The Path Forward for Gymnastics Culture Toward Happier, Healthier Coaches and Gymnasts with Kim Shore
Today’s podcast is a great one, I sit down and have an incredible discussion with Kim Shore, who was part of Gymnastics Canada’s Safe Sport which I did a series of webinars for on gymnastics culture.
We have talked a lot behind the scenes on this subject and I wanted to get Kim on the podcast to have an in-depth discussion about what is going on in our sport.
Kim and I put together this great Google doc with all our ideas on culture, the reasons, and issues why some coaches or gyms become toxic, examples of people who are doing the right thing, how to follow them, what needs to change in gymnastics, and why we have so many problems still.
Why are there still so many kids who are unhappy with their experience in the sport? Why are there so many burnt-out coaches? Why are there so many gym owners frustrated with finances or their staff?
We dig in deep, and for the first time in a podcast, I share my honest thoughts on what I think are the real core issues.
As well as that, I talk openly about when I was really struggling as a younger coach and what I went through to crawl myself out of depression and burnout due to a lot of these cultural issues in our gym.
We talk about parents, what our coaching staff had to do to pull themselves up and make more positive progress forward.
What our leaders and gym owners did to support the change needed to achieve a significantly better gym environment.
The kids were happier, the coaches were happier, the gym owners were happier and we were doing better competitively with more people staying in the program moving up levels, but also financially, we were doing better.
So what did we do to crawl through some of these really challenging problems, that a lot of people deal with culturally?
And how can you as a listener, right now in your car, on your run, at home, doing dishes, how can you change things to make positive progress towards your goals, what you want out of gymnastics, to make others happy, and most importantly for you to be happier as well?
I can’t thank Kim enough for such an incredible discussion and I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
We discuss: How you cultivate confidence and love for the sport in athletes.
What is our role as coaches, parents, or medical providers in children’s gymnastics journeys?
Characteristics that coaches should demonstrate day to day that build an environment and culture that’s positive.
Intrinsic motivation can it be learnt?
Red flags in gymnastic environments.
Practical solutions for toxic gyms.
How do we move from an archaic dictatorship to more of a transformative model?
…and
Dave shares an important life experience.
The Path Forward for Gymnastics Culture Toward Happier, Healthier Coaches and Gymnasts with Kim Shore
Also, a reminder that early bird pricing for the 2022 Shift Symposium is quickly running out! From June 10 to June 12 learn everything you need to know about Gymnastics Medical Care, Gymnastics Coaching, and Gymnastic Strength and Conditioning. The lineup of 30 speakers is ridiculous, giving incredible lectures over three days, so do not miss out on early bird tickets. Head over to:
https://shiftmovementscience.com/2022shiftsymposium/
to find out more.
Hope it helps!
– Dave
Dr. Dave Tilley DPT, SCS, CSCS
CEO/Founder of SHIFT Movement Science
