Will Afonczenko
Current role: Professional Team Technical Coach (South Korea)
Current organisation: Busan Taekwondo Association
What sport did you hold a scholarship for at VIS: Taekwondo
Time as VIS athlete: 2018 - 2023
Learn more about Will's freelance photography: Will Afon Photography
Tell us about your life after your time at the VIS?
After my time had finished at the VIS, I made a big effort to have a break from exercise and enjoy some other pleasures of life outside of sport. I spent lots of time seeing friends, going out for dinner, playing other sports and eating good food. In high performance, sometimes sacrifices need to be made, so in the past I did have to miss out on a lot of things as I was too busy with training at the time or close to a competition.
During my time at the VIS I was also working part-time as a Taekwondo coach and now that I've transitioned out of the program, I've been lucky enough to step into a full-time coaching role in Busan, South Korea, making the move for 2024.
It's only been a few months, but I'm loving every bit of it, including the challenges. Working with some of Korea's best Taekwondo athletes has been a true blessing. In the future I plan to be involved with the national team back in Australia to hopefully assist the new generation and their Olympic dreams.
What is your proudest sporting achievement?
Winning my first international senior gold medal in New Zealand when I was 18. I remember earlier that year I had performed very poorly at a selection event which meant I missed out on qualification for the World Championships. During this period, I had a difficult time to process the loss and started to question why I still did the sport. After a few months I bounced back and it was time for the next international competition, I went into this with a different mindset and put less pressure on myself to perform and focused on having fun. After defeating Korea, New Zealand, Australia and Japan in the final, I came away with a gold medal and a new world ranking of #40 next to my name.
This was definitely a pivotal moment in my career and it taught me lessons that I would use for the rest of my time in the sport.
What is your proudest moment outside of sport?
Alongside my athlete career, I also started my own photography business in 2017. I grew up with a camera in my hand at all times while shadowing my uncle who is a decorated film director and photographer. After a few years my client base significantly increased and I started to find myself on larger scale jobs. My proudest moment of my career was seeing my photography on a massive freeway billboard while driving.
it was always nice to see my work being recognised online or in articles, but to see it on a billboard felt like a dream.
What is the most valuable lesson you learnt during your time at the VIS?
Enjoy the journey! Maybe it sounds cliche, but it really is accurate. A large part of my career I hated training and just focused on the result which was a bad mentality to have.
After a few years at the VIS I made some really great connections with other athletes and coaches which made training a lot more enjoyable. It's definitely easier said than done, but enjoying every bit of the journey really helped me get the most out of my training.
