From Olympic competitor to coaching and beyond
The two sides of learning to support the next generation of athletes
05 Jun 25
A transition from Olympic campaigning to coaching has enabled Ali Young to share her knowledge as a world class sailor and start a whole new learning journey of her own.
After representing Great Britain in the ILCA 6 class at three consecutive Olympic Games spanning London, Rio and Tokyo, Ali had zero plans to step into a coaching career.
But after retiring from the British Sailing Team, an ‘athlete give-back’ day at an RYA Regional Junior Championships in the Midlands proved to be a pivotal moment in time.
Tasked with running an onshore fitness session and chatting with young sailors on the water,
she recalls: “I asked about their racing and what they were thinking for the day, and it was fantastic to see their passion and the excitement they had for the sport.”
Invited on the same day to then work with the North and Midlands Topper Regional Training Group over Autumn/Winter 2021, she adds: “It opened up an avenue into coaching and having spent 15 years or more Olympic campaigning, there was an element of me thinking that I might have something useful to share from my experiences. So that was where it all started!”
Ali completed RYA Race Coach qualifications to provide the necessary nuts and bolts and in additional to ILCA 4 and Topper regional training groups, has gone on to work with national youth squads and those moving into Olympic ILCA 6 & 7 classes as part of the British Sailing Team pathway.
Alongside sharing her experiences and expertise as a sailor, to help others learn to succeed on and off the water, Ali is also committed to growing her skills as a coach.
Inspired by the sailors she has been training and the rewards of watching their progress, Ali has seized every opportunity to likewise develop her own knowledge, through Continuous Professional Development (CPD) with the RYA, other organisations and independently.
“I have enjoyed the process of learning the new skill of coaching,” explains Ali. “Coaching is definitely not much like actually sailing a boat. You’re working with a groups and individuals and other coaches, and you’re thinking about how to create the best learning environment for the sailors – these are very different skills to getting a boat around a racecourse.
“I enjoy seeing people progress and the energy that gives them, so it’s about figuring out how to help others to get the best out of themselves. It’s about providing the right challenge for the individuals, and it might also involve working with other coaches, understanding a broader spectrum of sailing, and the needs of different environments. And in the junior space, it’s not just the sailors that you’re working with, it’s about the parents and appreciating their landscape too.”
Early on in her transition to full-time coaching, Ali went into a local secondary school to shadow PE lessons for a week and says: “The teachers were very measured but direct in their communication and knew how to control a space and capture the attention of the students without being overly officious or demanding. I also picked up ideas about their use of IT, the male-female split in certain spaces, and how children are different to how I remember from when I was at school.”
Ali makes the most of opportunities to get on the water with other coaches and classes. She is also taking part in a mentoring programme with the True Athlete Project and involved with the UK Sport Athlete Coach Programme, which includes visiting a variety of other sports.
“It challenges your own norms,” says Ali. “It’s about ‘how do I help these people in front of me to reach their potential’ – while at the same time, not being afraid to explore and try different things, because if you just coach the one set way, then you’re limiting the opportunities to grow.”
Always asking questions, open to learning and searching for new insights, Ali not only provides a role model for other aspiring female sailors and coaches but adds to the diversity of knowledge and experience available across the sport at all levels.
Ali will be coaching ILCA 7 British Sailing Squad sailors over summer. She is looking forward to supporting the next generation of athletes as they navigate the challenges of competing in an Olympic class that has continued to grow in quality and depth since her own days on the circuit.
“It’s a long road and there’s a lot of good people in the sport with lots of experience,” explains Ali. “It’s about helping sailors to keep a bit of context and breaking it down into smaller building blocks – maybe their overall result hasn’t changed yet, for example, but there has been an improvement in a particular area, and we just need to put some more pieces together before we see a jump.”
Now revisiting the same events as a coach where she previously competed, she adds: “You see places through a slightly different lens to when you were laser-focused on a regatta for yourself. But seeing your sailors racing and progressing, that’s also pretty cool!”
