Coach Scholarship place is perfect 18th birthday surprise for Amelia

Amelia Bailey from Buckley Gymnastics Club had an extra surprise on her 18th birthday earlier this month – after learning she had been accepted onto the Welsh Gymnastics Coach Scholarship programme for 2023/24.

She also found out the news on her special day on January 20th and made it a double celebration!

“I was so excited to hear that I’d got a place on the scholarship program!” beamed women’s artistic coach Amelia, who hails from Mold, Flintshire.

“I’m thankful for this opportunity and looking forward to improving my coaching skills and achieving my coaching goals with the help of the programme.”

Following the success of the inaugural Welsh Gymnastics Coach Scholarship programme delivered in 2020, the programme is returning in 2023.

The main aims of the programme are to identify, develop and support coaching expertise across all stages of athlete development, in line with our Performance Strategy.

The Scholarship programme will comprise of a selection of workshops, group activities, in addition to some bespoke opportunities, based on the individuals’ needs and identified areas for development.

“We have a fantastic group of individuals selected onto the programme again this year,” said Holly Broad, Performance Programme Manager for Welsh Gymnastics.

“I’m looking forward to supporting the coaches on their journey and excited to follow their progress.”

The Coach Scholarship programme has already helped coaches within the gymnastics community in Wales progress further with their coaching.  

Laura Edwards from Olympus was one of the coaches who were part of the inaugural cohort.

She said: “Welsh Gymnastics put together a series of zooms with all of my other fellow scholars, and this definitely became the most valuable part of my time on the programme.

“The growth mindset lectures/discussions especially, were the most valuable. I was really able to learn more about myself and how I can apply myself better as a coach to get the best out of my gymnasts, as well as understanding what type of mindsets my gymnasts may have, in order to help them achieve their own goals.

“Expanding my knowledge on mindset has vastly helped with my coaching development and this wouldn’t have happened without this programme.”