In front of a crowded Palladium Ballroom at Melbourne’s Crown Casino, Helen was the first female in the history of the awards to be announced as Club Coach of the Year - Coach Excellence.  

“It was an amazing night and very special to be able to share it with my daughter Cassie.” Helen said. 

“To win an award of this magnitude is always humbling but it is wonderful to see women being recognised in a male dominated industry. 

“Females have unique life and leadership experiences and are somewhat undervalued in the coaching field across many sports, so hopefully this award can inspire young girls and empower women of all ages to get into coaching with confidence, build leadership skills and make a difference”. 

In her acceptance speech Helen also acknowledged the support of the Parkes Shire, Parkes Tennis Club Committee and the wonderful kids and families involved in Parkes tennis by stating she’s the ‘luckiest tennis coach in Australia’.

As a 16-year-old Helen Magill decided her dream of being a professional tennis player may not come to fruition so instead she was encouraged by her parents Hedley and Pauline Nicholson, to get into coaching.

Thirty three years on as a Professional Tennis Coach and the energy and enthusiasm she has for her chosen career hasn’t waned.

“I just love what I do every day,” Helen said.

“I love interacting in young people’s lives and encouraging them to lead an active lifestyle and be the best people they can be.”

It was a night of firsts as Dylan Alcott was named the winner of the 2016 Newcombe Medal for Most Outstanding Tennis Player becoming the first Athlete with a Disability to be awarded the highest honour in Australian Tennis.

“These big top awards are normally reserved for the best able-bodied athlete to be honest so to have a disabled athlete there, a Paralympic athlete, is just a massive glass ceiling-smashing effort by Tennis Australia,'' Alcott announced.

Helen was nominated for the premier coaching award by the State body TennisNSW.

There was an extensive list of nominations which was eventually culled to just three finalists across Australia including male coaches from Perth and Melbourne along with Helen.

Part of the criteria included coaches’ involvement throughout their community, schools, clubs/centres, pathways for young coaches, being a positive role model and ambassador for the sport, leadership qualities and promotion of the game through opportunities for their players.

Whilst spending most of her time at the centre in Parkes, Helen also travels throughout the Shire giving opportunities to outlying school children to experience tennis and dabbles in public and motivational speaking.

She also works for Tennis Australia mentoring young coaches and presents at the Annual Grand Slam Coaches Conference in Melbourne in January on various topics.

In her spare time she volunteers as President, Tournament Director, Competitions Coordinator and Publicity Officer for Parkes Tennis Club and sits on both the Central West NSW Committee and Tennis Country as a Selector and Teams Coordinator.

Although very proud of her accomplishments and acknowledges the awards and accolades bestowed upon her at local, regional, state and national level over the years as valuable lifetime achievements, Helen simply loves being on court with her students away from any attention and gains most satisfaction from seeing their smiles when they improve or master a given task.

“Tennis is such a great sport and really is a skill for life,” Helen said.

“Most of the youngsters who come to tennis are here because their parents want them to be active, learn a sport they can play almost forever, anywhere in the World and can usually find someone of their own ability level.

“If I can be a part of that development and nurture their growth then that’s success for me.”