My very first player could barely stay up on his skates. To teach him to skate backwards, I'd hold my stick out in front of me, let him grip the other end, and push him up the ice so he could feel what it was supposed to feel like.
He came on quickly — and as other parents saw the progress, the requests started coming. That's how PG Coaching began: one player, real results, and word getting around.
I've been on skates for more than 30 years and coaching since 2001 — junior teams in the UK, then state and national-level teams here in Australia. In 2021 I started PG Coaching to focus on the part I enjoy most: working with players one-on-one. The name is simply my initials — when your player trains with PG Coaching, they're training with me.
I came up as a forward and played wherever the game took me — through the English leagues with the Whitley Warriors, the Elite League with the Newcastle Vipers, and the English Premier League with the Telford Tigers. Since moving to Australia I've played in the AIHL with the Perth Thunder, represented WA, and I'm still on the ice in local leagues today.
I tell players this not to list a résumé, but because it means I've been where they want to go — and I know the work it takes to get there.
Alongside playing, coaching has been the constant. I've been Assistant Coach of the Australian Women's National Team (2019–2021), Head Coach of Perth Inferno in the AWIHL, and I've coached WA state junior teams at U13, U15 and U17 level. I hold Ice Hockey Australia Level 2 accreditation and a current Working With Children Check.
I'll be honest: I don't have children of my own, so I'm not here out of family obligation. I coach because I've spent over thirty years on the ice, played all over the world, and learned an enormous amount — and I genuinely enjoy handing that on. There's nothing quite like watching a player pick up a skill they couldn't do last week, and start their own journey in a sport that's given me so many good memories.
Every player is different, so I don't run a fixed program. I meet players where they are — whether that's a first-timer finding their edges or a competitive player chasing a state squad — and build each session around what they actually need. The work is structured and tracked, so players and parents always know what we're working on and why. And it's patient: sometimes the job is simply helping a player feel what good is supposed to feel like.
Sessions are currently full, but spots open up. Join the waitlist and tell me about your player.
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