DCSIMG

Jumping for joy: Northampton Boys Gymnastic Club


Published on Thursday 21 May 2009 10:50

Insight into the county's sporting talent.

It takes real dedication and enthusiasm to train for 13 hours a week, travel the length of the country competing and spend the summer performing display routines... all at the age of nine.

While most young boys are happy to kick a football around in the park or play computer games after school, the members of Northampton Boys Gymnastic Club have a different way of spending their free time.

They love nothing better than jumping, spinning and flipping on a range of gym equipment and see it as fun way of spending time with their friends.

"I like competing and winning stuff," said 12-year-old squad member Matthew Bees.

"When I first started I thought of it as a hobby but now I am in the squad I probably want to do it professionally," he added.

The Northampton club dates back to 1982 and is the only dedicated boys facility which provides gymnastic coaching in the county.

The 120 members range from age four to 15 and many of the coaches are former attendees of the club, which is now based at Benham sports centre in Moulton Park.

One of the club's most notable former members is British gymnast Daniel Keatings, who recently won silver and bronze medals at the European Championships.

Although there is a strong competitive streak in the Northampton Boys Gymnastic Club some of the boys attend for fun, whereas others are in the development squad and the more experienced members compete at a national level.

Earlier this month four county boys competed as part of an East Midlands squad at the National Setwork (CORR) Championships in Newcastle.

Matthew was in a team which won bronze at level five, and a team of Northamptonshire nine-year-olds Charlie Barker, William Cox and Peter Ward, came fourth at level two.

Meanwhile Peter scored a perfect 10 on the vault and qualified to spend a week training with the national squad.

The youngster, who has been doing gymnastics for more than four years, is excited about the opportunity to train with the national team.

He added: "I like learning new moves as it get s a bit boring practising the old ones."

But he admitted: "If you don't do it for a few weeks you get tired again when you do it."

And it is not just the sport itself that he enjoys, as he sees it as a chance to get together with mates.

"At training you have got everybody here. You have got all your friends here."

William agreed: "It is about having a great laugh."

But keeping young boys interested in gymnastics is a tough challenge particularly when they start secondary school and have more distractions as they get older.

And it is an increasingly competitive environment as head coach Karen Rate explained.

"Everything is a higher level now than it used to be. You are competing against clubs with specialist facilities. When I first got into it, it was a hobby for boys.

"Now you have to keep up to date with everything and the scoring is more technical. Now everybody at the competition is absolutely spot on. The standards are much higher. Lots of clubs also have involvement from foreign coaches."

Nine-year-old competitor Charles, still battles with his nerves at each contest.

He said: "I get really nervous before a competition. Sometimes you mess up and it is really embarrassing."

"There is a lot of psychological preparation," admitted Kate.

But the boys have the help of 10 coaching staff along with their parents, many of whom are heavily involved in the club.

Karen, became involved more than 20 years ago when her two sons were attending.

Despite having no gymnastic experience she was asked to help out and eventually became head coach.

She said: "Soon after I started helping out my oldest son packed it up and my youngest moved to trampolining and competed all over the world."

But Karen stuck with the club and her dedication saw her win an East Midlands Sports Hero award three years ago.

So what does Karen think it takes, to be a great gymnast?

"You do need to be flexible and fairly strong but I would say it is five per cent talent and 95 per cent attitude. It doesn't matter how talented they are if they are not committed and don't have a competitive streak."

And having the support of other club members is a great incentive for the younger ones.

Karen explained: "The older and younger train side by side. The younger ones have someone to look up to. The older ones are good at mentoring the young ones. You don't have to tell them to, they just do it."

The gym club is currently trying to raise thousands of pounds to replace tired equipment including crash mats that can cost more than 1,000 each.

"Ideally we would like to be in our own place but it is difficult to find somewhere big enough," said Karen.

New members are always welcome. For more information email kazrate@hotmail.com


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