I started coaching after quitting gymnastics at the age of 14 when going to the underage disco with my friends suddenly became much more appealing than putting on a leotard and training for three hours.

I missed being in the gym very quickly though, so put my hand up to help out coaching. Apart from a three year break while at University, I have coached ever since. Until 10 years ago, coaching was only ever a hobby I did outside of full time work, but I loved it and found myself teaching most nights of the week, often voluntarily.

I get bored very easily – jobs, hobbies, houses etc and often found myself moving on to the next seemingly bigger and better thing, but teaching gymnastics has been a constant in my life since as far back as I can remember, a constant that I have never got bored of.

Ten years ago, I bought a gym and made teaching gymnastics my full time occupation, and two years ago I moved back to the UK and decided to do it all over again.

Teaching children isn’t always easy. It can be challenging at times and every child is different – from how they move, how well they understand their bodies, how they interpret instruction and the rate at which they learn. As a coach, you find yourself wearing so many different hats to make sure that every child has the best gymnastics experience possible while in your class. And it’s often the little things that make all the difference – like remembering every child’s name the first time you meet them, letting them tell you a never ending story right in the middle of when you are giving instructions to the whole class, being proud of the little wins as well as he big ones and looking them in the eye when you talk to them, even if it means kneeling down to do so.

Teaching children isn’t always easy, but it is by far the most rewarding role I have been fortunate to do. If I am having a bad day, I can guarantee that there will be a smile (or ten) or a moment which will turn my day around in a heartbeat. Being enthusiastic and energetic is easy when you have such a captive audience; little bodies and minds that are like sponges when it comes to learning.

Knowing that you make a difference, every single day in the lives of the children you teach means that every day you have to be at your best. Every day you need to reflect and learn so that you can come back tomorrow an even better version of the coach you were today. Every day you have another mind to influence and instil a love of gymnastics and movement and learning. Every day you have the opportunity to influence others and help them achieve their goals, dreams and heart desires.

Every day is a great day when you are a gymnastics coach and you absolutely love what you do. 💕