High Performance Unit

Bruce Hopkins (Endeavour Sports High School High Performance Manager)

BEd Physical / Health Ed (University of Wollongong Australia)

MSpSc (UNSW Sydney)

Bruce has a Bachelor of Education in Physical and Health Education and a Masters in Sports Science, and is a member of the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association.

He has been involved in coaching and training athletes at all levels for over three decades, including State, National and World Champions.

A teacher of over 25 years’ experience, Bruce has previously been a Strength and Conditioning Coordinator in schools and held the position of Director of High Performance at the Penrith Panthers Rugby League Club for 8 years working with some of the great coaches and players of the game, including Phil Gould, Brad Fittler, Greg Alexander and Gary Freeman.

Bruce is passionate about health and fitness and still trains and competes in triathlons having completed in more than a dozen Ironman and Half Ironman events.

He currently holds the position of High Performance Manager at Endeavour Sports High School.

Michelle Bruce (Tune Up Health)

APA Sports Dietitian

BAppSc Nutrition and Dietetics Honours (University of Wollongong Australia)

Michelle is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and an Accredited Sports Dietitian.

She holds a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics Honours from the University of Wollongong, and has worked in the health and fitness industry since 2012. Michelle is also qualified as a Personal Trainer (Certificate IV Fitness) so has a well-rounded view of nutrition, fitness and general health.

​Michelle practises a client-centred approach, offering advice tailored for the individual, whilst providing support and motivation to assist her clients in making sustainable lifestyle changes to optimise their health and performance.

Michelle has gained experience in the high performance environment having previously worked with the St George Illawarra Dragons NRL and the NSW Waratahs Super Rugby Teams. She has also conducted research investigating the dietary intake quality of elite adolescent athletes, which she presented at the 2015 Dietitians Association of Australia National Conference.

Michelle’s passion for sports has been life-long, having been involved in a variety of both team and individual sports including swimming, hockey, water polo and trampolining. These days, to keep fit and active, Michelle trains for and competes in triathlons ranging from the Sprint to Ironman distances, which she loves just as much as chocolate.

Anthony Kaleel (Sydney Elite Massage Therapy)

Dip Remedial Massage

Dip Fitness

Anthony is owner of Sydney Elite Massage Therapy, is a professionally qualified Sports and Remedial Massage Therapist and Fitness Professional.

Anthony has been a soft tissue therapist since 2004 and fitness trainer since 1997. He has worked with Basketball Australia for their Gold Medal winning 2017 Asian Games, Sydney FC during their successful inaugural A-League season, Athletics Australia, Sydney Marathon, Foster Ironman, Australian and NSW Weightlifting Teams, PGA Tour of Australasia and professional athletes from the Women’s Tennis Association just to name a few.

Anthony’s interest is in injury prevention and enhancing individual athlete and team sports performance. In particular he revels in assessing musculoskeletal dysfunction and creating symmetry and balance for the client, whether they are a weekend warrior or perform at an elite level. Anthony is an extremely passionate competitor and follower of all sports, but his loves are football, tennis, basketball and golf, which he plays both currently at an amateur level.

Anthony, a TAFE NSW graduate, has lectured at Loftus TAFE in Southern Sydney in both Fitness and Massage, and has also assisted in the educating of other fitness professionals in the art of using a Swiss Ball for AOK Health. He is a member of Massage and Myotherapy Australia.

Dr Michael Martin (Winning Thinking)

PhD (University of Wollongong) Australia

MA (University of San Diego)

BAppSc Human Movement (University of Wollongong)

BA DipEd (University of Wollongong)

Member College of Sport and Exercise Psychology

Michael has been coaching the mental game most of his working life. Helping committed performers take the next step didn’t come as an academic calling Michael, but was born out of being a frustrated coach.

In the eighties he was the NSW Surfing Coach and could see his athletes weren’t performing to their potential because of the pressure of competition. He started out looking for ways to help them win the mental game and it went from there. In the past 20 years Michael has had some great success stories – World Record Holders, World Champions, Olympic Gold Medallists.

When I started working with athletes over 20 years ago I was on a steep learning curve. I had read the books and done the study, but I didn’t get the big picture of how high performance thinking really worked. It took me a long time to learn exactly what I needed to do and how I needed to do it. The upside of my long learning curve is that I learned from the ground up, from real performers, exactly what worked day-in-day-out and what was just theory. It emphasised to me that everything I do has tot be very practical. So, I always emphasises practical strategies and tactics that people can actually used to stay focused and positive.

