welcome David Kenwright

Passionate, dedicated, serious, focused, David Kenwright is a model elite women’s gymnastics coach. He feels the coach / athlete relationship can be as sacred as the parent / athlete relationship — the kids trust you with their lives.

Originally from Manchester, England, David had long been a fixture in Vancouver, British Colombia. His recent move to my town, icy Calgary, Alberta, is a big leap.

I want to welcome David. His influence will be felt throughout our region, but most strongly at his new club, Calgary Gymnastics Centre. (Home gym of Adam Wong.)

David can be a harsh critic of inefficiencies in our amateur sport system and does not suffer fools gladly. If he could change only one thing in the Canadian model — it would be to add compulsories.

I appreciate David’s candour. With a wealth of international coaching experience, twice Olympic Coach, he knows of what he speaks. He is coach to Kate Richardson, Canada’s best ever Canadian female gymnast.

I enjoyed David’s recent bars clinic for age group gymnasts. Key points included:

emphasize straight arms even with developmental gymnasts

be very cautious and exacting when teaching flyaway

he feels flexibility is only about 15% trainable

be demanding on correct body position (“shaping”)

core body conditioning is critical

gymnastics is a dangerous activity (read the warning labels on the equipment)

I am pleasantly surprised that a philosopher coach like David Kenwright, who sees the big picture, still chooses to coach high performance gymnastics — a monumental, under-respected challenge. I wish him all the best. Everyone in our Province will benefit from his example.

For a sample of David’s coaching style, I edited video clips from his presentation on introducing backward giant swing. Of course he teaches it on a men’s bar with safety straps. Emphasis on shortening the body on the upswing to the “candle position”.

Click PLAY or watch the video on YouTube.