Our Coaching Team
HWC is coached by some of the most experienced and qualified weightlifting coaches in Scotland. Our team brings together competitive achievement at the highest level with a genuine passion for developing athletes of all abilities.
Nicki Grant is HWC’s Head Coach and one of the leading weightlifting coaches in Scotland. A Scottish Senior Silver Medallist and graduate in Sport and Fitness, Nicki holds a Level 2 British Weightlifting coaching qualification and brings both competitive insight and exceptional teaching ability to every session.
Nicki is a Strength and Conditioning Coach at High Life Highland’s Inverness Leisure and is an integral part of the Team Scotland coaching programme. She has coached Scotland at the Celtic Nations Weightlifting Competition and was part of the coaching team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham — one of the highest-profile roles available to a coach in Scottish sport.
Under Nicki’s guidance, HWC members have gone on to win Scottish and British titles across multiple age categories. Her approach combines technical rigour with encouragement, and she has a particular passion for developing young lifters and introducing women to the sport.
“I’d encourage anyone looking to try out the sport to come along — we coach ages 11+ and welcome all abilities.”
Ava Walsh is living proof of what Highland Weightlifting Club can do for an athlete. Having taken up the sport at the age of 17 with no prior weightlifting experience, she went on to become Scottish University Weightlifting Champion in the Under-64kg category — lifting a combined total of 131kg in the snatch and clean & jerk — within just two years of picking up a barbell.
A Sport and Fitness graduate from UHI Inverness and a former Highland District Netball player, Ava developed rapidly under the coaching of Nicki Grant before stepping into coaching herself. She is the founder and Head Coach of the UHI Inverness Weightlifting Club, where she has built a new generation of student lifters, and she brings that same energy and enthusiasm to her role as Lead Coach at HWC.
Ava’s own journey — from complete beginner to national champion and qualified coach — makes her uniquely placed to support and inspire new members who are just starting out.
“Weightlifting is something you don’t master quickly, there is a lot of technical work before you can build on lifting weights. But with good coaching and a good community around you, the progress you make is genuinely remarkable.”
Steve Walsh founded and has chaired Highland Weightlifting Club for over a decade, building it from the ground up into one of Scotland’s most successful and respected clubs. He is a multi-time Scottish Masters Weightlifting Champion, having won his title in consecutive years, and continues to compete at masters level.
As CEO of High Life Highland, Steve has been instrumental in securing and developing the world-class Strength and Conditioning facilities at Inverness Leisure that serve as the club’s home. His ambition for HWC extends well beyond titles — his long-term goal is to build a youth development pathway in the Highlands that could one day produce a future Olympian.
“Weightlifting is a fantastic way to maintain physical and mental health and wellbeing, regardless of age.”