Participating in team or individual sports is a milestone of childhood that most of us go through. Some people end up enjoying their chosen sport so much that they decide to translate that love into a successful coaching career as an adult. If you have a passion for gymnastics and enjoy teaching others – a career or hobby as a youth gymnastics coach may be a great option for you! But where to begin?
How To Become A Youth Gymnastics Coach: Although the process for training future Olympians at your local gym may look different than teaching a Mommy and Me class at a national franchise, there are some things you can do to prepare for your new role. From official USAG certification and CPR training, to practicing your coaching techniques with hands-on experience, the right preparation can make all the difference.
So whether you are interested in coaching competitive level gymnastics to experienced athletes or teaching young beginners how to do a cartwheel, read on for an in-depth look at the steps you can take today to prepare for a future as a youth gymnastics coach tomorrow.
Explore Gymnastics Coaching Options
When embarking on a new career path, it’s always a good idea to look at local job listings and get a better idea of the desired skills, employer requirements and potential job roles.
You will likely find that there are a wide variety of youth gymnastics offerings in your community, and that there is a very big difference between teaching gymnastics basics to toddlers at your local Gymboree and coaching budding gymnasts at a Junior Olympics training facility.
Most competitive gymnastics gyms will require their coaches to have USAG certification upon employment or within a few months of hire. Other gyms (especially nationwide franchises that focus more on preschool and elementary age students) place more emphasis on their coaches having a love for the sport and experience working with children, and do not require any sort of certification at all.
Some gyms have their own unique gymnastics program and curriculum – and will provide their own internal training program for you to become certified in their particular methods. You will also find that most employers will require their coaches to undergo a background check and obtain CPR certification. Some may even require a drug test upon employment too.
Looking at job listings and even scouting out some local gyms in your area should give you a better idea of what to expect during the hiring process. It should also help you decide which sort of gym you’d like to work at – and whether you want to coach at the Olympic level, just for fun, or somewhere in-between.
Find A Mentor or Complete A Job Shadow
If you are brand new to the sport and to coaching, you may want to see if you can try out a job shadow first. One way to accomplish this is to volunteer at a gym near you. Or you can seek out an assistant role to start out while you learn more.
Starting out as an assistant coach is especially helpful if you don’t have much gymnastics experience and are hoping to advance to a higher level of coaching.
Having a mentor is helpful in any line of work, and can be especially fruitful in the world of coaching.
Even if you’ve had years of experience in gymnastics training, it is an entirely different experience to then turn around and begin to train someone else.
Adjusting to dealing with parents, having to stay cool in the moment of a student’s injury and learning to encourage others will likely be new experiences for you. Having a mentor you can talk with and learn from will be extremely valuable as you navigate the unexpected nuances of coaching the sport you love.
Practice Teaching Others
In your new role, you will have to become skilled at classroom management, explaining new drills and spotting your students. But it can be intimidating to begin teaching strangers right away if you’ve never done it before.
Related: Can You Coach a Sport You Never Played at the Youth Level?
If you have younger siblings, nieces or nephews who enjoy gymnastics, practicing your coaching techniques on them can be a great way to get some low-pressure coaching experience. Even better – kids can be very honest, and you should be able to get some great unfiltered feedback from your willing test subjects.
The more you can perfect your coaching skills and strategies outside of the gym, the more prepared you will be when the clock starts on your very first class.
If you don’t have very much coaching experience, you may want to consider beginning your coaching career at the preschool level and working your way up from there.
Related: How to Become a Youth Sports Coach
Learn How To Spot Your Students
One of the most important roles of a coach is to be able to spot your students. As with most things, the best way to get good at spotting is to practice it as much as possible.
While your students are learning the basics of gymnastics – you are also learning the basics of spotting! You will need to learn how to think on your feet, to always be aware of your surroundings and the placement of your student, and to be prepared for any possible landing that could occur.
If you are going through the USAG certification program, your coursework should include some of this training as well.
Get USAG Certified (If Applicable)
The primary organization responsible for governing the sport of gymnastics in the United States is USA Gymnastics. According to their website, USAG is “the National Governing Body (NGB) for the sport of gymnastics in the United States, consistent with the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act, the Bylaws of the United States Olympic Committee and the International Gymnastics Federation.”
If you’re wanting to become a youth gymnastics coach, the USA Gymnastics University is the place to begin. USAG training emphasizes safety and risk management, as well as coaching techniques and student development. There are different training tracks for competitive gyms vs recreational gyms.
Both the competitive and recreational tracks include some hands-on training courses in addition to theory courses and exams. Hands-on training is vital to learning how to practically apply what you learned in the classroom.
The first step is to take and pass the USAG Safety Certification. Then you can advance to your complete Level 1 Coaching training program. Like with CPR courses in the United States, this safety course is good for 4 years, and then it will need to be taken again.
In addition to the safety certification and Level 1 Coaching certification, some continuing education credits will also be necessary every few years – depending on your coaching level. For example, a beginner level coach will need to complete 5 additional course credits every 4 years to stay up-to-date on your certification. You can also work towards completing your Level 2 Coaching certification.
You can visit the USAG website to learn more about the different courses available and begin the enrollment process: https://usagym.org/pages/education/pages/index.html.
Pass A Background Check
Most gyms will require coaches and other employees to obtain and pass a background check.
This is done to ensure that anyone working with the students is trustworthy enough to be around children and have a leadership role which may also include traveling with students to competitions.
Obtain First Aid / CPR Certification
Whether or not your future employer requires it, it is a good idea (especially when working with children) to know basic first aid, CPR and concussion care.
Accidents and injuries can occur often in this sport, and you want to be prepared.
When in the market for a new coaching job, you can get an edge over the competition by obtaining these certifications ahead of time if possible. Some of these do expire – so if it’s been awhile since your last CPR class, you may want to check and see if it is time for a re-do.
Related: How Can Poor Coaching Cause Injuries in Youth Sports?
Consider Joining Relevant Associations
Joining a gymnastics association is always a great idea for ongoing training, professional development and networking opportunities. In fact, USAG membership is required by some gyms.
USAG offers many regional and national workshops each year to sharpen your skills and stay up-to-date in your training. In addition to USAG, your state or region may have their own gymnastics association you can join.
Summary: How To Become A Youth Gymnastics Coach
If you have the right skills, knowledge, passion, experience and training – becoming a youth gymnastics coach can be a very rewarding career path. Depending on the age group and level of gymnastics you will be teaching, as well as the type of gym or program you will be working or volunteering for – some or all of the above steps may apply to you.
The best way to get started is to look at what local gyms near you are requiring and determine where you would like to start your career. If you have many years of experience and are willing to complete the lengthy USAG training, you could begin working at a competitive level gym fairly quickly.
But if you are new to the sport and/or to coaching, it may be a good idea to start at the preschool level first and advance your coaching career from there if you find that you enjoy it.
Good luck and happy spotting!
Cheers,
Daniel