One of my key values is ‘continuous personal best performance’ vs winning in sport. Everyone wants to win, that’s why you are a committed performer. But as your performance levels progress, you might have found that it becomes a struggle. When you turn your attention to ‘personal best performance’, then competing becomes easier. You don’t have to focus on winning your events, but delivering your very best effort. It’s a big shift in perception.

Dr Michael Martin has previously held the positions of Head of Performance Psychology at the Australian Institute of Sport and Head of Sport Psychology at the New South Wales Institute of Sport. He has worked with Olympic Teams, Paralympic Teams, Commonwealth Games Athletes, World Champions, World Record Holders and Olympic Medallists from over 40 different sports.

Ryan Quintano (Southern Sports Podiatry)

BAppSc Podiatry (University of Western Sydney)

Ryan is a podiatrist of 15 years’ experience having graduated from the University of Western Sydney in 2005.

Ryan decided to study Podiatry after suffering chronic foot pain and injury as an adolescent playing high level football. After seeing a Podiatrist much of his foot pain and injuries were eliminated.

He continued with soccer into adulthood paying Premier League in the Sutherland Shire for a number of years. Looking for a new challenge, Ryan took up triathlon in his late twenties competing at a high level in all distances, including completing four Ironmans.

Drawing on his own injury history, Ryan began to understand that the body is an amazing, complex piece of engineering. He works on the premise that no two injuries are ever the same, and therefore the path to rehabilitation will not be the same for any two individuals.

Ryan has developed a strong professional relationship with other health care specialists and works closely with a number of Physiotherapists, Exercise Physiologists, Massage Therapists and Sports Physicians in his holistic approach to injury management, treatment and prevention.

Ryan has worked with the Australian Defence Force as their Senior Podiatrist in the Physical Therapies Unit at the Australian Military College Duntroon, and continues as a consultant to defence personnel at the Holsworthy Barracks Rehabilitation Facility.

More recently he has consulted to the Cronulla Sharks NRL and St George Illawarra NRL Teams. At a community level Ryan works with athletes from a variety of sports including, football, triathlons, netball, track and field, endurance running, hockey and AFL. He also has a strong affiliation with Cronulla and Engadine Triathlon Clubs, as well as a number of local running clubs and personal trainers.

Ryan has a passion for triathlon and managing triathlon and running related injuries, correcting biomechanical abnormalities, and designing and manufacturing foot orthoses. He has an intimate knowledge of footwear with a focus on fit, function, comfort and surface interaction.

Mark Edgar (Southern Districts Sports Physiotherapy)

APA Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist

BAppSc Physiotherapy (The Queens College Glasgow Scotland)

MSpPhty (La Trobe University Melbourne)

Mark is one of the most experienced Sports Physiotherapists working here in the Sutherland Shire. He graduated from the Queens College, Glasgow, Scotland in 1990 before immigrating to Sydney in 1992.

Mark has exclusively worked in private practice since and has widespread sports experience having worked across range of sports at various World Championships, World Masters Games, International, National and State Competitions, as well as the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Having recently competed his Master’s Degree in Sports Physiotherapy through La Trobe University, Melbourne Mark has been officially recognised by the Australian Physiotherapy Association as a Sports Physiotherapist.

Mark has been consultant Physiotherapist to Endeavour Sports High School for nearly 20 years and witnessed pupils moving on to becoming Olympic athletes, test cricketers, professional soccer, rugby league and rugby union players. He is also heavily involved in rugby union having worked with the Emerging NSW Waratahs and Australian Rugby Union Academy, as well as over a decade as Head Physiotherapist to Southern Districts Rugby Club.

Kieran Rooney (Jubilee Sports Physiotherapy)

APA Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist

BAppSc Physiotherapy Honours (The University of Sydney)

Kieran is a titled APA Sports and Exercise physiotherapist with over 25 years of experience after graduating with Honours from the University of Sydney.

He has been a physiotherapist at the Football Federation of Australia over the past decade and is currently the head physiotherapist to the Australian U23 Men’s National Football Team, the Olyroos.  Kieran will be joining the Australian Olympic team as a physiotherapist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games and has vast experience at major international sporting events such as the Asian Cup and World Cup Qualifiers.

