James O’Callaghan’s responsibility is to develop and deliver athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the ISA’s Performance Pathway. James works under the guidance of the Olympic Steering Group.
James, from Malahide in Dublin, is a business and economics graduate of Trinity College. He is a Level 3 qualified coach and Level 2 coach tutor.
In 1998, along with Trevor Millar, he founded SailCoach Associates a successful coaching company based in France. James was a key member in the development and delivery of the SailCoach business model from foundation to 2002.
His broad range of experience also includes coaching at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes.
Since 2006 he has been the Performance Director for the ISA and results have steadily improved during his time at the helm. At the Rio 2016 Olympics his programme delivered Ireland’s first sailing medal in 36 years.