It’s a simple philosophy that Andrew Iselin, the coach of Lachlan Kennedy and Caleb Law, has that has certainly paid off this year.
“I just want to make people better people,” he said.
“If everything is going well in their lives, then things go well on the track.”
Go well on the track is exactly what has happened this year for both Kennedy and Law, who were part of the famous 4x100m relay squad that won the gold medal in Glasgow.
Kennedy has just finished a huge international season by coming fourth in the Diamond League final in the 100m and breaking 10 seconds multiple times.
“I’m really proud of them both, they both make my job really easy, I just have to push them in the right direction,” a humble Iselin said.
“I guess people were probably a bit taken aback in Glasgow as I didn’t seem as excited as they thought I should be, but I know how they train and expected these kinds of performances.”
Iselin is head coach of the AAA squad in Brisbane, that both Kennedy and Law are part of.
He and his co-coach, Jess Williams, will speak at the Australian Athletics National Coaching Conference (AANCC) next month at the University of Queensland that runs from October 9 and 11.
For Iselin, 35, coaching is something that has been a culmination of being involved and around athletics his whole life.
Growing up in Brisbane his parents were heavily involved in the Mayne Harriers Athletics Club, so he got his start in the sport very young.
At 17, Iselin had a stroke, but rather than stop his involvement in the sport, it only made him more determined.
“At the time I didn’t dwell on it,” he said.
“At the end of the day anything can happen that can derail your life, so if you have structure in place around you and as much in place as possible, you will be right no matter what goes wrong.
For a decade he then competed as an athlete with a disability, while at the same time in 2017 getting a desk job in a government office in Queensland.
But he always had a love of coaching and in 2021 he ended up leaving that desk job and hasn’t looked back.
He started coaching Kennedy in 2023, after previously working in collaboration with his previous coach Russel Hansen.
When Hansen got a job in South Australia, Iselin took over.
In a lot of ways, the champion sprinter is the perfect pupil.
“Lachie is not only young, but so young to the sport,” he said.
“He is still learning a lot.
“Every time I talk to him, I still get surprised by little things he is picking up and learning along the way.
As for Law, he is now turning his mind to the sprint hurdles, and the pair are already working on that in their Brisbane base as we speak.
The Australian Athletics National Coaching Conference (9-11th of October) will see an incredible lineup of coaches just like Iselin, experts and industry leaders sharing their thoughts and ideas as the sport of athletics goes from strength to strength in Australia.
The keynote speakers include American Joanna Hayes, who won the Olympic gold medal in the 100m hurdles in Athens before going on to coach the likes of superstars Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Rai Benjamin and Jasmine Jones.
Register for tickets and to plan your conference and for more information HERE
By Luke Dennehy, Australian Athletics
Posted 16/9/2026
