Welcome Back to Tumbling!
I want to take a moment to express my admiration for every athlete in our program. This year has been extremely disruptive to our training (to say the least), and MCA athletes have shown a remarkable level of dedication to their training in the nearly 6 months since we initially closed our doors.
A special shout-out also needs to go out to all our parents and guardians. Without your continued support there would be no MCA program, and we are immensely grateful to you all for sticking with the gym throughout these turbulent times.
As a significant number of our athletes will be returning to tumbling this week, I wanted to offer a few tips to make the transition back as smooth as possible:
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
While MCA coaches and staff have done their best to provide a strong online training program, nothing is quite the same as being in the gym. MCA classes will be following the return to training guidelines set out by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), with a return to full tumbling skills taking place over a 7-week period. Coaches will help athletes recover their strength, flexibility and confidence over these weeks, so as to avoid injuries and mental blocks. Nobody wants our athletes back to full training capacity more than the coaches, but we are committed to this return being as safe and fun as possible.
Talk to Your Coaches
As this is the longest amount of time many of us have gone without seeing each other, coaches may not be fully updated on any injuries you are carrying or concerns you are having. Please feel free to communicate with staff regarding any issues or concerns, as this will help us to provide you with the best tumbling experience possible.
You WILL Recover Your Skills
Athletes have put in too many hours to have lost their skills over the lockdown. Any issues with performing old skills will disappear once athletes have recovered their strength, flexibility, and fitness. Please try not to worry if the first few classes feel a bit difficult, it will not take long before everyone is back on form.
Nobody is Expecting Perfection
MCA coaches are all former (or current) athletes themselves, so we understand that coming back to training after so much time off can be a daunting task. None of us will be expecting things to be “Comp ready” in the coming weeks, so just relax and enjoy being back in the gym. We are here to help you, so don’t worry if tumbling skills are messy at first. We are simply happy to have you back in the gym, and we are looking forward to working with you to get back on form over the next 7 weeks.
See you in the gym!