Meet Your Coach / Exercise Physiologist
Troy Smith
I began weights training when I was 17-years-old as a means to gain self-confidence and have had a passion for fitness, in particular strength training, ever since.
In 2012 I left my hometown of Narrabri in North-West NSW (officially 'Australia's Sportiest Town') to move to Newcastle, where my love of strength and fitness led me to CrossFit and eventually to the sport of Weightlifting. In 2014 I reached out to a Sydney-based weightlifting coach, who offered to teach me about the lifts and how to coach the sport of Weightlifting.
The more I trained and coached, the more I came to see Weightlifting as something bigger than a sport — I see it as a tool for the pursuit of Mastery.
Mastery isn't a destination you arrive at - it's a life-long pursuit, and one that isn't confined to a single skill or discipline. True mastery is the sharpening of body, mind, and craft together — and few tools sharpen all three as effectively as Weightlifting.
That same pursuit of mastery is what drew me toward Clinical Exercise Physiology. Coaching Weightlifting taught me how much of physical development happens at the intersection of the body's mechanics, the mental skills to navigate the journey, and the crafts they choose to pursue along their journey — and I wanted to understand that intersection more deeply, and be able to apply it to a broader range of people, presentations, and goals.
That pursuit led me to formal study in exercise and sports science and, later, a Masters of Clinical Exercise Physiology, so I could bring the same principles of long-term, purposeful development I value in Weightlifting to clinical and rehabilitative settings.
Formal Qualifications:
- Masters of Clinical Exercise Physiology (CSU)
- Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science (UoN)
- Australian Weightlifting Federation Level 3 - National Weightlifting Coach
- Australian Strength & Conditioning Association Level 1
- Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certificate in Nutrition and Coaching
New South Wales Weightlifting Association High-Performance Coaching Team for consecutive terms - 2019-2022; 2022-2026:
- AWF Senior Championships - Canberra 2019, Online 2021, Canberra 2022, Melbourne 2023, Sydney 2024
- AWF Junior/U23 Championships - Sydney 2019, Sydney Online Hub 2021, Townsville 2023
- AWF Youth/U15 Championships - Brisbane 2019, Online 2021, 2022
- AWF Masters Championships - Sydney 2023, Gold Coast 2024
- NSWWA vs WACT - Sydney 2019, Sydney 2025 (AusFitness Expo)
- NSWWA vs QWA - Sydney 2024 (AusFitness Expo)
International Coaching Appointments to date
- IWF Youth World Weightlifting Championships; Australian Team Head Coach - Durrës, Albania 2023
- IWF Junior World Championships; Australian Team Coach - Heraklion, Greece 2022
- Singapore International; Australian Senior Team Coach - Singapore, Singapore 2022
- Pacific Cup; Australian Under 23 Team Head Coach/Manager - Noumea, New Caledonia 2019
- Oceania and Commonwealth Youth/Junior Championships; Australian Team Coach - Apia, Samoa 2019
