Ian Evans

Ian is an experienced sports professional with more than 15-years of experience working in the sports management industry, including seven years at the helm of Australia’s largest tertiary elite athlete program at the University of Sydney.

Ian has held numerous consultancy roles during his career, including the AFL (Sydney Swans & GWS Giants), the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) Trust, and has managed several sports programs within the NRL (Penrith Panthers), Football NSW, Rowing NSW & the Sydney Kings.

A former journalist with Fairfax Publications, Ian has used his excellent communication & negotiation skills to assist more than 2,000 athletes juggle their sporting aspirations with their academic pursuits, including elite athletes (Olympians, Wallabies & Test Cricketers) to aspiring young student-athletes seeking mentoring, academic & career guidance.

Ian completed his Master of Commerce degree from the University of Sydney and created ISCA in conjunction with ICMS after identifying a gap between talented student-athletes leaving school and the next steps in their career and educational journey.

Dr Stephen Burke

With more than 40 years of lecturing & teaching experience in the University, TAFE & secondary school sectors, and secondary education, Stephen utilises his education qualifications & skills to motivate students to engage in academic endeavours. Stephen oversaw the Exercise and Sport Science program at ACU for 25 years, working with elite athletes and assisting them with the balance between academic requirements & their sporting commitments.

His experience as a sports scientist has allowed for a deep understanding of the factors that contribute to a successful high-performance environment. Stephen has submitted numerous successful applications for research grants, which have led to the publication of more than 50 papers relating to high-performance sports, as well as supervising several masters and PhD students in their research and thesis writing.

An experienced athlete, Stephen has participated in more than 44 marathons and 10 Iron Man triathlons, including the famous Hawaiian Iron Man. His PhD topic centered on the psychological and physiological effects in predicting performance in the Ironman triathlon.

Craig Hammond

Craig has been involved in the sports industry for over 10 years as a professional athlete, business owner, board member, and educational consultant.

As an athlete, Craig represented Great Britain playing water polo with the country’s 2012 London Olympics squad, as well as representing Sydney University water polo in the Australian National League for close to ten years.

Craig has a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Sydney, as well as a Master of Commerce degree, and is passionate about helping young student-athletes reach their athletic and educational goals.

Dr Jake Michael

Jake is one of our High-Performance lecturers and the current head coach of the NSW Institute of Sport sprint kayak team. A former sport scientist with the NSW Institute of Sport, Jake has lectured extensively with UTS and ACPE before joining the ICA team. Jake completed his PhD at the University of Sydney (biomechanics) and is an accredited High-Performance Manager & Sports Scientist with ESSA (Exercise & Sports Science Australia). One of Jake’s career highlights came in 2021 where he coached several members of the Australian Sprint Kayak team to gold medals at the Paralympic Games in Japan.

Christine McDermott

Christine has more than 25 years’ experience working in sport science and has worked with junior representative teams to Olympic level athletes, including members of the Sydney Swans, Wallabies, Manly Sea Eagles (NRL) & Australian Winter Olympic athletes. Christine previously worked as the Head Sports Analytics at the Sydney Academy of Sport, specialising in physiological and biomechanical assessment, and has held positions with the NSW Institute of Sport and as a lecturer with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), the University of Sydney and the Australian Institute of Fitness. Christine completed both her Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Sydney.

Director of Curriculum – Rob Beveridge

Rob has had close to 30 years of experience as a professional coach which included over 300 games in the Australian National Basketball League. In February 2022, he coached the Australian national men’s team (the Boomers) in three World Cup qualifying fixtures in Japan, securing a 3-o record.

Rob has coached at two Olympic games, three World Championships – isecuring the gold medal for the Australian U20’s squad in 2003 – and two Commonwealth Games. A former Head Coach at the NSW Institute of Sport and winner of the NBL championship with the Perth Wildcats, Rob is committed to helping ISCA develop its young student-athletes from both a physical and technical perspective

Coach – Ben Magden

Ben is one of the most respected players in NBL history, having captained the Sydney Kings from 2012 to 2015, and as a member of the Australian Boomers National team from 2011 to 2016.

Ben’s playing career spanned over 15 years of experience at the collegiate and professional level. Starting at Augusta State University (USA) where Ben was the captain of the team 2008 – 2010. Ben’s overseas experience consisted of playing in the European Basketball League from 2015 to 2019. In addition to his stellar playing career, Ben obtained a Master of Business from the Macquarie University Graduate School of Management and aside from his work with ISCA, Ben continues to coach with Sydney powerhouse program the Sydney Comets.

Nick Ryan

Nick Ryan is our current ISCA Head Rugby Coach and has a wealth of rugby experience across Super Rugby & Shute Shield, including a former role with the Melbourne Rebels as their General Manager (Professional Rugby and Pathways).

The current Director of Rugby at Sydney University Football Club, Nick has built strong relationships in Australian and international rugby in coaching and management roles with Randwick Rugby, Harvard University Rugby Club, Naas Rugby Club in Ireland, the Fijian national team, and the Rebels.

Nick brings to ISCA a holistic approach to the game and his experience in developing young rugby players such as former & current internationals Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, and Ned Hanigan amongst others is of significant benefit to our ISCA rugby program.

Braden Woods

Braden is highly accomplished sports industry professional, having completed a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney and a Master’s degree from Edith Cowan University specialising in strength & conditioning.

Braden is accredited by the Australian Weightlifting Federation (AWF) as well as the Australian Strength & Conditioning Association (ASCA) as a Level 2 S & C coach.

With his background in sports science, nutrition, weightlifting, and long-term athletic development, Braden brings an extensive amount of knowledge to the ISCA team and is responsible for the management of the high-performance team and sports science practical components of the program.

Justin Burt

Justin is a passionate member of the ISCA team dedicated to helping young athletes make a seamless transition from sport to tertiary studies.

A former member of the Manly Sea Eagles U/20s program, Justin completed a Bachelor of Business (Sport Management) degree at ICMS coach and has a Level 1 ASCA qualification.