Navigating change: Moving groups

There are some key points during the year where we look to review groups and ensure that everyone is in the right place for them. Each time we do this we are learning through the responses we get from parents when these emails go out and we very much appreciate this can be difficult for young people and their families to navigate.

With this in mind please familiarise yourself with the information below that we have split in to 3 sections as we appreciate these changes can affect parents as well as children but are made based on the children’s level alongside the available club/coaching resources.

Parent perspective:

From the conversations we have had we have learnt that all of the following points are relevant in these decisions from a parent perspective:

• The initial response from parents can often be linked to logistics for families with these changes e.g. multiple siblings / work – we appreciate this isn’t always easy to navigate when we are asking your child to change training days or times.

• The knock on effect that these changes can have on other activities that they do – e.g. other sport commitments on the days they aren’t in gym may make it difficult to change training days

  
  

Both of the above can cause frustrations and other challenging emotions in general as parents aren’t in control of the decision and are asked to adapt and navigate the changes. Because of this we do ask that you pause and give yourself 24-48hrs before responding when we share group change information that impacts your child.

• Please ask questions if you are struggling to understand the decision the club/coaches have made. We appreciate that you are their to advocate for your child but we would also encourage them to come to you and us with questions (please don’t make assumptions about how they will feel based on how you are feeling about the change)

• But please bear in mind that this doesn’t mean going back on the changes that we have proposed as these have been decided based on a variety of things (see club / coach perspective below).

Gymnast perspective:

• The whole idea of change can be overwhelming and can sometimes lead to emotional responses as we get our heads around the impact of the changes.

• Leaving friends and moving into groups where you don’t know the coaches or gymnasts as well may feel overwhelming.

• Moving groups may bring different emotions for you, it may be a positive / exciting change, or you may be feeling sad / worried about the change. Working through these will help you take the first step in adapting to the change.

• Navigating change is an awesome life skill to learn – the one constant in life is change so knowing how it affects you and how to adapt will be really helpful.

• You are not alone – we are here to support the changes in the best way that we can.

Club / coach perspective

As individual coaches and as a club as a whole, there are a number of things that we need to take in to account as we piece groups together and find the best space for each child. Here are some of the main points:

• Finding the right level of group for the competitions that each gymnast is working towards.  

• Coach levels and availability, balanced with the needs of individual children and collective groups.

• Being mindful of group sizes and the expectations we are putting on coaches to work effectively if gymnasts are progressing at different speeds.

"Change is inevitable"

"The disruption it can bring is both an inconvenience and an opportunity"

"Growth in these moments is optional"