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"Under Mark’s coaching Ian Ferguson and myself won four World Championships medals and three Olympic medals.  I have nothing but respect for Mark and his abilities. His personal drive and commitment is equal to that of any Olympic Champion."

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Paul MacDonald MBE Olympic & World Champion

Lto R. Paul MacDonald. Mark Sutherland. Ian Ferguson

 COACH MARK SUTHERLAND

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At The Gold Medal Zone we help athletes, teams, schools, sports clubs and elite athletes to reach their goals. we coach athletes and their coaches how to BE-READY for every challenge.

 

We provide the missing link which is the mental skills.  We have a full range of cool mental skills tools that will give every athlete and coach a performance edge. Our goal is to skill you up so you can cope and thrive in the pressure cooker of competition. Ultimately we want you to spend as much time in the Gold Medal Zone where everything flows and comes together.  

 

As a performance and mental skills coach at the highest level of sport  Mark Sutherland has a deep understanding and insight about what it takes to compete and win in the sporting arena.  

Dip.Ph.ED(Otago)

Master Coach (Massey)

Director at The Gold Medal Zone

Peak Performance Specialist

Olympic Gold Medal Coach

Mentor /Advisor

 

An expert in

Mental skills coaching

Enhancing technique

Competition mind-set

Competition preparation

Mentoring coaches & athletes

Trouble shooting losing teams

Consulting on athlete high

performance

 

When I was 11 years old I watched the 1972 Olympic Games on television including the NZ rowing 8 win the Gold Medal.  I told my parents I am going to the Olympic Games. They said "go for it" so I did.
 
I was completely sports crazy and played rep soccer for years and was national champion at High School in the 4x100m relay.  My teachers wrote in my report cards that if I applied myself to my school work at the same level I did for my sport, I would be a genius.
 
Jump ahead a few years and I was accepted to the Otago University School of Physical Education. I went there with one single purpose – to be a coach and trainer to Olympic Athletes.
 
Jump ahead nine years - now at the age of 27 I was in Seoul at the 1988 Olympic Games watching my athletes win gold – what a rush. Since then I have coached at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 1994 Winter Olympics  in Lillihammer Norway. I have also coached, trained or performance coached seven world champions in six  different sports.
 
In 1989 I became self-employed because I was always losing my job due to travelling overseas with sport for 3 months at a time. In 1994 with a wife and two daughters I had to start making some real money.  So I transitioned from coaching sport to coaching business people on how to be peak performers.  I got my first serious gig coaching a team at ING and then Deloitte.
 
I was a Co-Founder of the Unitec Elite Athlete Development Program with four sports - Rugby, Squash, Soccer and Golf. We had 10 All Blacks come out of that program including Tony Woodcock the best Prop forward in the world. 
 
I also lectured at two universities on exercise science, anatomy and elite sport preparation.
 
Over the last 21 years I have coached many executives and business owners on how to be peak performers both mentally and physically,using the same skills and techniques as my high performance athletes. 
 
My true passion is mentoring coaches and athletes who have the passion and dream that I did when I was 11.
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