SWL Coaching Programme

This guide outlines the structure and expectations for our coaching staff to ensure a consistent and high-quality training experience for all gymnasts.

Program Overview

Our program provides a structured system that serves as the foundation for all coaching sessions. This structure is the bare minimum each coach should provide in terms of service and training to our athletes.

Expectations

• Baseline Structure: Coaches are expected to follow the outlined rotation and station setup as the default structure for their sessions. This ensures that all gymnasts receive comprehensive training across all apparatus and essential skills.

• Flexibility for Additional Skills: While the foundation of our program is essential, we encourage coaches to introduce additional stations for other skills not explicitly included in this guide. These can include advanced skills such as walkovers, free cartwheels, somersaults, back handsprings, and front handsprings.

• Customization: Coaches are welcome to swap out and add stations to address the specific needs and goals of their gymnasts. However, it is crucial that the core skills and progressions outlined in this program remain an integral part of the training sessions.

Coaching Priorities

1. Safety First: The top priority for all our coaching is the safety of the gymnasts. This includes both safeguarding and physical safety, ensuring that all training is conducted in a safe environment, and avoiding risky or dangerous scenarios.

2. Adherence to Rotation System: The second priority is strict adherence to the rotation system schedule. This includes:

• Following the same order of stations or apparatus.

• Maintaining the designated time on each piece.

• Ensuring consistent and efficient use of the gym space and time.

Adhering to the rotation schedule not only optimizes the use of the gym and training time but also enhances the overall safety of the environment.

3. Following the Skills Program: The third priority is to follow the program of skills and stations as laid out in this guide. This ensures that all gymnasts receive well-rounded and progressive training, working towards their levels and mastering their basics.

All skills and progressions are listed in the progressions guide below. This guide includes floor progressions, equipment progressions, and stations setup for any apparatus or circuit.

1. Vault (and Half Floor)

• Vault

• Side Station 1: Floor progressions

• Side Station 2: Floor progressions

2. Bars (and Half Floor)

• Bars

• Side Station 1: Floor progressions

• Side Station 2: Floor progressions

3. Beam and Back Floor

• High Beam

• Low Beam

• Side Station: Floor progressions

4. Air Track

• Station 1: Floor progressions

• Station 2: Floor progressions

• Station 3: Floor progressions

5. Trampolines (two trampolines)

• Station 1: Trampoline practice

• Station 2: Trampoline practice

Trampoline Skills:

• Shapes

• Half turns

• Backdrops

• Dive forward rolls

• Front flips

Rotation Timing

• Duration: 8 to 10 minutes per station

• Timing Management: Head coach signals rotation changes

A message for all our coaches

Our Commitment to You

We want you to know that you don’t need to go above and beyond all the time to be valued here. However, when coaches decide to step up and be just a bit more proactive, it makes a significant difference. This past term, we have seen how small acts of initiative and commitment have made our eyes glow. These efforts stand out, and we want to reward those who show this dedication. Your additional effort, no matter how small, is incredibly appreciated and valuable to the club.

The Fulfillment of Coaching

Coaching at SWL Gymnastics is not just a job; it’s a privilege and an opportunity to make a substantial impact on young lives. The more committed and effective you become as a coach, the more fulfilling the experience. When you master the art of coaching and see the positive changes in your gymnasts, it brings an immense sense of satisfaction and contribution.

If you ever find yourself watching the clock during sessions, I urge you to explore deeper into the joy of coaching. When you truly fall in love with coaching, time disappears, and the fulfillment you experience becomes boundless.

Effective Coaching Techniques

This guide focuses on enhancing the delivery of your coaching, which is just one component of a successful coaching strategy. Alongside delivery, a coach’s effectiveness also depends on their technical understanding, spotting ability, intuition regarding safety, and other vital skills.

Key Aspects of Effective Coaching:

1. Delivery: The way you communicate and structure your sessions.

2. Technical Understanding: In-depth knowledge of gymnastics techniques and skills.

3. Spotting Ability: Proficiency in providing physical support to ensure gymnasts’ safety and correct execution.

4. Safety Intuition: The ability to assess and ensure the safety of gymnasts during training.

5. Adaptability: Flexibility in adjusting drills and exercises to meet the varying skill levels of gymnasts.

6. Motivation: Techniques to keep gymnasts engaged and motivated throughout the session.

7. Observation and Feedback: Continuous monitoring and providing constructive feedback to promote improvement.

Since certain aspects like spotting ability, safety intuition, and technical understanding require hands-on experience and cannot be effectively taught through text, we will focus on the aspects we can improve through detailed guidance: delivery, adaptability, motivation, observation, and feedback.

