Becoming a gymnastics coach
This week we celebrate coach Jack, who has completed his training and is now our newest qualified coach! Coaches at Skylark complete the Skylark Coach in Training Program alongside the National Gymnastics Australia coaching qualification, ensuring your kids are in great hands.
Jack has been a Skylark member since 2017. He started out as a ninja, and currently trains in our both our tumbling and competitive acrobatics squad program. Jacks kind nature, engaging personality and desire to learn stood out to his coaches, so when he expressed an interest in becoming a coach he was quickly employed as a Skylark CIT (Coach In Training). Starting his coaching journey in June 2022, he jumped head first into the theory tasks, assistant coaching, completing Gymnastics Australia courses and seeking feedback from mentors to improve his skills as a leader and coach. Jack's mentor coaches and trainers have loved watching him grow to become a confident and inspiring coach. The kids all agree, he's awesome!
CONGRATULATIONS JACK!
An athlete’s happiness and success in the gym is in the coach’s hands, and that's a responsibility we take very seriously at Skylark Sports. The Skylark Coach In Training Program supports new coaches to learn gymnastics progressions, coaching techniques, class leadership and skill pathways with a mixture of hands on and theory learning tasks.
At Skylark we help children develop a love of movement and believe that gymnastics it is a great tool to help kids grow up and develop valuable life skills. Our coaches are trained to support all participants through challenges and to celebrate the small steps that along the way. Learning to try again if you didn't quite get it on the first go is such an important lesson to learn, and one we embrace in both our classes and in our staff development and training.
The team at Skylark have developed an internal 'on-the-job' training program to give new coaches all the tools they need to coach independently. Alongside their nationally recognised Gymnastics Australia Coaching Accreditation, CIT's work along-side experienced coaches, practicing spotting skills, explaining drills and leading a group.
Coaching at Skylark is an awesome first job, and a great option for high school and university students. CITs work in our gymnastics, ninja or kindergym classes, getting hands on experience to better understand the direct connection between movement and child development.
Speaking with the 'grown ups' can be one of the more challenging parts of being a coach, especially for those new to the job. Delivering engaging, fun and successful classes can come more naturally to some coaches. At Skylark we allow time before and after class for coaches to to chat to families, meet new students and discuss progress and anything else going on in the gym. CIT's are encouraged to join in on these conversations from the very start of their training, building their confidence and stepping slightly out of their comfort zone. It pays off in the long run. Parents tell us that our friendly and approachable team are one of the main things that they love about Skylark and we are proud of how well our young coaches can communicate with the families of our members.
The Skylark Coach in Training Program is designed so it can be completed in a timeframe that suits the individual. The pace and training timeframes are adjusted to suit the age, availability and previous experience in sport and working with children.
Those with some experience or more time to dedicate to coaching can complete their training in as little as 8 weeks. For younger CITs we can adjust the timeframes to allow up to 9 months to complete the training. CIT's are paid from the beginning of their training, because we believe that coaching is a fantastic career, and we want great people on our team.
If you have an would like to learn more about becoming a CIT we'd love to hear from you. No experience is required. We have coaches from many different backgrounds; past athletes, childcare educators, teachers, gym parents, lifeguards, martial arts, circus arts - if you love working with kids, you can teach movement!
