Karen Topp
Coach · Therapist · Practitioner
LEARNING.
GROWING.
BECOMING
YOUR BEST.
"The thread connecting everything I do is learning — becoming the best version of ourselves, developing confidence, and enjoying the challenge and pleasure of competing."

From the backyard to the national stage and back again — Karen has spent over 30 years in sport helping people move better, perform better and feel better. On the court, in the session room and on the sideline.

Karen Topp at Netball State League finals
30+
Years in sport
6+
Sports worked across
AUS & Pacific
Reach
What drives Karen
The moments that make
it all worthwhile.

It goes back to the backyard. That pure joy of playing, competing, figuring things out — of getting better not because someone forced you to, but because you wanted to. That feeling never left Karen, and it's the energy she brings to every session, every workshop, every court.

The work isn't about doing more, trying harder or pushing through. It's about learning — finding the thing that clicks, the adjustment that makes something suddenly feel easy, the moment of confidence that changes how someone carries themselves.

Whether it's a coach who finally trusts their instincts, a pickleball player who stops feeling intimidated on court, or a massage client who moves through their day with less effort — that moment of ease and realisation is what Karen is there for.

💡
"When it clicks — when someone executes something that just wasn't working and they feel it for the first time."
💪
"When someone tells me they're no longer intimidated on court — that they backed themselves and it worked."
😊
"When a coach stops second-guessing and starts trusting what they know — and their players feel the difference."
🌿
"When a client notices how much less effort everyday movement takes — that quiet surprise of feeling more at ease in their own body."
🏡
"The backyard. Mutually beneficial competition — everyone pushing each other, everyone growing, everyone having fun."
Karen Topp — sports trainer in action
Karen's story
Where it all began —
and where it's going.

Karen's passion for sport started the way most great things do — in the backyard, playing whatever was available, with whoever was around. That love of moving, competing and learning spilled naturally into a career that has taken her across Australia and the Pacific, through elite sporting environments, national tours, and into coaching, therapy and Feldenkrais practice.

What makes Karen's background unusual isn't just the breadth — it's the depth in each area. Twenty years of providing coverage services to sporting teams. A degree in Exercise and Movement Science. Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner. Accredited coach developer. And now, a pickleball coach bringing all of that to a sport she loves.

1990s
The beginning
Sport trainer & team coverage — the early years
Karen began providing sports trainer and coverage services to local, representative and state sporting teams — combining remedial massage, sports taping, fitness training and injury prevention across netball, cricket and indoor cricket.
2000
Career highlight
2000 Sydney Olympics & Paralympics — volunteer massage therapist
A career-defining experience working as a volunteer massage therapist at the Sydney Olympics and Paralympics. This provided extraordinary insight into the elite athlete environment and what it takes to perform under pressure on the world stage.
2000s
National & international
Cricket & indoor cricket — 8 World Cups across 6 countries
A decade-plus of national and international sport. Women's National Cricket League with Qld Fire (2003–2008), national titles and team management. Alongside this, sports trainer for Australian and Queensland indoor cricket teams across eight World Cups in Melbourne, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England and South Africa — plus Trans Tasman tours and Masters events.
2005–08
Feldenkrais
Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner — training 2005 to 2008
Karen completed her Feldenkrais practitioner training over three years, qualifying in 2008. This added a powerful new dimension to her work with athletes, coaches and everyday clients — bringing a nervous-system-led approach to movement, performance and wellbeing that now underpins her practice.
2006–09
Personal highlight
Ten Pin Bowling — State team, Pan Pac Masters & Darrel Holt
Selected for the QLD South State team to compete in the Darrel Holt National Handicap Tournament — where Karen's team won the tournament and she finished as the #1 ranked female. Also competed at the 2006 Pan Pacific Masters. Two proud personal sporting achievements that sit alongside everything else in a very full sporting life.
2007
Coaching begins
Netball coaching — Queensland State League & beyond
Karen moved into netball coaching in 2007, working across Queensland State League, QPL, and junior competitions. Combined with ongoing indoor netball coaching at superleague level through to 2021, this laid the foundation for her coach development work.
2010s
Research & study
Bachelor of Exercise & Movement Science — skill acquisition research
Returning to university while continuing to coach, Karen completed her degree with a research focus on skill acquisition and the motivational factors that contribute to ongoing development. This became the backbone of her evidence-based approach to coaching and coach development.
2010s
Coach development
Coach development, accreditation & mentoring — KMT Performance
Combining practical coaching experience with research frameworks, Karen began facilitating coach accreditation, running workshops and providing individual mentoring for coaches and umpires at club, association and state level across netball and other sports.
2016–21
Netball Queensland
Coach & Officials Development — Netball Queensland
Five years working within Netball Queensland's coach and officials development program — facilitating accreditation, supporting the development pathway and working with coaches and umpires across the state. This role deepened Karen's expertise in designing and delivering development programs at an organisational level.
Ongoing
Community
Walking Netball — player & umpire
Walking Netball holds a special place for Karen. As a player and umpire, she's part of a community that brings people together regardless of movement ability, background or age — friends who share a love of the game in whatever form works for them. It's a reminder of what sport is really about.
Ongoing
National network
Coach Developer Australian Network
Member of the Coach Developer Australian Network — a national community of practice for people working in coach development across sports. Staying connected to current research, best practice and peers in the field to continue growing as a coach developer.
Now
What's next
Pickleball coaching, refereeing & course facilitation — Topp Performance
Karen has embraced pickleball with the same energy she brings to everything — coaching individuals and groups, refereeing competitions, and working towards facilitating pickleball coaching courses. All of it underpinned by 30+ years of sport, movement and performance knowledge.
Sport history at a glance
Many sports. Three decades.
Local to international.
🏐
Netball
Coach · Trainer · Umpire
QLD State League · QPL · Indoor Superleague · Junior World Cup · Netball QLD · NPL
🚶‍♀️
Walking Netball
Player · Umpire
Community player · Umpire · Bringing the game to everyone
🏏
Cricket
Trainer · Manager
Qld Fire · Women's NCL · National Titles · U.19
🏟️
Indoor Cricket
AUS & QLD Trainer
8 World Cups · 6 countries · Trans Tasman · Masters
🎾
Pickleball
Coach · Referee
All levels · QLD & beyond · Course facilitator (coming soon)
🎳
Ten Pin Bowling
Competitor
Pan Pac Masters · #1 ranked female · State team representative
Football
Sports Trainer
Brisbane Soccer League · Ipswich Knights 2011
🏅
Olympics
Sydney 2000
Volunteer massage therapist · Olympics & Paralympics
Career in photos
Karen Topp — sports trainer in action
Indoor Cricket World Cup — Sri Lanka 2004
Indoor Cricket Masters World Cup — Australian team
Ten Pin Bowling — Darrel Holt tournament winners
Queensland Fire — Women's Cricket 2005-06
Australian U.16s Indoor Netball — Junior World Cup South Africa
Australian U.17s Indoor Netball — Junior World Cup Perth
Indoor Cricket Open and Juniors World Cup — Brisbane
Karen facilitating Advanced coaching accreditation
Karen Topp — people in sport
Netball photo 1
Netball
Netball
Karen Topp
Karen Topp
Karen Topp
Qualifications
The formal
credentials behind
the experience.
Karen graduating from QUT with her Exercise and Movement Science degree alongside two of her netball players

Graduating from QUT with a Bachelor of Exercise & Movement Science — alongside two of her own netball players who were graduating at the same time.

Exercise Science
Bachelor of Exercise & Movement Science (Performance Analysis)
Natural Therapies
Diploma of Natural Therapies — Remedial Massage Therapy
Feldenkrais
Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner
Fitness
Certificate III & IV in Fitness
Training & Assessment
Certificate IV in Training & Assessment (TAE)
Sports Medicine
Level 2 Sports Trainer — Sports Medicine Australia
Career highlights
Moments that
mean the most.
🏅
2000 Sydney Olympics & Paralympics
Volunteer massage therapist at the Sydney Games — still one of the most extraordinary experiences of Karen's career and a window into what performance under global pressure truly looks like.
🎳
Ten Pin Bowling — State team, #1 ranked female
Selected for the QLD South State team for the Darrel Holt National Handicap Tournament — her team won, and Karen finished as the top-ranked female. Also competed at the 2006 Pan Pacific Masters. Sport gives back in unexpected ways.
🏐
Coaching indoor netball QLD & national teams
Working with Queensland and Australian indoor netball teams at Junior Nationals and Junior World Cup level — the privilege of being part of athletes' biggest moments.
💌
References for jobs and scholarships
Being asked by young netballers to provide references for jobs and scholarships — a quiet reminder that the relationships built through sport extend well beyond the court.
🎾
Refereeing at NPL level
Stepping onto the NPL court as a referee in recent weeks — a new challenge and a genuine highlight, bringing Karen's love of the game into a new arena.
💡
Every time it clicks
The moment a player stops feeling intimidated on court. The coach who finally backs themselves. The client who moves with ease for the first time. These are the highlights that happen every week — and they never get old.
What people say about Karen
Straight from the
people she's worked with.

"Found today's session excellent. I now understand a lot more about the game — for so long it was just about hitting the ball back, but now I'm able to consider the whens and whys of ball play. Looking forward to future sessions."

MB
Maree B.
Pickleball coaching

"Great session. Loved the long session with practice games in between drills. Learnt some good tips to work on going forward, especially dinking strategies and correct body positioning."

CH
Cheree
Pickleball clinic
Connect with Karen
Follow along,
get in touch
& book a session.

Karen is active on Facebook and Instagram — sharing coaching tips, clinic updates, upcoming events and the occasional backyard moment. Follow along to stay up to date.

Explore Karen's services
Ready to work with Karen?
Let's get started.

Whether you want to book a pickleball session, explore coach mentoring, or come in for a remedial massage — Karen would love to hear from you.

Make a booking enquiry → Send an email
Get in touch 0409 265 461 kmtperformance@outlook.com.au