Dieses ist härter als i-Gedanke!

I've talked a lot about how much I love Germany, but I did have an ulterior motive for going. One of my goals while working for my circus was to take advantage of being in Europe, specifically my proximity to Germany, and get my coaching certification for German wheel. Well, after a year on tour it was time to stop thinking about it and actually go out and do it.

I'm very fortunate to have some great contacts in the athletic community of German wheel. As such, even though I missed the official training camps, they had no problem with me coming in when I was available. The three weeks off between Besançon and Elbeuf seemed the perfect time. So, after my sejour in Berlin, I set out to Taunusstein to get whipped into coaching shape!

And get whipped into shape I would.

Coaching German wheel is hard. Really hard. Especially when the kids you're working with use wheels bigger than your own. I'm a little lady. There were many instances where I couldn't really do what was required of me because I just couldn't reach!

And spirals... dear Lord, spotting spirals is hard. There were days where I would come home so discouraged and I thought I'd never be able to get it right. I told myself that at least things would go better with straight lines.

But no! Not being able to reach is one thing. Imagine, then, spotting the wheel with one hand, the gymnast with the other and then trying to give the wheel the necessary momentum to keep going by pushing it with your foot! All at the same time!

Again, there were nights where I came home terribly discouraged.

But I persevered.

And I can never thank the girls I worked with enough. So patient. Not only could I not really help them in way of correction (when spotting spirals I was way too busy with the wheel to see their bodies), but often times I prevented them from doing the move properly. But they told me what I did wrong and slowly, I learned.

By the end of the week, I was coaching like a champ. True, I still have a ways to go until I become as skilled as those working at the club. But then, I don't have the experience of 15+ years as an athlete behind me to lean on.

I spent a solid 25 hours in the gym plus at least another 15 spent strictly on studying the theory, history, and rules of the sport. By the end of the week, I thought my head would explode.

And now, I can proudly say that I am a bonafide rhoenrad coach as certified by the IRV!

So... who wants to learn?

Through the Looking Glass

When I agreed to coach at the Lido back in November, I had no idea that the experience would impact me so deeply. I figured I would go there, teach someone a few new tricks and earn some extra cash on the side. Don't get me wrong, I took the job seriously, but having coached in the past, I didn't expect this experience to be all that different from my previous coaching experiences.

What I wasn't prepared for was having waves of insight knock me over. You see, more than any other time in my life, I could really see myself in another person.

I've been in my student's place. A new coach arrives, works you harder than your regular coach normally does, changes your technique, throws new skills at you... you want to learn, there's no question, but your body screams out in pain from the new and sudden bruises, the bumps, and the general ache of overwork. I remember going over figures, constantly smacking that metal bar into my already bruised abdomen. My hands raw and red. And still, no matter how badly I wanted it, not being able to get the move. I remember that after forty hours of one particular workshop, I just started bawling and couldn’t stop. I couldn’t take it anymore and I broke.

And my student got frustrated too. Moves she had been doing fine the day before, the week before, the month before suddenly eluded her. I explained that it was normal. Her bad habits were fighting the new technique and the mixed signals were messing everything up. It would pass and would all work out in the long run.

But she was angry with me. Suddenly, I doubted myself and the corrections I was giving. I was lucky enough that this girl uses the same size wheel that I do. However, hers is far from a traditional wheel and I couldn’t do a damn thing on it. I would return to the theatre after class and try the moves myself, confirming that, yes, you do in fact need to pull with the left arm and not the right, and yes, your arm is fully extended, and yes, it sure as hell does work better my way.

I can’t help but wonder, when I was in her shoes back in Montreal, did I give my guest coaches so much attitude? When they told me that I wasn’t pushing hard enough, did I contradict them and tell them that I was pushing as hard as I could? Or that my legs were indeed straight? My core solid? It’s all a little hazy in memory, and while I know that to a certain degree, I did whine about this and that, I think the submissive 12-year-old gymnast in me basically took everything that was said to me and considered it an absolute truth.

Which may explain why, after explaining to my student that it was important to keep her wheel tightened as it would affect and potentially hinder her ability to execute her movements, her neglecting to so irked me so much. I remember going out and buying new shoes because my World Champion trainer suggested they would be better for me. This kid couldn’t even be bothered to tighten her wheel once a day? She tightened it after our first class and never again because it took her 15 minutes and used a bunch of duct tape.

Sigh…

Suddenly, I realize that I’ve switched to seeing myself through the eyes of my coach. I can totally relate to what my student is going through, but now I also understand what I must have put my own coaches through. Whatever coaching experience I may have, I’ve never reached that place. I’ve never had that dual understanding. And to be perfectly honest, it freaks me out. I’m still trying to make heads or tails of what it all means and how it will influence me as a coach and as a student in the future.

In the end, the only thing I am certain of is that this all feels right. I think a new door may have just opened.

What? No Apple?

For the past little while I have been dropping hints about new and exciting career opportunities. Well, the first step in what I hope to be an enduring adventure is just about up and I feel about ready to share.

For the last week, I have been teaching at the Lido circus school here in Toulouse. For me, this is quite an honour, and just plain cool. I was, of course, a circus student not too long ago. As a student of circus, I was made aware of other well reputed circus schools around the world. To find myself now teaching at one is pretty mind blowing. I suppose it seems silly, but it makes me feel that much more professional and that much more like I'm leading a successful career.

The experience has also been incredibly powerful on a personal level. I've coached before, but nothing like this. I've always worked with young kids (between five and eleven) on a mostly recreational level. When I coached Kindergym (beginner's gymnastics) I never did the coaching workshop and hadn't actually done gymnastics for a number of years. And while I could do all the tricks, I had no real memory of the learning process and therefore no memory of the key hints a coach would provide. Plus, when it comes to working with five-year-olds, the coach pretty much physically manipulates the child through a lot of the movements.

Then there was cheerleading. Yeah, I had cheered for six years by the time I started coaching, and I was certainly old enough to know what was what and remember the way I had learned the basics. Plus I actually did the coaching workshop this time. But there were three of us coaching ten girls. And a lot of cheering is teaching choreography, which was a shared responsibility, and as for the pyramids... well... I could give the flyers first hand advice, but I didn't have that same insider knowledge with the porters.

And now, here I am being asked to teach something that I not only do in the here and now, but also something I'm very good at. I remember all (most) of the great tips that have been passed on to me from the various coaches I've had the good fortune of working with, plus the secrets I've figured out on my own along the way. Plus, my student would be an adult working toward a professional level! And frankly, when it comes to German wheel, I know what I'm doing.

So to find myself being asked to give a stage was very exciting, but also, mildly terrifying. You see, as much as I know what I'm doing, I've never coached wheel. The only time I ever really tried was during my first year of circus school. My boyfriend at the time also did German wheel and asked me to spot this one move. Already, I was terrified of the wheel coming toward me (those things are big) and was unsure of the height he needed for the move in question and would basically stop the wheel every single time.

Not too successful.

Having only that under my belt, I was a little nervous going in. But then, this girl I would be working with... she's never had a coach except the acro coach who would sometimes step in despite having no knowledge of wheel technique whatsoever. So really, how advanced could she be?

It turns out she's advanced enough to deflate my ego a smidge. Or at least, provide me with more of a challenge than I was expecting. I have one class remaining and while I'm looking forward to having my mornings back (coaching in the early mornings plus shows at night has been brutal), I think I'm going to miss it. But if I've learned anything (and I have, and will be sharing those things in the near future), it's that I really like coaching wheel. Its a good thing too, considering what the spring has in store...

But these are stories for another time.