ABOUT
Alex McKenzie
- BPhEd, BA, MA, PhD
- High Performance Coach Development
Alex McKenzie has been involved in high performance sport for over 25 years in numerous capacities. After graduating from the University of Otago with degrees in Physical Education and Anthropology, Alex went on to complete a master’s degree and PhD in Sport Psychology from the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. Upon returning to New Zealand he spent ten years as a lecturer in sport psychology at Otago University, during which time he worked with numerous high-performance athletes and teams as a mental skills consultant, as well as coaching rugby at age-group, premier and representative level. He was an inaugural board member for the New Zealand Academy of Sport and went on to work as a Professional Development Manager for the Highlanders and Hurricanes Rugby Franchises.
In 2008 Alex was asked to lead the development of the newly established Coach Accelerator Programme for High Performance Sport New Zealand and was the Manager of that programme until April 2018. This was the organisation’s flagship coach development initiative and was recognised internationally as an innovative and highly effective programme (see testimonials page). During his tenure as the Programme Manager, Alex coordinated the professional development of some of New Zealand’s finest high-performance coaches. Over 80 coaches from over 25 sports have participated in the Coach Accelerator Programme since its inception, and these coaches have coached athletes and teams to win numerous Olympic, Commonwealth Games, World Championship, and professional league titles. Many of the coaches have won national and international coaching awards.
Alex established his own consultancy business in 2018 and has worked with numerous sporting, education, and business organisations in various capacities.
Clients include:
- New Zealand Rugby (women’s rugby coach development lead)
- New Zealand Cricket (World Cup Campaign review / coach development consultant)
- Netball New Zealand (high-performance programme review)
- World Players Association (player development & wellbeing advisor)
- High Performance Sport New Zealand (residential programme facilitator)
- Sport Singapore (coaching consultant)
- Sport New Zealand (workshop facilitator)
- Crusaders Super Rugby (leadership consultant)
- Otago Polytechnic (Masters degree supervision)
- Basketball New Zealand (high-performance programme review)
- Otumoetai College (Sports Programme review)
- Hutt Valley High School (guest presenter)
- Otago Cricket (campaign review)
- Highlanders Super Rugby (coaching consultant)
- ‘Lead-The-Way’ Leadership Development (programme facilitator)
- Institute of Management New Zealand (workshop facilitator)
- Te Waka Economic Development Agency (leadership advisor)
- Paraparaumu College (coach development facilitator)
- Hutt Intermediate School (individual leadership mentor)
- Mainland Netball (workshop facilitator)
- Sport Waikato (coaching consultant / guest presenter)
- Frucor Suntory (guest presenter)
