About Coach Mat

Born:  1973

Status:  Married, 4 children, 1 son-in-law

Citizenship:  USA

 Education

• Bachelor of Science in Sociology, Oregon State University, 1995
• Masters of Science in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology, University of East London, 2022

 Certifications

• SwimMastery Coach Instructor
• Red Cross Certified Lifeguard
• Oregon Outfitter Guide (#2883)

 Memberships

• European Mentoring and Coaching Council
• International Positive Psychology Association

 

Athletic History

• Competitive high school swimming, 1988 to 1990
• Competitive Olympic-distance triathlete, 1992 to 1994
• Outdoor rock climbing, 1993 to 2008
• Convert to Total Immersion swimming method in 2001
• Long-distance open water specialist since 2008
• Convert to ‘natural’ (barefoot) style running since 2010
• Off-road, ultra-distance run training since 2017

Training Objectives

• Longevity – to improve ‘health-span’, with a high level of physical and mental acuity
• Learning – to keep learning new skills, insights, make more contributions
• To improve and maintain mindfulness in all parts of daily life
• To attain and sustain peacefulness and flow state under varied and increasingly challenging conditions

 

Teaching History

• Spiritual mentoring of youth and young adults, 1995 to 2006
• Certified Coach with Total Immersion, 2010 to 2019
• Physical Education Teacher, ICCA International School, 2010-2012
• Certified Coach Trainer with Total Immersion, 2011 to 2019
• ‘Natural-style’ Run Coaching, 2017 to present
• Co-Founder and Coach Instructor at SwimMastery, 2020 to present

 

Coaching Specializations

• Open-water, marathon distance (10+ km) swimming
• Long-distance, off-road running
• Mindfulness, flow and resilience in athletics
• Trauma-informed, overcoming fear
• Adult and senior, impaired and injured athletes
• Personal development in athletics, work, education, life changes, relationships.

Coach Mathew (Mat) Hudson has been a competitive swimmer and endurance athlete for over 30 years (with some years spent rock climbing too). In water, he maintains fitness for both sprints and long distance open water swimming. On land he is currently training for an ultra-distance mountain running. In water, on land, sitting, standing, sleeping – Mat enjoys practicing mindfulness and flow – in the ordinary aspects of life.

In swimming, Mathew came across the the Total Immersion method in 2001, became a certified TI Coach in 2011 and a Master Coach (trainer of new coaches) from 2011 until he withdrew from the organization in September 2019 in good standing, after the passing of its founder.

His running technique might be described as a ‘natural style‘. His practice and teaching are heavily influenced by the ‘barefoot’ running perspective, Chi Running and The Pose Method, which, in his view, have a lot in common in their approaches to form and practice.

Coach Mathew is focused on creating longveity athletes – those who value setting up their whole being to function well for their entire life. He has particular sensitivity and skill for working with older adults, those with pain and injury, those with fear and other challenges to performing better. He is excited to have students bring new problems and challenges to solve together. He is glad to work in complement with other body and mental professionals his students may be receiving attention from.

He was involved in a year long mentorship with a somatic and trauma therapist (Marc Otto) and periodically meets with a renown neuro physio therapist (Mike Studer) to improve his understanding for working with the whole person on a deeper level. He has recently completed a Masters of Science in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology to strengthen his understanding and skills for helping people make improvements in health, performance and ultimately, in their positive experience of life. He is intent on creating a safe, compassionate, encouraging, and inspiring training atmosphere for all kinds of people. He is eager to back up everything taught with clear, scientifically-sound explanations, and offer extraordinarily skillful diagnostics and solutions.

Coach Mat currently lives in Oregon with his family. He was formerly living along the Mediterranean Coast of Turkey for many years, leading open water swim camps and traveling to teach swimmers and new coaches throughout Europe, the Mediterranean Region, and North America. He has taught in over 13 countries, with students from over 35 different countries around the world. He continues to travel internationally and teach. For over ten years, he continues to publish a weekly essay on Mediterra’s training blog and add more resources to the already abundant training website, the Mediterra Dojo.

Mat’s latest project is the co-founding of an international swim coach and swimmer organization called SwimMastery joining like-minded teachers and swimmers in the pursuit of skill mastery and wellbeing in the art of swimming.If he could inspire you with one statement, he would like to say, “If you could feel in your body and mind what I feel in mine when I swim [or run] you would not want to stop moving. It looks and truly feels wonderful, and I can show you how to move and be that way also.”