The Central Coast Mariners are delighted to welcome Dean Benton, a highly experienced Strength and Conditioning Coach, to the club as our new Head of Performance.
With over 20 years of experience in elite sports performance, Benton is extremely well-accomplished in a range of sports including Rugby League, Rugby Union and Athletics.
With our Chairman Richard Peil, Sporting Director Matt Simon and Football Manager Mark Jackson all sharing a passion for developing elite athletes, the club has gone all-out to hire somebody with such experience and expertise as Benton.
Benton has worked for a host of huge sporting organisations, including the Australian Institute of Sport, England Rugby and Rugby Australia, plus top-level clubs such as Leicester Tigers, Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm. He now adds to an already stellar CV by joining the back-to-back A-League Champions.
“It’s fantastic news for the club to have Dean Benton on board with us as Head of Performance.” Mark Jackson said.
“The performance of our players is something we always want to evolve and we’re always looking to think outside the box. We want to develop our players not just technically and tactically, but physically as well. The physical side of the game is massive.”
“Dean brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role and he will support Cade Mapu, as Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach, so we’re delighted to have him on board.”
“Rich Peil has been a big driver on this, as we know he has a background in fitness and shares our passion for developing athletes.”
“We welcome Dean to the club, and I look forward to working with him. He has been in this week for the players’ testing, and I can already tell his knowledge is fantastic.”
Benton expressed his delight at joining the club, stating the visions of both Peil and Jackson were key in him joining, whilst explaining how he is aiming to contribute to the plans moving forward.
“I’m very happy to be here, it’s a great environment at the Mariners. To work with Mark Jackson, such an experienced and driven Head Coach who really understands the game and the importance of Strength and Conditioning, is something really exciting for me,” he said.
“The vision of Rich Peil and of course after speaking to Jacko, he has a clear view of what he wants, made it a really exciting proposition for me to come and work for the Mariners.”
“I’m looking forward to working closely with Mark and the staff to deliver what they want, developing programs that are going to help the playing squad to perform at the highest level.” Benton added.