Cromwell College alumnus Ethan Forge is helping shape the future of para-sport in Australia. Recently appointed as a Gen 2032 Project Para Coach with Swimming Australia, Ethan is bringing his passion, experience, and inclusive coaching philosophy to the national stage. With the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games on the horizon, he’s playing a pivotal role in building performance pathways for para-athletes starting at the grassroots and aiming for gold. We caught up with Ethan to learn more about his journey, his vision for para-swimming, and the impact his time at UQ and Cromwell has had on his coaching career.
- What does your recent appointment as a Paralympic Swim Coach for Swimming Australia mean to you, and what are your main goals in this new role?
My appointment as a Gen 2032 Project Para Coach for Swimming Australia is an amazing opportunity to shape the future of Para-swimming in Australia. This role means the world to me as it enables me to take my passion for Para-sport and apply it to the High-performance environment of Swimming Australia. In this role, the aim is to develop a Para-swimming Performance program out of the Parkinson Aquatic Centre with Rackley Swimming and Swimming Australia. From this Para-performance program, I hope to get more para swimmers involved in the sport and build up our pathway program into high-performance.
- Can you share some insights into the Gen 2032 ‘Project Para’ Coach Development Program and how it will shape your approach to coaching para-athletes?
The Gen 2032 program is a four-year, salaried role with tailored professional development, hands-on learning, and access to some of the best minds in high-performance sport. This program provides the opportunity to attend multiple Learning Labs each year, the opportunity to build para-sport literacy, and the national collaboration between QAS, AIS, and Paralympics Australia. This program’s goal is to provide us, as coaches, with access to the best resources to help us grow into coaches who are equipped to work with future para-athletes in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Games.
- How did your studies in Exercise and Sport Sciences at UQ prepare you for a career in high-performance sport, particularly para-swimming?
My time at the University of Queensland provided me not only with the knowledge of exercise and sport science principles for training the elite athlete, but it also provided me with the environment to seek out opportunities to build my practical skills that have been crucial to where I am today. I was fortunate enough to work as a research assistant for the ParaSTART program, which examines the longitudinal health benefits of swim training for participants with High Support Needs. In this UQ research program, I developed my coaching skills by working with athletes with Cerebral Palsy as they develop their independence and overall performance in the water.
- Are there any particular experiences or mentors from UQ or Cromwell College that have had a lasting impact on your coaching philosophy?
As I developed as a Swim Coach at UQ, I was fortunate enough to learn from Dave Heyden, the UQ Sport Head Swim Coach, who has coached at the 2024 Paris Paralympics with his athlete Jack Ireland. In addition to Dave, I was able to learn from leading experts in the field of Para Sport, such as Dr. Emma Beckman, Dr. Sean Tweedy and Dr. Iain Dutia, who are integral members of the ParaSTART team. From these mentors, my coaching philosophy developed, focusing on “working with the person in front of you”. Quite often in para-sport, both grassroots and elite, people tend to focus on a person’s impairment rather them viewing them holistically as a person. This perspective of impairment first, human second, is deeply troubling and can be detrimental to the athlete’s self-esteem when value is placed solely on their impairment rather than them as a person. With this coaching philosophy, it’s important to acknowledge that I have never lived with an impairment and therefore can only begin to understand this experience through talking with others who have firsthand knowledge. This acknowledgement of privilege is something that my time at UQ and ParaSTART showed me the importance of being open to asking questions and positioning yourself as a learner when working with athletes with impairments.
- What advice would you give to current Cromwell College and UQ students who aspire to work in elite or para-sport coaching?
Get out there and get involved! My biggest piece of advice to anyone who aspires to get into elite sport is to develop your practical experience alongside your theoretical knowledge. My pathway to working at a National Sport Organisation was built around developing my practical skillset and experience in conjunction with completing my honours degree. In the 5 years I completed my undergraduate, I also obtained my ASCA Level 1 (Strength and Conditioning) and Development Swim Coach accreditation to allow me to work with athletes during my studies. This experience I gained was not only helpful in cementing the theoretical knowledge I was gaining from my degree, but also helped me land jobs in the industry after graduating, as I had 3-4 years of experience “doing the job” as well as having the degree.
- How can alumni and the broader Cromwell community support or get involved in the development of para-sport in Queensland?
With the 2032 Paralympic and Olympic Games coming to Brisbane, there are plenty of opportunities to watch Paralympic sport as well as get involved by playing yourself. Sports such as Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby offer reverse inclusion, which allows anybody to play para-sport. Head to the Paralympic Australia website to find more opportunities to watch, support and participate in Para-Sport across Australia.
- Looking back, what skills or values from your university and college years have been most valuable in your career progression so far?
The ability to form relationships quickly and develop rapport has been extremely useful as I have begun to find my place within the high-performance sport world. At the end of the day, every field we work in will have at least 1 person you will need to work with, and so the ability to build trust and connection can be the difference between success and failure. Whether you are trying to get an athlete to “buy in” to a new training structure, having a supervisor approve more funding allocation, or even having a referee review your athlete’s disqualification, being able to influence change through relationships is a great skill set to grow as a young practitioner.
- With the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games on the horizon, how do you see your role evolving, and what are you most excited about for the future of para-sport in Australia?
I hope to see my role become very busy with an oversupply of athletes wanting to get involved with swimming! Currently, we are lacking a push from the grassroots participation level for athletes with impairments getting involved with sport. I hope that with Project Para Uplift will result in an increase in athletes getting involved. This goal is what excites me the most about the future of sport in Australia, seeing Para-sport be on equal footing with able-bodied sport and for the Australian people to get behind para-athletes more than once every 4 years.
