Australian long jumper Liam Adcock shares how his sporting journey evolved from tennis and junior athletics into a successful career on the international circuit. Through PlayBook, Liam passes on key lessons about injury recovery, handling missed selections and using structured goal setting to drive improvement. Young athletes will find clear, actionable advice in Liam’s approach to preparation, pressure and building long-term growth in their sport.

You had an interesting trajectory into long jump. You were in Little Athletics from age seven but left to pursue other sports, including tennis. Can you talk us through your tennis journey?

I played a bit of everything and found I was decent at most sports but not the best at anything. So, I wondered what sport I could be great at. I ruled out athletics because I didn’t think I had the genetic potential and chose tennis because it’s skill-based and felt like something I could reach a high level in through working hard. That became my main sport until I had injury setbacks.

On that injury, you had a significant elbow injury how did that shape your approach to sport afterwards?

I had an orthopaedic surgeon tell me I’d need to find a new sport which was a lot to take in at 16. I decided on something lower body focused so was considering running, but I didn’t enjoy distance or sprinting. So, I decided on triple jump, and this transitioned into long jump.

You’ve been quite vocal about your Olympic dream can you tell us the story behind this and about where this dream stemmed from?

I vaguely remember watching the Athens Olympics in 2004 and thinking how cool it looked. It’s one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and even though I didn’t think I’d ever get there, I thought it would be amazing if I could. Watching Beijing 2008 cemented it. At first, I thought tennis could get me there, and later that shifted to athletics.

You’ve dealt with several setbacks including several injuries, how did you handle those recovery periods and what are your insights for young athletes in recovery periods at the moment?

I’ve had some pretty difficult times; I remember having injuries that coincided with COVID and being stuck at home and not being able to train was really hard.

My biggest learning was to avoid focusing on what you can’t do and instead find what you can do whether that was to strengthen weak areas, work on mobility, or address old issues. It was about developing a “control the controllables” mindset to find areas where you can still make progress.

You’ve experienced your fair share of high-pressure selection trials. How do you handle your nerves for these events?

My approach to nerves has changed a lot over the last few years. Early on, I felt a huge amount of pressure going into major trials. I relied heavily on preparation tools like visualisation I would run through every possible scenario in my head so I felt ready for whatever happened on the day. That helped, but I still carried a lot of nerves because everything felt like it depended on the result.

More recently, my mindset has shifted. I’m genuinely happy with the career I’ve had so far, so now I try to view every competition especially high-pressure ones as an experience to enjoy rather than something to fear.

I focus on staying present, taking each moment as it comes, and not worrying too much about the outcome. If you trust your training and what you’ve put in, you’ll get the performance you deserve.

A big part of that is going back to the idea of controlling the controllables. In high-pressure moments, I remind myself to enjoy it, stay engaged, and only focus on what I can influence right then and there.

Visualisation is still something I use as well. When I was younger, I would mentally run through events in advance every jump, every possible setback, even worst-case scenarios like fouling twice and having one chance left. It meant that if those situations actually happened, I already knew how I wanted to respond. In long jump, you get time between attempts to reset, and that mental preparation really helps you use that time well.

You’ve had moments in your career where selection didn’t go your way, like missing the 2018 Commonwealth Games. How did you navigate that disappointment, and what did you learn about yourself during that time?

Missing the 2018 Commonwealth Games was a really tough moment for me. I genuinely felt like I had done enough to earn a spot on the team, and I had people telling me that I would be selected. Then the next day, I got the call saying I wasn’t going. That hit hard, and I ended up taking time away from the sport because I needed to step back and process everything.

What I learned about myself during that period was that I can’t let other people define my worth or decide what my potential is. They selected another athlete for their own reasons, some of which were based on potential. I realised that no one else gets to determine my future, and that was something I had to work through mentally. It has shaped how I see myself as an athlete now.

The break was definitely needed. It wasn’t just the selection decision. I had been having disagreements with my coach at the time about the direction we were heading, and that moment became the tipping point. I needed a break from the sport altogether.

During that time, I turned to something different. I had always been into weightlifting, and a friend of mine who also missed Commonwealth Games selection after breaking his elbow started training with me at University. I basically became a weightlifter for six months. It ended up being exactly what I needed. It gave me a mental reset and something completely different to focus on.

When you decided to return to athletics, you adopted a strategy of goal setting. Can you talk us through your process?

Goal setting didn’t come in until a few years later. My process now is basically built around ultimatums. I don’t know if it’s the best approach but it works for me. In 2022, I’d had a few years where injury kept me from competing properly. That season was my first full year back where I could finally compete consistently. At the end of it, I told myself that if I couldn’t break into the top 50 in the world, then I probably needed to find something else to do with my life. I set performance goals around that. Things like jumping eight meters and hitting certain benchmarks. Those goals became my motivation in training, and they shaped how I approached everything. And funnily enough, I ended up ticking all those boxes.

I did the same thing at the end of last year after the Olympics. I’d had a bad result, and I told myself I had to improve by a certain amount and finish in the top eight in the world. And somehow I managed to do that too. So maybe that fear of failure is what drives me. It’s a bit of tough love, really. I just tell myself, if you don’t hit these goals, then maybe it’s time to move on and get an actual job or something. It’s a strange method, but it works for me.

You’ve worked with some incredible mentors over the years, including Gary Bourne and Andrew Murphy. What role have these mentors played in shaping your career and mindset?

They’ve both played really big roles in shaping my career. I learned a lot from their experience, especially in those major competitions. When I stepped out in Budapest in 2023, Murph was there with me on the day, but I’d been working with Gary in the lead-up.

Both of them helped temper expectations and made sure things didn’t feel too overwhelming when I finally got to that stage. You work so hard for so long, and then suddenly you’re there thinking, do I even belong here? Their advice was always the same: of course you belong here, you’ve earned it, so just go out and show what you can do. They were both incredibly helpful in making that transition into the top level feel manageable.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

There are a couple of big ones. Getting selected for the Olympic team was massive for me. But more recently, finally getting a start at a Diamond League was huge. I’d wanted that for so long and it always felt impossible. No matter what I did, I just never got the call-up.

After winning the medal at World Indoors, I finally got the go-ahead for my first Diamond League meet in China this season. It was really validating and something I was stoked about. From there it snowballed, and I ended up competing in every Diamond League event this season, which was pretty incredible.

You’re currently self-coached, which is rare at the elite level. Why did you choose this path?

I’ve had a few coaches over the years. I worked with Gary Bourne until he passed away in 2023, then with Andrew Murphy leading into the Olympics. I moved to Sydney for that, but after a while I just couldn’t afford to stay, so I came back to Brisbane.

At that point, I felt like the best option was to coach myself. I know how much work goes into writing a program, and I know I’ll put the right amount of effort into it. This way I fully believe in what I’m doing without that disconnect of feeling like I have to follow something I don’t completely agree with. With the experience I’ve built and knowing how my body works, it felt like the right move.

What are the biggest challenges and rewards of being self-coached?

Right now, the biggest challenge is navigating setbacks, like I broke my foot recently. It’s been hard making adjustments on my own and figuring out the right path forward when things pop up unexpectedly. There’s also that little question in your head of, is this actually the right call? The reward is having complete control of my schedule. I can line training up with work and structure things exactly how I need them.

Looking ahead, what excites you most about coaching the next generation?

I’m excited to share the things I’ve learned along the way, including the mistakes. If I can help younger athletes avoid the setbacks I had and reach their potential with less pain and frustration, that’d be awesome. That’s probably the part I’m most looking forward to.

You can book an athletics coaching session with Liam Adcock here: Train with Liam

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