Find out more about developing your skills with RYA Coaching.
After representing Great Britain in the ILCA 6 class at three consecutive Olympic Games spanning London, Rio and Tokyo, Ali had zero plans to step into a coaching career.
But after retiring from the British Sailing Team, an ‘athlete give-back’ day at an RYA Regional Junior Championships in the Midlands proved to be a pivotal moment in time.
Tasked with running an onshore fitness session and chatting with young sailors on the water,
she recalls: “I asked about their racing and what they were thinking for the day, and it was fantastic to see their passion and the excitement they had for the sport.”
Invited on the same day to then work with the North and Midlands Topper Regional Training Group over Autumn/Winter 2021, she adds: “It opened up an avenue into coaching and having spent 15 years or more Olympic campaigning, there was an element of me thinking that I might have something useful to share from my experiences. So that was where it all started!”
Ali completed RYA Race Coach qualifications to provide the necessary nuts and bolts and in additional to ILCA 4 and Topper regional training groups, has gone on to work with national youth squads and those moving into Olympic ILCA 6 & 7 classes as part of the British Sailing Team pathway.
Alongside sharing her experiences and expertise as a sailor, to help others learn to succeed on and off the water, Ali is also committed to growing her skills as a coach.
Inspired by the sailors she has been training and the rewards of watching their progress, Ali has seized every opportunity to likewise develop her own knowledge, through Continuous Professional Development (CPD) with the RYA, other organisations and independently.
“I have enjoyed the process of learning the new skill of coaching,” explains Ali. “Coaching is definitely not much like actually sailing a boat. You’re working with a groups and individuals and other coaches, and you’re thinking about how to create the best learning environment for the sailors – these are very different skills to getting a boat around a racecourse.
“I enjoy seeing people progress and the energy that gives them, so it’s about figuring out how to help others to get the best out of themselves. It’s about providing the right challenge for the individuals, and it might also involve working with other coaches, understanding a broader spectrum of sailing, and the needs of different environments. And in the junior space, it’s not just the sailors that you’re working with, it’s about the parents and appreciating their landscape too.”
Early on in her transition to full-time coaching, Ali went into a local secondary school to shadow PE lessons for a week and says: “The teachers were very measured but direct in their communication and knew how to control a space and capture the attention of the students without being overly officious or demanding. I also picked up ideas about their use of IT, the male-female split in certain spaces, and how children are different to how I remember from when I was at school.”
Ali makes the most of opportunities to get on the water with other coaches and classes. She is also taking part in a mentoring programme with the True Athlete Project and involved with the UK Sport Athlete Coach Programme, which includes visiting a variety of other sports.
“It challenges your own norms,” says Ali. “It’s about ‘how do I help these people in front of me to reach their potential’ – while at the same time, not being afraid to explore and try different things, because if you just coach the one set way, then you’re limiting the opportunities to grow.”
Always asking questions, open to learning and searching for new insights, Ali not only provides a role model for other aspiring female sailors and coaches but adds to the diversity of knowledge and experience available across the sport at all levels.
Ali will be coaching ILCA 7 British Sailing Squad sailors over summer. She is looking forward to supporting the next generation of athletes as they navigate the challenges of competing in an Olympic class that has continued to grow in quality and depth since her own days on the circuit.
“It’s a long road and there’s a lot of good people in the sport with lots of experience,” explains Ali. “It’s about helping sailors to keep a bit of context and breaking it down into smaller building blocks – maybe their overall result hasn’t changed yet, for example, but there has been an improvement in a particular area, and we just need to put some more pieces together before we see a jump.”
Now revisiting the same events as a coach where she previously competed, she adds: “You see places through a slightly different lens to when you were laser-focused on a regatta for yourself. But seeing your sailors racing and progressing, that’s also pretty cool!”
Find out more about developing your skills with RYA Coaching.