Next Generation of coaches set to shine

After an extensive application process, Gymnastics Australia has today announced the 10 highly touted female coaches who will take part in the NextGEN Accelerated Coaching Program.

The two-year pilot program, led by Gymnastics Australia’s National Elite Coach Manager, Michelle De Highden, aims to develop the leadership, interpersonal, intrapersonal and skillsets of the high performance coaches working in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics.

In partnership with staff from the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and the University of Queensland, participants will focus on a combination of experiential learning, workshops, mentoring, discussions and individualised learning for each of the candidates

The program will also see the 10 participants work with other major Sporting Organisations such as Tennis Australia, Cricket Australia, Swimming Australia and the AFL to complement and enhance established learning outcomes currently delivered for high performance and elite coaches in Australian sport.

Speaking about the program, Gymnastics Australia’s National Performance Director, Andrew Logan, highlighted the importance of experiential learning, and mentoring as being key contributors to effective coach development.

 “A key objective of the program is to elevate the standards and expectations of our coaches by giving them the opportunity to collaborate with other high performance coaches,” said Logan.

"Combining experiential learning with knowledge-based learning will not only challenge our coaches, but also provide them with a greater skill set to work with their athlete’s to help them achieve their goals.

“This program would not have been made possible without the support of Sport Australia and their Women Leaders in Sport Grant, the AIS and The University of Queensland.”

Culminating in December 2022, the ten coaches will be privy to five high-level phases of the program, including participating in camps at the National Training Centre in Canberra and undergoing in-depth knowledge-based learning at The University of Queensland.

The coaches will play integral roles in the development and preparation of WAG athletes leading in to Tokyo and Birmingham 2022.

Congratulations to the following coaches: