YOUR TEAM
YOUR team of coaches will be a GUIDE to build confidence and KEY character strengths
FOUNDER & PROGRAM DEVELOPER
DAVID HANNAN
With a little imagination & participation, everything is possible.
I have participated in sport all my life, first as a student and later as a coach. As a child I was highly energetic and playful and unable to sit still for long and pay attention in school. My parents believed that gymnastics would both tire me out and teach me discipline.
They were partly correct, but I am still energetic and playful. It’s funny as a child they called me hyper-active, as an adult I’m called self-motivated. My teaching career began in 1986 at the age of sixteen, teaching the junior gymnastic team. After high school I threw myself into an undergraduate degree at Monash University, but when the chance arose to join the circus as a trapeze artist, I was never going to say no. Adventure and movement are two of my favourite vices.
The next few years were spent traveling and teaching circus all over south east Asia. I returned from overseas teaching flying trapeze and working in the circus to become a sports tutor for some home schooled children in 1996. In the early 90’s I began Kung Fu training and after attaining instructor level, I was lucky to spend some time teaching in Los Angeles.
On returning to Australia I entered the personal training industry in 1996 while it was still in it’s infancy. Between 1997 and 2011 I developed my craft at various personal training studios (SWEAT in Middle Park, Donna Astons in Toorak and One on One Personal training in Prahran) and I accumulated a wealth of experience that re-affirmed my love of teaching movement in all its forms, especially technique analysis of skills and fitness. I have spent the past 36 years teaching various disciplines (gymnastics, rock climbing, Kung Fu, trampolining, circus, personal training) to different ages (2-80) and nationalities around the world.
I love my job and feel blessed that it allows me to help and inspire others. I have just published the second edition of my book The Art of Teaching Without Teaching and I truly believe that when it comes to teaching … with a little Imagination and Participation … anything is possible! In my own time you will find me reading books on teaching, human anatomy, re-training the brain, creativity and teaching, but that’s only when I’m resting … the rest of the time you might find me running with the dog, rock climbing at the Grampians or helping my buddies run their flying trapeze school.
HEAD COACH/VP OF COMMUNICATIONS
LEADERSHIP TEAM
SIOBHAN CASH
Siobhan started at Kids in Motion in 2014 on a 6 month visa. She was a competitive gymnast and a National Champion back home in the UK.
After 6 months, Kids in Motion sponsored her and now with her PR she is here to stay!
She began as a coach, moved into a Head Coach position, then the Leadership Team and now handles the day to day scheduling, our social media accounts and customer service roles.
She is trying to grow every day in every aspect of the job and is constantly picking up little gold nuggets from the others on the team.
Siobhan is meticulously planned and although she isn’t on the coaching floor that much anymore, when she is she still teaches with authority and empathy. Her kids appreciate knowing their boundaries and where the line is they shouldn’t cross. She packs her lesson plans with activities to make her classes as productive as possible. She believes kids need movement, exercise and more hard work in their lives and she tries to deliver this whilst getting them to smile too.
Everything she does is with excellence, a big heart and the kids success and futures coming first.
COACH/ TEAM DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
LEADERSHIP TEAM
MARK BEDDOE
Mark started in 2019 and he has a background in soccer coaching and in leadership roles back in the UK as well as experience as a site manager of Jumpzone. Mark is passionate about providing outstanding experiences to our loyal tribe and being part of a strong team with a focus on personal development.
Mark likes to bring a balance of fun and games to his classes along with teaching values such as discipline and responsibility. We see great progress in his kids because his strength is asking questions and getting to know the kids on a personal level. He displays great patience as a teacher and makes an effort to provide insight to parents on how to continue their child's development even outside of classes.
"I believe everyone has the potential to step up as a leader and that's exactly what I try to draw out of the kids in my classes, from being a great role model to speaking up and having the courage to step out of their comfort zone"
Part of Mark's role is to provide praise and feedback to each coach so you may see him time to time observing and helping out classes across each week
COACH/SPECIAL NEEDS COORDINATOR
LEADERSHIP TEAM
GIDEON VAN TWEST SMITH
Gideon joined us in 2021 and brings a background of many sports to the table, including: Baseball, Cricket, Soccer and strength training.
He has been a player, coach, umpire, team manager and mentor across more than decade of involvement in various teams. He is highly passionate about sports and physical fitness.
His education Exercise Science and experience as a party host at Latitude Melbourne help him meld his classes into fun filled, action packed dynamite for kids. Structured specifically to strengthen bodies and build resilience in young people.
He enjoys boosting self-esteem and confidence; knowing that the key to anyone's success is through believing in themselves.
His major goal in each class is to link fun, happiness and laughter with movement and hard work. Creating positive association with challenge and pushing yourself to your potential.
Smiles and laughter are never too far away when he's around.
COACH/FACILITY MAINTENANCE
MIKE HORNER
Mike started in 2021 at KIM and is a NICA graduate (circus) with a background in circus and gymnastics. With over a decade of coaching experience helping create a love for movement from an early age has become both a passion and a core value. Mike is both energetic and spontaneous and this is reflected in his coaching style, which makes him engaging as a teacher and makes his classes both fun and creative.
Mike believes his superpower is his ability to change a kid’s perception about strength training. As a child who was always classified as “underweight” and was always the smallest in his class, when he started at NICA and began to build his strength, confidence followed almost instantaneously. Igniting that fire for training and passing that confidence on to the kids he coaches is a high priority in every class… Bonus points if I can be done with a smile and a laugh.
COACH
PAUL BOURKE
Paul joined the team in 2019 and has a background in physical theatre and clowning which has taken him around Australia and the world touring shows.
He is our very own cartoon character come to life… and
his ability to engage a child’s imagination and sense of play, is
second to none. Not only does this make all his classes FUN, but it
relaxes children and puts them at ease so they do not fear failing and
have the confidence to try something new.
Paul is passionate about connecting play, imagination and learning and brings creativity, focus and fun to all of his classes.
Paul loves being part of Kids in Motion because it's a place buzzing
with learning and laughter, cultivating growth mindsets and instilling joy for play and movement in the kids.
COACH
DAMIEN HUGHES
Damien joined the team at the end of 2022 and has a background in parkour, gymnastics and ninja. Currently studying his Cert VI in fitness, Damien really loves breaking down skills in a way that allows anyone to learn how to do a movement while engaging them with fantastic and imaginative games and demonstrations.
With his vast knowledge of parkour and eagerness to continuously learn, he really takes pride in doing the same for the kids in their classes.
VP COMMUNICATIONS & ADMINISTRATION
LEADERSHIP TEAM
JACKIE BIDDICK
Jackie has worked at Kids in Motion since 2014 in a part time capacity. She is the face behind many emails and phone calls and works on improving the communication and administration procedures to ensure Kids in Motion delivers excellence in our customer service area.
Jackie has three grown children (all of whom have attended classes over the years) but loves nothing more than chatting with young children when they arrive for classes. She also loves joining our Adults in Motion classes and getting to know the other parents who choose to train with us.
With her warm smile and always ready to help attitude, Jackie is here to make sure you and your family always have an amazing experience at KIM.
COACH/ADMIN
PJ TAGG
PJ joined the team at the end of 2022 after taking a break from the workforce and wanting to challenge herself by helping kids and parents.
PJ has been a member of the KIM community for about 5 years with her kids doing group classes, private sessions and herself doing adult classes here as well!
PJ loves KIM because there's a real focus on teaching kids in a way that they love and have fun. The whole team and management is very supportive and inclusive and go above and beyond to help.
Make sure to come up and say hi to PJ when you come into the studio or for any questions or help you might need!
COACH
TYLER WATT-CALDER
Tyler is a brand new addition to Kids In Motion. His background in Basketball from playing domestic, Representative and Coaching Teenagers makes him a passionate and enthusiastic coach. Tyler has spent over a decade involving himself in sports both individual and team based. Tyler hopes to use his expertise in basketball and ball sports to enritch his classes with better ball skills and coordination.
Tyler is super energetic and hopes to transfer his enthusiasm and energy into his classes. Tyler's main goal when lesson planning is to make skills as fun as possible. Tyler believes that learning new skills is always better in a possistive and encouraging environment.
COACH
DAYANEE KUNASEELAN
Dayanee joined the team towards the end of May 2023 and has a background in coaching competitive swimming back in Malaysia & Learn to Swim here in Melbourne. She has also participated in various volunteering activities, such as teaching primary students with special needs and low socioeconomic backgrounds in both Malaysia and Melbourne. Dayanee was also a national athlete for her home country, Malaysia in triathlons throughout her youth.