Delivery

Running an effective gymnastics session for recreational kids starts with mastering your delivery. Here’s a breakdown of my approach to ensure each session is engaging, productive, and fun for everyone involved.

Pre-Session Engagement

Before diving into the session, it’s crucial to establish a rapport with your group. As soon as you gather your gymnasts, take a few moments to engage with them personally. Ask how they’re doing and learn their names. This helps to break the ice and makes the kids feel comfortable. While fostering a friendly atmosphere, ensure the gymnasts understand that they need to listen and respect the session’s structure. This sets the tone for a productive practice.

Starting with the Basics

Especially if you have a new group, starting with the basics helps gauge their current skill levels both as a group and as individuals. This foundational step allows you to understand where each gymnast stands so you can build from there.

Example Setup:

• Forward rolls

• Backward rolls

• Handstands

These skills are fundamental and can quickly be adapted to more advanced versions if needed. Explain to the gymnasts that starting with basics is essential to see how well they perform. Assure them that if these skills are too easy, you will promptly adjust to something more challenging.

Adapting on the Fly

As the gymnasts move through the basic skills, observe their performance closely. Be ready to adapt quickly. If a skill is too easy for some, switch them to a more advanced version. The key is to keep the session dynamic and appropriately challenging for each gymnast.

Keeping it Exciting

To maintain engagement, include at least one exciting station where gymnasts get to work closely with you. This could be a skill that involves your spotting or assistance, which adds an element of fun and support. Personalized attention helps gymnasts feel encouraged and motivated.

Clear Demonstration and Explanation

Clearly demonstrate each exercise and explain what you expect. This helps gymnasts understand and visualize what they need to do. Use simple, direct language and be open to questions. Demonstrate the exercises yourself or have a gymnast from the group show it.

Managing Time and Flow

Keep the session moving smoothly by managing time effectively. Spend about two minutes at each station and communicate this clearly to avoid confusion.

“We’ll spend two minutes at each station. I’ll let you know when it’s time to switch. Keep the energy up and move quickly!”

Maintaining Control and Addressing Behavior

Maintaining control over your stations is crucial. Ensure everyone is doing what you’ve asked, and there is no room for extreme noise, messing around, laziness, or kids doing unauthorized skills. Address any issues sternly and immediately.

Behavior Management Spectrum:

1. Initial Warning: Politely but firmly address the behavior.

• “I don’t like that. Can we be more sensible?”

2. Second Warning: Make the consequences clear.

• “If that happens one more time, you can sit out and explain to Marx or April why you’ve sat out.”

3. Final Warning: Inform them of the next steps involving parents.

• “If this behavior continues, I will be talking to your parents at the end of the session. It’s up to you whether I have something good or bad to report.”

If managing behavior becomes difficult, you can always send the disruptive gymnast to one of the head coaches for further handling.

Continuous Feedback

Provide ongoing feedback throughout the session. Highlight what gymnasts are doing well and offer specific tips for improvement. This helps them learn and stay motivated.

“Great job on those cartwheels! Try to keep your legs straighter next time.”

Wrapping Up

End the session on a positive note. Recap what was achieved and hint at what’s coming next time. This leaves the gymnasts excited and looking forward to their next session.

“Fantastic work today, everyone! You all did an amazing job. Next time, we’ll tackle some new skills that I know you’re going to love. Keep practicing those cartwheels!”

By focusing on your delivery and incorporating these elements into your sessions, you can create an engaging, structured, and fun environment for your gymnasts. Effective delivery sets the tone for a successful session and helps foster a love for gymnastics in your students.

Boosting Motivation, Observation, and Feedback

When coaching gymnasts, it’s crucial to avoid constant criticism and focus on ensuring that they clearly understand their goals, aligning those goals with what you want them to achieve. This mutual understanding eliminates the need to critique every minor mistake. Mistakes are natural in the learning process, and gymnasts often intuitively know what they need to fix.

You’d be surprised how genuine belief and encouragement can significantly motivate gymnasts and boost their confidence. Studies show that when coaches believe in their athletes’ abilities, their performance improves. Kids look to us for validation and to gauge their capabilities. More often than not, powerful belief and unwavering encouragement are more effective than any piece of advice. As long as gymnasts understand their end goals, showing them that you genuinely believe in them fosters a positive and motivating environment.

