It’s a brave, new, virtual world, and NRG are leading the way in coach training.

Our new Coaching Award 1 – Foundation Gymnastics is now available to take online.

Still embracing our principles of training the coach first, then the sport, this ground-breaking programme is the most comprehensive recreational training resource ever produced and fills the qualification void in these still uncertain times.

Head Tutor, Helen Hutson Pope writes “ We cannot stand still. We have to find new ways of communicating and propelling our sport forward even in challenging circumstances. Young people are so comfortable with digital learning, it would be short-sighted not to tap into that and use it to reach out to a wider audience”.

So can we really educate learners in a very physical and technical activity without being face to face? The answer, as we have discovered, is most definitely yes!

Uncertain Times – An Article from NRG’s Head Tutor, Helen

What interesting times we are living in. It’s as though the world has stopped and is holding its breath, waiting.

Waiting for things to go back to normal? I don’t know about you but I doubt that normal will ever be quite the same again, at least in the near future. I know many of you as club owners, managers, and coaches are using this time to take stock and reflect on where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you hope to be going forward.

Although we are certainly going through some anxious weeks, both personally and financially, it seems to have shone a spotlight on what makes us human and what connects us, and that is shared experience.

We are all experiencing an overwhelming urge to share.. Share our feelings, share information, and share ideas. We are reaching out, and the digital world we live in makes this wonderfully possible. 

We are opening the cooperative floodgates and I wonder if we will ever feel the need to close them again. We are communicating better than ever, and we are learning its mutual value and potential more every day.

There are two thoughts I’d like to share with you, as an advocate of recreational gymnastics, which I think may be relevant to how we approach our delivery, and evolve as clubs going forward.

The Power of Condensed Communication

The first is the sudden enormous boom in digital content to support our members outside the gym.

This unforeseen by-product of the need to keep that connection with our members, has inadvertently led us to putting our tuition, our knowledge, into tangible accessible formats, in short video clips or single page information bites, and actually thinking about the quality of what we produce and what will engage and enthuse our members.

We are, without realising it, crystallizing what is relevant and desirable in our teaching approach, and what is not. It’s like coaching 101!

 I and my fellow coaches are beavering away producing short videos for our members. We are constantly asking ourselves, how do we get across what we want these children to do in a short, clear, inclusive, upbeat way? Even though I am not standing in front of them, can I still get across what I want them to do while keeping them safe, and ensuring there are options for all abilities. Can it even be done?

 Well it seems the answer is yes! And the more we are doing it, the better at it we become. It focuses the mind. It makes us articulate and animated.  What a wonderful library and digital legacy we are creating for those gymnasts and clubs of the future. We are seeing the value in supporting what we do with online resources, and I doubt any of us will stop after we open our doors again.

What’s My Motivation?!

My second observation is that suddenly the sports world, in its attempt to keep us motivated and moving during this unusual phase in our history, has gone back to basics, producing ‘cross-sport’ content for the masses.

 No special skills needed here, whether you are talented or not is of little relevance now. It’s a shift in focus away from performance and fine-tuning, and back to the ‘nuts and bolts’’ of inclusive fundamental sports movement, and which as recreational coaches, we explore every day.

 It’s as though everyone has suddenly woken up and recognised the true value of movement for its own sake; all this amazing online material, a kaleidoscope of gross and fine motor skills explored in endless ways means there is something for everyone to enjoy. A rolled up sock becomes a ball, a couch becomes a coaching block, the yard is turned into an obstacle course! Sports deliverers from all over the globe are creating and sharing wonderful, accessible content to keep our children active and engaged. It’s inventive, it’s bite-sized, it’s varied and it’s fun! 

Now that’s interesting isn’t it. When competition and ‘winning’ becomes redundant, Sport starts to focus in on what really motivates people to be active;

  •  Fun
  •  Variety
  •  Challenge
  •  Achievable goals.

 We all know it, but it can get blurred in our desire for business growth. A large but inexperienced coaching team pounds a predictable treadmill. Member turnover is high. The joy and fun is lost.

Sometimes I wonder if clubs forget, or even care, what motivates their members when they do the same thing with the same equipment week in week out? When they do get it right, the mutual feeling of excitement, pride, and enthusiasm between coach and gymnast is palpable.

Recreational gymnastics is a club’s ‘bread and butter’ but it does require a very different mind set to be done well. Endlessly drilling skills the kids will never perfect, testing and retesting that last badge skill you know they will never achieve, dreading bars because “I never know what to do with them”. Who wants that?! No one. Not the kids, not the coaches. It’s demoralising and it’s dull. 

Perhaps this is the perfect time to look at your programme afresh, think about what it means to be recreational, and what it means to be competitive, and whether your coaches are meeting their different needs. Do you want things to be exactly as they were, or is the perfect time for a shake-up? Are you confident in your coaches, their training, your use of space, equipment, time, and essentially the ‘product’ you are offering to your customers? 

When you do open those doors again to your gymnasts, what will they walk back into? The same old world, same old practises, or a brave new better one? A happier, streamlined, sustainable and fit-for-purpose model perhaps?

 And one final question: What will you be doing in those first hours? Will you be worrying about the next meet, whether their strength, flexibility and technique has suffered? Or will you, like me, look around at all those happy excited faces, at your coaches, fresh and enthused and raring to go, and just allow yourself time to reflect on the sheer joy of gymnastic movement, and why we love what we do.

Namaste. Stay safe. 

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Update from NRG

Due to the current situation with CV-19, National Recreational Gymnastics has paused all plans to book and arrange upcoming courses. We are lucky enough to be able to work remotely, so our staff will be continuing behind the scenes to enable us to resume as soon as possible.

Foundation Gymnastics Course February 2020

We are excited to be running our first course of the year in Redhill, Surrey. If you are a Coach looking to develop your skills through formal training this could be a great opportunity for you and your Club.

This course is also suitable for those looking to get involved in gymnastics coaching for the first time. For information on whats covered please see our criteria.

Bookings can be made online subject to available space here.

NRG receives coveted Professional Industry Standards recognition

NRG are proud to have been awarded partner status from the Chartered Institute for Professional Standards in the field of Recreational Gymnastics.  This partnership not only shows that NRG has achieved the highest levels of quality assurance and professionalism, but also that we are the benchmark for all other similar organisations to aspire to. 

Online Resources Now Available

We have been working hard to get all our online resources up and running!

Key Stage 1 for schools has now joined Foundation Gymnastics and Developmental Gymnastics (for individuals) as live on our site. Key Stage 2 for schools and Further Gymnastics for individuals should be ready for July 2019.

You can find our resources here.

If you have taken a course and would like an access password for online resources please get in touch with our office.