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PCYC coaches have been travelling to the Northern Territory to teach Gymnastics to remote Indigenous communities as part of a scholarship program with Gymnastics Northern Territory and Gymnastics NSW.

Gymnastics NSW has shared the experience of coach Matthew Archer noting “when Matthew Archer became a gymnastics coach, he never dreamed his job would take him on adventures through hot springs in the Northern Territory.

“The PCYC coach, who teaches gymnastics at the Goulburn gym, says he was ‘super lucky’ to be a scholarship recipient last year.”

The 33-year-old travelled to Mataranka for a week and spent another week in Arlparra, where he taught recreational gymnastics and FreeG to remote Indigenous communities.

Archer advised “I found that I learned a lot from those kids. Watching these kids perform gymnastics skills, and giving it all a go, it gave me confidence back home in the gym.”

Guided by NT coach and coordinator Wendy Fry, Archer learned how to adapt lessons using the available equipment, and how to get creative with skill progressions.

“I was also able to quickly build rapport with the kids," Archer added.

Experiencing a different culture was also enriching.

“I have a lot of respect for the Indigenous culture, and I wanted to learn,” he said. “To be invited into their community was pretty special. Especially as I’ve been invited back again.”

On one trip back, Archer took some donated rugby league jerseys to pass along, which delighted the children.

Archer shared "we've formed really good bonds. And they have also connected with the wider Goulburn community - we had the local police donating rugby league footies."

Archer has now taken his experience back to his gymnastics classes in NSW and advised "it enabled me to be able to adapt and modify with the equipment that I have which ended up improving my school lessons. I was able to do much more with what I had. It’s improved my coaching and teaching, and the travel is amazing."

The First Nations Remote Coaching Scholarship is available through Gymnastics NSW, Gymnastics NT and PCYC. 

Image. First Nations Remote Gymnastics Coaching Scholarship

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