Over-criticism can be detrimental, making gymnasts feel unsupported and doubt their abilities. Instead, provide feedback that nudges them towards improvement by reminding them of key aspects of the skill or asking them what they think they can do to improve. This approach encourages self-assessment and critical thinking, reinforcing their understanding of the goal and making them feel more in control of their progress.

When giving feedback, be mindful not to overwhelm gymnasts with too many things to focus on at once. Both children and adults can struggle with applying multiple pieces of advice simultaneously. It is much more effective to give one carefully selected piece of advice at a time and allow them to practice and implement it over multiple attempts. Typically, gymnasts need five to ten tries to consolidate one piece of advice before moving on to another. This trial-and-error approach helps them internalize and improve their skills more effectively.

Observation plays a crucial role in this process. Watch for common errors and address them promptly, but don’t overwhelm gymnasts with too much information. Focus on key aspects that need improvement and give them space to apply your feedback. Encouraging them to self-assess can enhance their critical thinking and independence.

Constructive feedback should balance technical corrections with motivational support. Highlight what they did well before addressing areas for improvement, and focus on specific, actionable feedback. Asking gymnasts what they think they can do to improve fosters a growth mindset and reinforces their understanding of the goal.

Scenarios for Effective Feedback

Scenario 1: Overwhelming Criticism

Eloise is working on her handspring on the vault. She performs the skill but with bent legs. I immediately say, “Oh come on, Eloise, you can do better. What were those bendy legs?” Feeling disheartened, Eloise goes again. This time, her legs are still bent, and now her arms are too. I then tell her, “You need to keep your arms straight and your legs straight.” Overwhelmed by the multiple corrections, Eloise starts to feel demotivated. She struggles to remember both instructions and her performance continues to decline as she becomes increasingly frustrated and disengaged.

Scenario 2: Encouraging and Focused Feedback

Eloise attempts her handspring on the vault and performs it with bent legs. On her first attempt, I stay positive and encourage her, “Great job on the approach, Eloise! I liked how you kept your arms strong.” I give her a few more tries without any criticism, allowing her to warm up and get comfortable.

After several attempts, I ask, “What do you think you could do to make it even better?” Eloise reflects and replies, “I think my legs were bent.” I praise her self-awareness, “Exactly right! Let’s focus on straightening those legs next time. You’re doing great, keep it up!”

Eloise goes again, and although her legs are still bent, I encourage her, “Good try, Eloise. Remember, it takes time. Keep working on those straight legs.” I avoid giving new advice and continue to support her focus on leg position. As she practices, her legs start to straighten. Even if her arms bend at times, I remind her to concentrate on one aspect at a time. “Don’t worry about your arms right now. Let’s get those legs straight first.”

By allowing Eloise to focus on one piece of feedback at a time and giving her space to practice, she gradually improves. The positive reinforcement keeps her motivated and engaged, and she feels supported in her efforts.

Conclusion

By focusing on one piece of advice at a time and allowing gymnasts to practice and consolidate that feedback, you create a supportive and effective training environment. This approach fosters continuous improvement and a love for gymnastics, ensuring gymnasts feel encouraged, guided, and confident in their abilities. Integrating these principles into your coaching helps gymnasts internalize their goals, practice effectively, and achieve their full potential.

Coaching, whether in gymnastics or any other discipline, is an art form—complex and ever-evolving. I find it fascinating how the smallest nuances in what we say and how we say it can profoundly affect our athletes. These subtle elements of encouragement and guidance go beyond improving gymnastics skills; they shape the very development of young individuals.

When we coach, we’re not just teaching cartwheels and forward rolls. The way we communicate and inspire our gymnasts builds their confidence, fosters a growth mindset, and helps them develop resilience. These lessons extend far beyond the gym. The confidence they gain, the mindset they adopt, and the resilience they build are tools they carry into all areas of life.

As coaches, we have the privilege and responsibility to contribute to the shaping of young minds. Our impact goes beyond the immediate skills they learn; we influence their self-esteem, their approach to challenges, and their overall development as individuals. Recognizing this profound influence underscores the importance of thoughtful, positive, and supportive coaching methods.

When we provide genuine belief and unwavering encouragement, we do more than teach skills—we empower children to believe in themselves, embrace challenges, and grow both in the sport and in life. Coaching is not just about perfecting techniques; it’s about nurturing the whole person and making a lasting, positive impact on their journey.

Understanding Children’s Minds

To coach young gymnasts effectively, it’s essential to understand how their brains work. Let’s break down some key concepts about emotional regulation, cognitive load, and fear responses in a simple way.

