We order them from the coaches store! Just kidding!! If it were only that simple there would be many great gymnastics companies out there.
We are often asked by parents about our staff. Were they gymnast themselves? Where do we find our staff? This is usually followed by some positive comment about the new coach.
Coaching preschool and school age children in gymnastics requires a special person. We have several key qualities that we look for!
- They must be first and foremost good with children
- They must be positive in their thinking and reactions
- They must be of good character
- They must be energetic and enthusiastic
- They must have a passion for teaching children
Most of our staff has been in gymnastics in their school years and some have not. Teaching gymnastics to children at the basic levels in a recreational setting is more about a process of progressions than the coaches experience. In fact sometimes it is easier to train someone who has little to none experience in the sport, because we do not have to undue negative tendencies they have inherited from their coaches. We have been successful in developing great coaches because we start with quality people and teach them how to create a fun and positive learning environment. We have developed a system of progressions and mixed it up with fun exciting people. Our coaches have a wide range of backgrounds from high level club competitors to never been a gymnast.
Gymnastics is an interesting mix of physical, mental and emotional abilities. Teaching gymnastics skills is a scientific process when you come right down to it! If a person has the ability to understand this process along with the personality to get children to believe in them as a coach, they can be a gymnastics coach. Gym Stars finds the people that have these abilities and give them the knowledge and tools to become a great coach. In the end it is their drive and personal pride that completes the process of becoming a lead coach for our company.
Developing new coaches is one of our largest processes and consumes a large portion of my time and our lead staff's efforts. All new coaches start off as teaching assistants, regardless of their experience or background. Then they go through several stages of training before being allowed to lead a class. It will take a new coach three to twelve months to become a lead coach at Gym Stars. It is a large investment in training but a very important one to the parents of our students.
We all realize that the quality of our staff is one of the best marketing tools we have control over. Most of our growth can be attributed to positive referrals from parents. They like what they see in our gyms and the experience their child has with our coaches. They see results in their child's gymnastics skills and more importantly their overall developmental growth. We like to believe that we teach life skills through gymnastics.
The education of children is one of the most challenging and rewarding jobs a person can do. Teaching gymnastics to preschool children requires a special person and specific abilities. Teaching school age children requires yet another set of skills and understanding. Every age group has different needs in how they communicate and learn. We put a lot of time, education and effort into developing the very best staff to teach children gymnastics. The smile on a child's face when they walk out of their class is a great goal. The knowledge that they feel better about themselves leaving than they did when they come in is the best reward we can ask for.
Our coaches come from many different sources but all have the same passion of coaching children to positive outcomes!
Gym Stars ETC Club