Throughout his professional career he has had roles as Head Physiotherapist to the St George Dragons NRL Team, the Sydney Kings NBL Team, as well as working internationally in the Japanese Football League. 

Kieran has been the head physiotherapist to the Sutherland Sharks Football Club for over 15 years and has developed a special interest in injury prevention and rehabilitation of youth and adolescent athletes.

Kieran has lectured both nationally and internationally and is a founding member of the NSW Football Medicine Association.  His research on strength training has been published in the journal of ‘Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise’.

Michael Gabriel (Jubilee Sports Physiotherapy)

APA Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist

BAppSc Physiotherapy Honours (The University of Sydney)

Michael is a titled APA Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist. He graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy in 2000 and was awarded First Class Honours and the University Medal. Michael’s research on stretching featured in the ‘British Medical Journal and the Australian Journal of Physiotherapy’.

Michael has a particular interest in football related injury management and rehabilitation. In 2002, Michael was appointed as a physiotherapist to Fulham FC for three seasons in the English Premier League. This paved his way into the NSW Premier League where he has been the head physiotherapist to the Sutherland Sharks FC since 2006. In 2013 he was appointed by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) for which he has toured with the Young Socceroos (Under 20’s), Joeys (Under 17’s) and Pararoos. In addition, he was selected to tour with Sydney FC Academy to Japan in 2016.

In 2015, Michael was appointed as a physiotherapist by Cricket NSW to provide sports coverage at domestic camps and competitions throughout Australia to their Under 17/ Under 19 ACT / NSW Country teams.

James Pearce (Jubilee Sports Physiotherapy)

BAppSc Physiotherapy (The University of Sydney)

James graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy in 2008. He joined Jubilee Sports Physiotherapy in 2010.

James has an enthusiasm for football and football related rehabilitation and injury management stemming from 25+ years playing football, including 6 years of playing in the NSW Premier Leagues. James also spent a number of years playing in the NSW Futsal Premier League and has been selected in both the NSW and Australian Representative teams.

James has been a physiotherapist to the Sutherland Sharks FC in the NSW Premier League since 2010 working with both youth and senior squads.

James toured China with the Central Coast Mariners youth squads in 2010. In 2019, James was appointed by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) to assist in the coverage of the Australian Futsalroos. He also travelled to the Netherlands with Sydney FC’s Youth Academy in the same year.

Having suffered a right knee ACL rupture in 2016 and subsequently undergoing the 12 month rehabilitation process to return to football, James has a passion to not only help rehabilitate those with ACL reconstructions, but also implement prevention strategies.

Dr Brandi Cole (Shire Sports Medicine)

Sport and Exercise Physician (ACSEP)

PhD MBBS (UNSW)

BMed and Surgery (The University of Sydney)

BAppSc Physiotherapy (The University of Sydney)

Brandi Cole is a Specialist Sport and Exercise Medicine Physician having gained fellowship of the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians in 2019. During her speciality training, Brandi also completed a PhD on optimising the management of rotator cuff dysfunction, having completed both a medical degree and a physiotherapy degree prior to that. 

Brandi is the current team doctor for the Sydney Roosters NRL Team, the Junior Matilda’s Football Team and the Sydney FC W League Football Team. She is the Touring Team Doctor with Australian Oztag and has provided medical coverage at major Australian CrossFit Championships since 2012. She has previously worked with numerous rugby union teams, both male and female in 15’s and 7’s and has provided medical services at many high level sporting events in the past including Athletics at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Netball World Cup.   

Brandi consults on all musculoskeletal injuries, acute and chronic, in all ages and levels of sporting participation. She has interest and experience in managing all aspects of performance during elite competition including jetlag management, fatigue, sleep, nutrition and relative energy deficiency, as well as managing medical conditions related to or produced by participation in physical activity. Additionally, Brandi has a special interest in the female athlete, the young athlete and acute and chronic football injuries.

Brandi has personal experience as an elite athlete, being the former captain of the Australian Women’s Oztag Team, of which she was a member from 2001 – 2017. She has also played both touch and hockey for NSW in the past and was an Australian and World Gold Medallist in Beach Sprint Relay in Surf Life Saving.