Ritchie Smith has been acknowledged as Western Australia’s best coach for a second time at the 2024 WA Sport Awards presented by SportWest.
Held at Optus Stadium in Perth on Thursday night, Smith was named Coach of the Year ahead of WA men’s cricket coach, Adam Voges, and WA Institute of Sport Swimming Head Coach, Ben Higson.
Nominated twice previously, Smith was named Coach of the Year in 2021 and received the honour again after a year in which his protégés enjoyed great success at global level.
Three of Australia’s representatives in the 2024 Olympic golf competition – Minjee and Min Woo Lee, and Hannah Green – are coached by Smith, with Green also enjoying the best year of her career on the LPGA Tour, winning three titles.
Min Woo Lee made his Presidents Cup debut for the International Team in September, while, closer to home, Queenslander Elvis Smylie flourished under Smith’s tutelage to land the WA Open and Australian PGA Championship – earning a DP World Tour card in the process.
On what makes him such an effective coach, Smith said: “I’m honest and I care. If you’re willing to give honest appraisals from a place of care then you can’t really go too far wrong.
“My job is one of critique and one of development, and in order to get one you have got to do the other.”
Smith’s stable of WA athletes also includes recent WPGA Tour winner Abbie Teasdale, rising junior sensation Josiah Edwards, Ladies European Tour rookie Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and 2024 Sandbelt Invitational champion Ryan Peake.
Other recent accolades for Smith include him being named as PGA National Coach of the Year – High Performance at the PGA Awards in November, as well as the WA PGA Coach of the Year – High Performance at the 2024 WA Golf Industry Awards.
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