Hamilton Gymnastics Club’s Wendy Lucas has been praised by a major coaching charity for making a difference to people’s wellbeing.
A former gymnast, Wendy started helping out occasionally at Hamilton Gymnastics Club, initially at competitive level, but quickly found a passion in supporting young people at a participation level.
Now, she has been praised by UK Coaching, who have launched a ‘Born2Coach’ recruitment drive aimed at significantly boosting the coaching workforce by inspiring people to either become coaches, or urging those already doing so to enhance their abilities.
Wendy said: “I want to see kids in the sport forever. I am just entirely committed to helping young people into active lifestyles, to feel as happy as they can be, taking part in sport and ensuring everyone is included.
“That has to be the priority of coaching, and great coaching is about knowing sport isn’t just being the best – it’s running with your passion.
“For me, personally, coaching has helped improve my confidence level. The passion I have for the sport has helped my progress in that sense.
“In my experience, where you see young people embrace sport and feel their problems are going away when they take part, that’s the reward you get for coaching.”
And Wendy has encouraged people to consider taking on a coaching role, to have a similar impact on mental health and wellbeing as she devotes her life to “helping others love this amazing sport as much as I do.”
Wendy added: “We are always looking to take on more people, to bring enthusiastic coaches into the sport, where they have an amazing opportunity to develop themselves and discover what they are really capable of.
“I’m not sure I could be more passionate about it – if you love sport, then coaching is an amazing way to contribute in supporting people in your local community.”
UK Coaching CEO Mark Gannon said: “Wendy is a fantastic example of the UK’s incredible coaching workforce, who are essential to the happiness and wellbeing of the nation, as we recover from the pandemic.
“We are delighted to be working closely with British Gymnastics and six further sports to help encourage more aspiring coaches into the workforce.
“Coaches will be an important conduit for engaging a broader range of people from more communities in physical activity and sport, and we want to play our part in supporting this to help rebuild a more active, happier and healthier nation.”
If you would like to get involved in coaching within your community, visit ukcoaching.org/born2coach
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