An Active Life.

The Squad. We are a community. We are inclusive. We are a sanctuary. We are tough but fun.  We are guts and passion. We like to laugh. We love to train. We like what it does for our mind, not just our body. We like variety. We like to feel fit and strong. We are a stress reliever and a motivator. We are a lifestyle. 

The Squad Co. is an outdoor group training program for women only based on Sydney’s North Shore. Our 60 minute sessions are based on HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training with a combination of cardio, strength, mobility and injury prevention.

We aim to give our clients variety - you will never do the same session twice. If you enjoy yourselves you'll find it much easier to turn training into a lifestyle rather than something you do every now and then. Longevity is critical to us. It should be something you look forward to, not something that you dread. We can adjust each session to suit all needs and work with everyone from beginners, new mums, pregnant women and elite athletes. We are pre and postnatal qualified and have an ongoing relationship with specialist women’s health physio’s from The Physiotherapy Clinic in Cammeray.

 

Emily Keenan, Founder and Trainer.

Emily's life has been spent playing sport and training at the elite level. Sport and fitness are her greatest passions. Her netball career has taken her around the world, captaining both Australia in indoor netball and NSW in netball with the Waratahs in the Australian Netball League. After having her first baby at the end of 2016, Emily worked hard to gain her fitness back the right way, with the support of experienced Women's Health physio, Lyz Evans. As a result, Emily was chosen to be part of the inaugural professional Suncorp Super Netball League, joining the NSW Swifts and their high performance environment as a replacement player in 2017. And after having her second baby in 2018 Emily once again returned to the court with the Erna Hawks as part of the Netball NSW Premier League for the 2020 and 2021 seasons and more recently in 2024 and 2025. Can’t keep her away!

She also has a background in athletics and enjoys a number of other sports. A qualified Cert III and Cert IV (first aid trained) Elite Personal Trainer with expertise in HIIT, speed, agility, power and plyometrics, Emily is not only super fit but also warm, welcoming and loves to laugh (especially at herself). Emily is also an instructor for the National NETFIT program. 

Qualifications/Credentials:

  • Cert III and Cert IV Elite Personal Trainer - Australian Fitness Network

  • First Aid/CPR

  • NETFIT (national netball program) instructor

  • Foundation and Intermediate Netball Accreditation with Netball Australia

  • Post Natal Ab Rehab with Women's Health Physiotherapist Dianne Edmonds (Pelvic Floor First Program)

  • Exercising for Two (pre and post natal programming) with Women's Health Physiotherapist Lisa Westlake

  • Run for Your Life (endurance conditioning) with international running coach Dr Jason Karp

  • Considerations for Functional Program Design

  • Bachelor of Arts, Sydney University

  • Bachelor of Media in writing (Journalism), Macquarie University

Jay Rikard - Bell, Trainer.

Jay has had a passion for sport and fitness her whole life – it’s in her blood. She was a state runner and netballer and is an amazing all round athlete (that vertical jump!!). She began her career in marketing but then chose to follow her true passion and become a PT over 7 yrs ago. She has extensive experience as both an athlete and PT with time spent in an high performance environment, training with the NSW Swifts and playing for the NSW Waratahs, as well as a strong foundation in strength and conditioning, completing her LV 1 S&C coaching course and working with a number of elite sporting teams. She also has qualifications in boxing, cycling, explosive speed and power and pre and postnatal exercise.

Through her own experiences with a serious knee injury and various other injuries throughout her career she has a great understanding of, and interest in, injury prevention and rehabilitation as well.

And the best part about her is not just her amazing resume, but who she is outside of this world, as a mum to 3 beautiful kids and a down to earth, funny, self confessed ‘nerd’ who loves good food (and a sneaky wine or 2!) and doesn’t take life too seriously!

Qualifications/Credentials:

  • Certificate 3 & 4 in Fitness

  • Pregnancy and Post Natal Exercise

  • Foundation and Intermediate Netball Accreditation with Netball Australia

  • ERNA HAWKS NNSW Premier League Assistant coach 2022, 2024

  • Everything You Need For Explosive Speed (ASSA)

  • Level One Strength and Conditioning Coach (ASCA)

  • Cycle Excel Level One

  • Pro-Fit Level 1 Boxing Course

  • First Aid Certified

  • BBus in Sport Management & Advertising and Promotions (UTS)
     

 

Photo credits: Sophie O'Donnell at Kendall Lane Collective, Sarah Keenan-Jones and SMP images.