Country Coach of the Year: Ernie Shankelton – more than a coach

7 June 2026

Country Coach of the Year: Ernie Shankelton – more than a coach

At the recent NSW Athletics awards dinner, Ernie Shankelton was a very worthy winner of the 2025/26 NSW Country Coach of the Year award.

We know coaches can make an important impact on the lives of our athletes, and without doubt Ernie Shankelton is doing that and much more for 13 country-based NSW athletes.

Luke Dabin, father of six-time Australian youth hammer throw champion Cooper Dabin, explained Ernie Shankelton’s impact.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have access to such a highly accomplished throws coach, and such a great person, in Ernie — especially in a rural setting. Ernie has created something incredibly special. His legacy is not just in the distances his athletes throw, but in the confidence, belief and opportunities he gives to young people from rural communities,” Dabin said.

“He is a great mentor for Cooper in his preparation and competition routines, but he is also a great friend and wonderful company to have around.

“Ernie’s impact reaches well beyond the circle. He is a mentor not only to the athletes, but also to the families who are part of CWT (Central West Throwers) and the wider athletics community. He willingly shares his knowledge and has a genuine passion for supporting athletes from rural areas.

“Rural athletes are highly disadvantaged when it comes to access to elite coaching and facilities. Ernie has helped bridge that gap for so many athletes.”

Aged 79, Shankelton concentrates on the coaching, while a few parents of the athletes (Leanne Wells, Sarah and Luke Dabin) organise his travel and accommodation.

Luke Dabin explained:

“Our role in supporting Ernie evolved quite naturally,” Dabin said. “Leanne Wells (mother of Damian Wells), who Ernie affectionately calls “Mumma Bear”, had been a great support to him for a long time. As Damien Wells moved out of juniors and into the senior ranks, the group started to split across junior and senior competitions. That is where Sarah and I (Luke Dabin) began helping more, particularly with the junior athletes and families. When we travel, Ernie often stays with us at our accommodation.”

Living in Billimari, located between Cowra and Canowindra, with the assistance of the local council, Ernie Shackleton has a terrific training base in Canowindra where he coaches athletes three to four days per week.

Such is the interest and commitment of athletes to train with Shankelton, they travel, mostly during the week, from across the State to receive his expert tutelage. Some he also coaches by correspondence and only sees occasionally. The athletes work together to support each other. Three athletes are located in Canberra, two are studying physio at university (Damian Wells and Emily Thomas) and one is based there (Kara Baker).

One recent addition is Olivia Cassidy, who went to Shankelton as a shot put and discus thrower. She saw the others squad members throwing the hammer and asked to try it. After just a few training sessions she is already able to make three turns.

Since 2023, Cooper Dabin has been undefeated at six Australian championships in the hammer throw, and this year also added the Oceania Under-18 title.

“Without Ernie, there is no way Cooper would be throwing the way he is now,” Luke Dabin said. “In fact, he may not have stayed in athletics at all. Cooper had a development opportunity with the Canberra Raiders, but chose to step away from rugby league to pursue what had become his real passion in sport. That passion developed largely because of Ernie’s involvement, guidance and belief in him.”

Luke Dabin explained how Shankelton is more than a coach.

“Our first real interaction with Ernie was at a Country Championships in Dubbo. As we got talking, we could tell straight away that there was a strong sense of camaraderie between Ernie and his throwers. It was clear that he had built something much bigger than just a training group.”

Another to have great success under coach Shankelton is three-time Australian champion Ky Garratt.

“Without the guidance and mentorship from Ernie, I don’t believe myself or any other athlete within the central west throwers would be where we are today. Personally, I believe I may have followed the tennis or hockey pathway but with Ernie living in such a close proximity it allowed me to pursue this discipline and excel and hopefully continue to grow into this sport.”

It was a similar story with Damian Wells, as Leanne Wells noted.

“Similar to Cooper and Ky, at 17 Damian (Wells) made the decision to give up his other sports (football and cricket) to concentrate on his athletics and latter just hammer. He would not be competing at the level he is if we had not stumbled across such an experienced throws coach living in the country and more importantly prepared to coach both face to face and remotely,” Leanne Wells said.

Over the more than a decade coaching in the central west of NSW, Shankelton has made an incredible impact on dozens of athletes. At the country championships in January his athletes placed first to fourth in the open women’s hammer throw. His 14 athletes won nine gold medals, three silver, seven bronze, set four championships records and Ky Garrett set a NSW record. At the Australian junior championships in April in Brisbane, the group returned four gold, three silver, one bronze and six PBs. Then at the recent Oceania Championship in Darwin, his four athletes all landed on the podium – claiming gold and three silver medals.

This table illustrates the travel by the athletes, with the support from their families, to training under coach Shakelton:

Ernie Shakelton’s journey

In 2001 Ernie Shankelton coached Bronwyn Eagles to a hammer throw bronze medal at the World Championships in Canada. It was an outstanding achievement, pioneering this new event. Eagles held the Australian hammer throw record for 20-years, from 2003 until it was recently broken in 2023.

After the world championships achievement, Ernie Shankelton, a registered nurse and racing car enthusiast living in Camden in Sydney, purchased some land in Billimari, located between Cowra and Canowindra. Over the next few years he developed the land, building a kit home during long weekend visits there from his job in Sydney. He and his wife permanently relocated there in 2012. It was an ideal location as they had many family members in the area. Early after his arrival, while on a school visit in Bathurst, he met Helen Garratt, mother of Ky, and it was not long before Shankelton was now coaching athletes in the country. Ky’s older sister, Tayla, was a talented athlete and in 2014 set a Country Championships record in the U17 hammer throw (the record remained in place for 12 years until broken this year at the NSW Country Championships).

Shankelton, who is the coach at the Western Regional Academy of Sport, is working to develop coaches in many of the country towns like Bathurst, Canowindra and Cootamundra. He also helps and mentors coaches in Canberra, Darwin and Rockhampton.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW
Image: Ernie Shankelton with members of his squad (image courtesy of Leanne Wells)