Recently I was invited to be part of Gymnastics Ireland’s first Annual Conference. …
Opening the conference was the key note speaker, Paul Hall, Coach to two time Olympian and triple Olympic medalist Louis Smith.
The proud coach talked us through Louis Smith’s road to London 2012 and what it took to win his silver Olympic Pommel Horse medal. He explained it took the following:
12 years
3456 training days
13,000 training hours
800,000 double leg circles of the Pommel Horse… some key information that he provided:
Gymnastics must be fun
Coaches cannot motivate from a sitting position
Elite gymnasts “must learn until automatic”
Coaches teach “lessons for life”
Coaches need to be prepared to take risks and think outside the box
Coaching is “all about communication”
Elite coaching is “an obsessive commitment to a near impossible dream”
Psychological profile of a good gymnast include high self esteem, motivation by failure, motivation to achieve success
Paul was awarded Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE).
Gymnastics Coaching.com 