Emotional Regulation in Young Minds

Imagine a young gymnast’s brain as a small crew on a ship. The amygdala is like the ship’s lookout—always on the alert for anything exciting or dangerous. When the lookout sees something, they shout out immediately, reacting quickly to any situation. This part of the brain is responsible for emotions.

In adults, another crew member, the prefrontal cortex, acts like the ship’s captain. The captain listens to the lookout and then makes decisions about how to respond. They help keep everything calm and controlled, telling the lookout, “It’s okay, we can handle this.”

In children, the prefrontal cortex, the captain, isn’t fully developed yet. This means the lookout often takes control, leading to big, intense emotions. Kids can be really upset one moment and super happy the next because their brain’s captain isn’t fully in charge yet to keep things balanced.

Because of their underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, children also have less ability to reason, control impulses, think abstractly, and handle cognitive load.

Cognitive Load:

Imagine your brain as a backpack. Cognitive load is like the weight you carry in that backpack. Young kids can only carry a light load before they get overwhelmed. If you give them too many instructions at once, it’s like overloading their backpack—they can’t carry it all and will struggle to keep up.

To keep their backpack manageable:

• Simple Instructions: Give them one piece of information at a time.

• Reasonable Expectations: Understand that children can’t process information and instructions like adults can. Their reasoning and abstract thinking skills are still developing.

Fear Responses and Building Confidence

Understanding Fear:

Fear is like an alarm system in the brain. The amygdala, our lookout, handles this too. When kids try new or difficult skills in gymnastics, their amygdala might set off the alarm, making them feel scared. This is a normal part of learning, especially when trying something that feels risky or challenging.

Building Confidence:

Helping kids feel confident is key to turning off that alarm. Here’s how to do it:

• Positive Reinforcement: Praise them for their efforts and small successes. For example, “Great job on that roll! You’re getting better each time.”

• Set Realistic Expectations: Explain that getting over fear takes time and practice. Remind them that what they find scary today won’t be scary in a few weeks if they keep practicing. For example, “Remember how you were scared of cartwheels last month? Now you do them without even thinking!”

• Belief in Their Ability: If you show that you believe heavily in their ability, it will have a profound effect on how confident they feel in their own ability. Children gauge their abilities not just through their own actions but through how the people around them react to them. When they see that you genuinely believe in their potential, it boosts their confidence and motivates them to meet those expectations.

By understanding these principles, coaches can help young gymnasts develop not only their physical skills but also their emotional resilience and confidence. This sets them up for success both in gymnastics and in life, creating a positive and supportive environment where they can thrive.

Watch Your Bias: Understanding and Mitigating Biases in Coaching

Cognitive biases are specific ways our brain tricks us into thinking or behaving in certain ways. They affect our judgment and can lead to unfair or incorrect decisions. Understanding these biases can help us become more fair and effective in our actions, especially in coaching.

Key Biases in Coaching

Let’s explore some common biases that coaches should be aware of and how to handle them.

Illusory Correlation Bias:

Imagine you always wear a certain color shirt to football matches because you think it helps your favorite team win. In reality, your shirt has nothing to do with the team’s performance, but your brain makes a false connection between the two. This is called illusory correlation—believing two things are related when they’re not.

• In Coaching: Sometimes, coaches think a gymnast improved because of a specific drill or piece of advice they gave. But often, the gymnast improved simply because they practiced more or were encouraged to keep trying.

• Impact: This can lead coaches to overemphasize certain drills or instructions, thinking they’re more effective than they are.

• How to Handle It: Remember that gymnasts often improve through their own effort and practice. Encourage them and give them time to try things out, rather than attributing all their progress to specific techniques.

Confirmation Bias:

Think of a detective who’s convinced someone is guilty. They might pay more attention to clues that confirm their suspicion and ignore anything that suggests the person might be innocent. This is confirmation bias—favoring information that supports what you already believe.

• In Coaching: This bias can affect how we deliver our sessions and approach our coaching methods. Coaches might have strong beliefs about the best ways to train or the best techniques to use. Because of confirmation bias, they only notice the successes and improvements that align with their beliefs and ignore any signs that their methods might not be working for everyone.

• Impact: This can lead to rigid coaching practices where new and potentially better methods are overlooked. Coaches might miss opportunities to adapt and improve their techniques because they are too focused on proving themselves right.

• How to Handle It: Be open-minded and willing to try new approaches. Regularly evaluate your methods and seek feedback from colleagues and athletes. Use objective measures, like performance data, to guide your decisions and remain open to the possibility that different approaches might be more effective.

