Meeting the Coaching Requirements
Find a coaching mentor. Before you try your hand at coaching on your own, approach a coach at your local gym and ask if you can shadow them. You’ll learn a lot about how to prepare for a coaching session, class management, and what to look out for during a session. You may even be asked to perform assistant coach duties, which will help you practice your coaching technique.
Practice explaining drills. To be a good gymnastics instructor, you have to be a great communicator and focus on talking to people in a positive, safe way. Think about the best way to describe what you want to have happen and practice explaining it clearly. If you notice that the athletes seem confused, you might not be explaining it as clearly as you can. You can have a friend help you out by listening to your instructions and following them. If your friend doesn’t know anything about gymnastics that’s even better; if you can explain a drill clearly to them, a gymnast should have no problem.
Perfect your spotting technique. Spotting correctly is all about putting yourself in the best position to catch the gymnast safely. Look around the landing area and take notice of any places the athlete could fall off the mat. Position yourself slightly off to the side of the expected landing site. Bend you knees and anticipate having to catch the athlete.
Educate yourself about concussion procedures. Chances are there are rules which govern what you need to do in the event of an athlete becoming concussed. Take some time to learn the procedures you’ll need to perform to ensure their safety. If you are at all worried that someone might be concussed, perform a concussion test.
Getting Your Accreditation
Take a First Aid course. Although it may not be required for your instructor certification, you’ll want to be able to respond quickly and effectively in case of an injury.Parents and athletes will also feel more comfortable knowing that you are able to provide emergency medical assistance.
Become safety certified. Many countries require you to pass an initial safety certification before taking your instructor test. The USA’s gymnastics governing body has a written test that you can take to get certified.
Pass a background check. The vast majority of gymnasts are under 18 years old. As such, many countries will require that you pass a criminal background check before you’re cleared to work as a gymnastics instructor. Provided you don’t have a criminal background, passing this check is as simple as paying a fee to the relevant authority. In most countries, the authority running the background check will be affiliated to the national police service.
Take the test for your first-level instructor accreditation. This is a test that is administered by the sport’s governing body in your country. In some instances, you will be required to run a demo class; in others, you can simply take a written test. There is usually a fee attached to taking the certification test. Find out how much it will cost before you take the test. Find out how long your accreditation is valid. In the USA, first-level instructor certification lasts for 4 years.
Continue your education. If you’re enjoying being a gymnastics instructor, consider furthering your coaching education. You’ll need continuing education credits to get higher-level instructor certifications. Consider becoming a member of your national gymnastics association. You’ll get information about upcoming events and courses you can take to improve your coaching.
Get higher-level instructor accreditations. Once you’ve been coaching for a few years, you might want to move on to coaching at a higher level. This will require you to get a higher-level coaching certification. Make sure your current certification hasn’t expired or you might have to take it again.
Comments
0 comment