“We've had an absolutely jam packed year and a lot of travel still to come for me before Paris,” Barton said.

“It's been a really nice reset to come back into Gen32 and be immersed back into the program with the other coaches. It just gives me this little spark in continuing on my learning path as a coach and being able to then take it back to my training environment. It does really ignite the fire.”

Barton (nee Cherry in her Olympic gold medal winning Rugby 7s playing days) was one of 19 coaches from 16 sports who took part in the four day session run by the AIS High Performance Coach Team at Broadbeach in Queensland.

Amid teambuilding activities, which included a surfing lesson at Kurrawa Beach, the four days centred on sharing knowledge and experiences, as well as a session with Matildas Assistant Coach Mel Andreatta.

“The Gen32 program, which I've been a part of now for two years through the AIS, has been absolutely fundamental in my beginnings as a coach,” Barton said.

“Probably the biggest take out for me is just those connections I've made with the other coaches and the information we've shared back and forward. It's just a really nice sounding board and checklist to run something by another coach and say, ‘hey, we've been doing this what do you think?’, and them to say, ‘yeah, that's awesome’, or ‘have you tried this?’.”

The mother of two has also benefited from the Gen32 Program’s commitment to supporting parents on their coaching journey. The program caters for the modern coach, with childcare support and flexible working arrangements available for coaches with children on top of their paid coaching apprenticeship.

Barton, who was joined by her young family on the Gold Coast, said: “I think that there's a lot of emphasis now, especially with the Gen32 program, to make sure that there's more opportunities for female athletes and female coaches to fulfil what they want to do in sport.

“I look at that investment really as a two-way street. Coaches really value the investment programs like Gen32 put into us, and we are now looking to invest back not only into the system but into all our athletes and Australian sport.”

Barton won’t be the only Gen32 coach in Paris, with Shara Roma from Boxing, Hally Chapman from Rowing, and Collis Birmingham, Jared Tallent, and Danny Kevan from Athletics all scheduled to be at the Olympics and Paralympics with their athletes.

“We’ve really gotten around and had a really good camaraderie within the group not just for the athlete selections but the coach selections for Paris as well.

“We've been trying to check the schedule of when we're flying in and out to hopefully run in and impart some bit of confidence to each other. I'm really excited for it.”

Follow this link to learn more about the Gen32 Program and the coaches taking part.