Dayanee found her love for sports from the tender age of 2, where she was privileged enough to be exposed to various sporting activities that life could offer. The skills she has developed overtime has greatly influenced her passion for inspiring young minds through allowing them to be the best version of themselves in the gym doesn’t go unnoticed, as she continues to always encourage kids that nothing is impossible!
She strives to bring in a combination of lots of smiles and hard work all while building positive relationships with the kids and community.
COACH
RILEY WOOD
Riley joined the team in may of 2023 bringing a wide background of a skills and knowledge acquired from a large number of sports that he played growing up including Hockey, Football, Tennis, Basketball, Golf and Ultimate Frisbee. Riley now focuses his free time on Rock climbing and Ultimate Frisbee, having been selected on the Australian U24s team in the past and is aiming to play for the open age team in the near future.
Riley has grown up with a love of sports and physical activities, It largely shaped the person who he is today and he aims to be able to help develop and foster that same love within the kids he coaches.
Achieving that blend of enjoyment, understanding and resilience within his classes is what Riley hopes to bring, in the process linking these qualities to physical movement and activity within the developing minds of kids.
COACH
AAKRIT PAI
Aakrit has vast experience when it comes to sports, ranging from team sports such as cricket and soccer, all the way into individual sports like badminton and table tennis. He keeps in high regards the skills and valuable life lessons that he has gathered through sports in his life. Aakrit played semi-professional soccer back in his home country, which taught him a lot of the life skills that he applies even today. Aakrit also deeply appreciates the nuances of resistance training and concepts of mindful movement in daily life. Brining all these experiences and their intricate faculties into his coaching while delivering a stellar experience is what he loves to do!
Being an avid sports person himself, he strongly believes that determination, a strong sense of self and discipline is what paves the road to long term success. Aakrit's predominant goal is imparting some of these life skills through the class while also actively appreciating the achievements of personal growth and holistic development.
COACH/OT (STUDENT)
ALEX SUN
Alex joined the team in September 2023 and is brining in a vast knowledge of gymnastics and cheerleading. Alex has done gymnastics from a young age and transition into cheerleading when he was 15. After his passion and love for the sport Alex took up coaching gymnastics and cheerleading has been doing it for the last 8 years. Having had the chance to coach a vast variety of levels and age groups Alex took on the role of managing the Deakin University Cheer Program in 2019 and was able to take many of the teams into a national level and some even placing in top 3. After passing the torch Alex still had a passion for coaching and educating and found his way over to us.
Alex does not only bring his knowledge of gymnastics and coaching, Alex has completed his Diploma of Nursing and currently finishing up his Bachelors of Occupational Therapy. Alex worked as a Nurse helping those in the community aged care services and found he wanted to do more and help even further which led him to continuing his education into OT.
Alex is excited to provide fun creative classes for all his kids and also lend a helping hand to the special needs program. Alex is a friendly coach and always willing to help and answer any questions so if you see him floating about the gym feel free to reach out and say Hi.
COACH/ADMIN
TOMMY DEANE
Tom's connection to Kids in Motion runs deep – he's experienced the unique magic of our program from both sides, first as a student and now as a dedicated coach.
Tom began his Kids in Motion journey back in 2012 in his early primary school years. Inspired by the program's transformative power and it’s personal impact on his approach to secondary school, he transitioned into a volunteer coach assistant during our school holiday programs.
Fast forward to the present, Tom knows how to create a positive and inspiring learning environment for kids, drawing on his years of involvement with our program and experience as a certified AUSTSWIM swim teacher.
Tom is studying Commerce at Melbourne University and living as a residential student in college, where he's engaged in various leadership responsibilities and intercollegiate competitive sports.
Tom’s commitment to instilling confidence, pushing the boundaries, and fostering a 'can do' mindset underpins his positive approach to life.
ADMIN/IT
JOSHUA PLANO
Josh has been a part of kids in motion for a long time now, he participated in the program years ago and has returned back to the team!
Josh is a computer specialist, currently studying computer science and helping the Kids in Motion team keep chugging along with updates to backend systems and any IT related problems that may arise.
What our community thinks...
"Brilliant coaches!"