30
COACHING EDGE |TALENT ID|
Follow us on Twitter @TheCoachingEdge
GETTING THE
BALANCE RIGHT
We’re often told that the key is to identify talent early, but it’s
just as vital – if not more so – to make sure there is a healthy
programme to nurture youngsters in their chosen sport, as
Richard Gibson discovered.
‘Because the sport is so complex and so
technical by its very nature – there are six
apparatus in artistic gymnastics – there are so
many different things you need to develop.
Working on strength, flexibility, coordination
and specific skills just takes a long time.
D
eveloping talent is perhaps
the primary goal of any
sports coach. Ensuring
individuals reach the peak
of their possibilities is a prerequisite of
the job. In gymnastics this means
potential is identified in children at preschool age.
It has always been this way. Such are the
complexities of this multi-discipline sport that an
early start is a head start. Show the right
qualities and you are taking the first steps on a
route towards Olympic success, as Dave
Murray, head of men’s artistic gymnastics at
Leeds Gymnastics Club, explains.
‘We are, and always have been, selecting kids
at four and five years old,’ Murray says.
‘As kids get older they lose flexibility, so if you don’t
start the process when they are younger they will
miss the opportunity to develop certain skills. They
might not have a certain understanding and i B