being recognised with Randwick City Coach of the Year awards, describing community recognition as very rewarding. But even there, the focus stays people first.
“ There is no doubt that high level results and success are rewarding, but for us the most rewarding thing is seeing Athletes of any age grow and improve under our watch.”
They also speak strongly about what it feels like to build a space where athletes want to show up, week after week. “We have a running community that feels like family in many ways,” they say, and it is not accidental. They highlight that “there are no egos and everybody feels part of the team”, which is a clear statement of intent about how they want athletes to treat each other.
That sense of belonging is reinforced by the wider circle around the squad. “We have a great network of parents who support the group in many ways,” they add, recognising that strong programmes are rarely coach only efforts. When families understand the standards and values, it creates a better experience for young athletes and a more stable environment for everyone.
Ultimately, the reward is relational. “To know that you are appreciated and respected for what you do is certainly the greatest reward.” For coaches reading this, it is a useful reminder that the most meaningful feedback is often not a trophy presentation. It is the quiet trust of athletes and families who keep coming back because they feel seen, supported, and challenged in the right ways.
Future Plans in Coaching
Their next step is to keep growing participation and keep people in athletics for life. “Our biggest goal is to continue to build this inclusive community and bring more people into the sport of Athletics.” Yes, they would love to see athletes reach the world stage, but they value something even more enduring: athletes who keep turning up, keep improving, and keep loving the sport long after school or selection seasons end.