Pygmalion Effect:

Imagine a teacher who believes a student is very smart. Because of this belief, they give the student more attention and encouragement, which helps the student perform better. This is the Pygmalion effect—higher expectations lead to improved performance.

• In Coaching: If a coach believes in a gymnast’s potential and shows it, the gymnast is likely to feel more confident and perform better. However, this can also lead to favoritism, where only certain athletes receive this positive reinforcement.

• Impact: While it can motivate athletes, it’s important to make sure all gymnasts feel believed in and supported.

• How to Handle It: Set high but realistic expectations for all your gymnasts. Show belief in each athlete’s potential so everyone gets the encouragement they need to succeed.

Sunk Cost Fallacy:

Imagine you’re watching a movie you don’t enjoy, but you keep watching because you’ve already spent an hour on it. This is the sunk cost fallacy—continuing something because you’ve already invested time or resources, even if it’s not beneficial.

• In Coaching: Coaches might stick to a training plan or technique because they’ve invested a lot of time in it, even if it’s not working well for the gymnast.

• Impact: This can waste valuable training time and prevent athletes from exploring more effective methods.

• How to Handle It: Be willing to change your approach if something isn’t working. Focus on what benefits the gymnast most, rather than sticking to a plan just because you’ve invested time in it.

Gambler’s Fallacy:

Imagine flipping a coin and getting heads five times in a row. You might think tails is “due” to come up next, but each flip is still a 50/50 chance. This is the gambler’s fallacy—believing that past events affect the probability of future ones in random situations.

• In Coaching: Coaches might think that because a gymnast has failed several times in a row, they’re “due” for success soon, or vice versa.

• Impact: This can lead to unrealistic expectations and disappointment.

• How to Handle It: Treat each attempt or performance individually. Understand that past failures or successes don’t guarantee future results. Encourage consistent effort and practice.

Spot Only When Necessary

Imagine you’re learning to ride a bike. If someone is always holding you, you’ll never learn to balance on your own. In gymnastics, spotting works the same way. Coaches need to help gymnasts feel safe, especially with difficult moves, but if they help too much, gymnasts won’t build their own confidence and skills.

• Impact: Over-spotting can make gymnasts reliant on their coaches, hindering their growth.

• How to Handle It: Use spotting sparingly. Let gymnasts try things on their own when it’s safe. This helps them learn to trust their abilities and builds self-confidence.

Sticking to Proven Methods:

Think about how you learn best. Maybe there’s a specific way your teacher explains math that really helps you understand. In gymnastics, some training methods are like that—they just work. While it’s fun to try new drills, sticking to what’s proven effective can often be the best approach.

• Impact: Constantly changing techniques can confuse gymnasts and waste time.

• How to Handle It: Focus on drills and methods that have been shown to work well. Once these are mastered, then you can explore new approaches gradually.

Structuring Technical Understanding in Gymnastics

Understanding Shaping and Timing:

In gymnastics, mastering a skill comes down to understanding two main concepts: shaping and timing. As a coach, it’s essential to break down each skill into these fundamental components to grasp how a skill should be performed and to teach it effectively.

• Shaping: This refers to the positions your body takes during a skill. Think of shapes as the different positions your body moves through as you perform a move. For example, when doing a handstand, your body forms a straight line from your hands to your toes. Understanding shaping means knowing which muscles are contracted, where the weight is distributed, and what forces are acting on the body at each stage of the skill.

• Timing: This is about when and how quickly you move into these shapes. Timing involves the speed and rhythm of your movements. For instance, in a backflip, there’s a precise moment to tuck your legs and then extend them to land. Proper timing ensures that the transitions between shapes are smooth and that the gymnast maintains balance and control.

By using the framework of shaping and timing, coaches can better understand the mechanics of each skill. This approach simplifies the complexity of gymnastics techniques, making it easier to teach and learn.

Conclusion

Effective coaching in gymnastics involves a delicate balance of various skills and strategies that contribute to the holistic development of gymnasts. From the technical aspects of shaping and timing to the psychological understanding of young athletes’ minds, each element plays a crucial role in creating a nurturing and productive training environment.

By integrating these principles, coaches can not only enhance gymnasts’ technical skills but also contribute to their overall growth as individuals. The ultimate goal is to cultivate an environment where gymnasts are inspired, confident, and equipped with the skills and mindset to succeed both in the gym and in life. As coaches, embracing this comprehensive approach ensures we are making a lasting, positive impact on our athletes’ journeys.