Mercedas Taaffe-Cooper is a registered Psychologist (MSc Clinical Psych, APS), A Sports and Exercise Science graduate (BSc) and International Boxing Coach with over thirty-five years of coaching experience. Born in Coolaney County Sligo, Ireland, Mercedas’s initial involvement in sports was with kickboxing, in which she won both European and World Championships. She’s one of Ireland’s most successful coaches and has worked with boxers who’ve ranked top ten in the world.
Mercedas moved to Australia in late 2006, and developed CounterPunch while completing her Master’s research in Tasmania. Passionate about connecting with and enabling young people to reach their potential, Mercedas moved to the Northern Territory to work as a child and adolescent psychologist. It was there she piloted CounterPunch with the support of the Northern Territory Government (NTG) and the Menzies Centre for Child Development and Education.
Mercedas moved to South Australia in 2015 and lives in Mount Barker with her husband, Greg, a warrant officer in the Australian army.