Developing Young People
The father of the groom sat down at my table at the conclusion of his speech. His heartfelt stories relating to the bride and groom were entertaining and left tears in many eyes. Interesting from a tough a rugby man.
‘I cannot thank you and TriSkills enough for the life-skills and business you are building for my son,’ he said. 4 years ago, a young man at the end of his ‘compulsory’ education (year 12) met me for an interview regarding employment. He was so shy and withdrawn he was difficult to ‘read’, so we placed him into a training program for 6 months trial as a sports and gymnastics teacher.
His first lesson left me wondering if he actually spoke. So I stood beside him and said, ‘These are the 3 teaching points for this skill, tell the children, 1, 2 3. If you are not sure what to say (no answer) copy what I say word for word. ‘ This gymnastics lesson at St Finbar’s School marked a turning point, as the lead teacher of the program and I guided him step by step in fundamental teaching, management and feedback strategies.
‘Ryan doesn’t tell me everything, his dad told me; most of it I hear from the parents of his friends! When they ask me what it is that Ryan actually does and I tell them he owns and operates a TriSkills sports and gymnastics teaching franchise, they do not understand what that means. People belittle the concept, but do not see what I see. They know their children (who are university students) really have an amazing time working for Ryan, but they do not know the training, development and business skill my son has been involved in.’ he said.
Ryan owns TriSkills Illawarra. In his time with TriSkills he has undertaken Certificate IV in Recreation and Management, business management and human resources on the job training, and holds qualifications as a Gymnastics, Athletics and Rugby Coach. His business is set to expand with the introduction of a double-decker GymBus in March.
The Board and Executive team congratulate Ryan and Lara on their marriage, wish them success, love and all the support they seek.
Where Will Your Gymbus Journey Take You?
Success no stretch for Glen Iris gymnast
Taylor Tirahardjo - from Gymbus to Gold Medals
THIS Glen Iris school girl’s rhythmic gymnastic success began at a Gymbus Party.
Taylor Tirahardjo caught the eye of the host, despite having no training, who referred her to Prahran Rhythmic Gymnastics Specialist Centre.
Six years later, the 14-year-old Korowa student has returned from the Australian Rhythmic Championships with a gold medal in ball, two silver medals in team and rope, and two bronze medals in clubs and “all round”.
“I feel a great sense of accomplishment,” she said. “All the training’s paid off.”
She also won every apparatus at the state championships in May, has twice been selected for the national rhythmic gymnastics team, and has competed internationally in New Zealand, China, Malaysia, Romania and Italy.
Training for 22 hours over six days a week, the year 8 student says she avoids television to complete homework after training.
“I like the discipline. It keeps me fit and healthy,” she said.
“Once I stop (gymnastics) I don’t know what I’d do with myself, so I think I’ll be doing it for a long time.”
Published in the Stonnington Leader: 25 SEP 09 @ 07:00AM BY LUCY GRAHAM
ACHPER Victorian Branch Conference
The power of physical activity on the neurological system will come under the microscope at the upcoming Victorian Branch of ACHPER’s annual conference.
ACHPER Victoria hold one of the largest physical and sports education conferences in Australia on an annual basis, attracting a large range of quality sponsors and providing professional development for hundreds of physical education specialists.
The range of local, national and international presenters draws a wide variety of professionals in the excellent facilities of Monash University.
Loyal conference sponsor, Exercise Research Australia seeks quality interactive time with educators at all levels; providing Certificate 3 and 4 courses in fitness leadership, quality facilities for year 11 and 12 students undertaking physical education as a Higher School Certificate subject and school visits to their elite performance testing facility.
Lauren Mitchell: Started on Gymbus, Now Competes at National Championships
Gymnastics in Australia is currently enjoying it’s national championships in Perth for the Women’s and the men’s in Canberra. Perth is hosting both Women’s Artistic and the Rhythmic competitions.
Today Tonight in Perth had a short two segment production on the WAIS girls program highlighting the efforts put into their chosen sport by the gymnasts, parents and coaching staff. If you were lucky enough to see it i’m sure you were impressed by how it was put together. It’s great to see one of the hardest sports getting some deserved promotion and recognition.
Lauren Mitchell is back in Action in Perth tonight. I believe she’s competing with her brand new floor routine and bar routine. With recent injury minimizing training on impact apparatus (floor and vault), Mitchell has increased the difficulty of her bar routine making her even more competitive on the international scene. Good Luck Lauren and all the other competitors with your individual and teams competitions.
Lauren Mitchells new Floor Routine
If you’re in Perth, there are still two days left of competition. If you’re in Canberra, there are still a few more days left so support our gymnasts, both guys and gals. CLICK HERE for details.
University of Minnesota Intern Works With TriSkills
Instead of enrolling in multiple classes, I decided to enroll in an internship, and was paired with a company called TriSkills. Before arriving in Australia, the TriSkills website was my only source for knowing what I was going to be doing for my six week stay in Australia. The website was a good source, but since I had no idea how the primary school system in Australia worked, including the physical education system, I was slightly confused as to what I would be doing. However, within the first week of being in Australia, I quickly learned how my time with TriSkills was going to be spent
I started out my internship working mostly with Julie Amanatidis, my supervisor, in athletics such as high jump and shot put. I really enjoyed working with Julie because she has a contagious passion for her job. She appears to highly enjoy working with the children as well as care about their success in the athletics activity, gymnastics, or sport that she is teaching. Julie was also a great source of Australian information for me; we spent many breaks comparing the United States and Australia (we even pulled up Google Maps one day and I showed her where my home state of Iowa is!).
Another person that I worked with on a regular basis was Amanda Sturgeon. Most of my internship was spent traveling around to different schools every day, meeting new children and participating in new activities; however, Wednesdays were slightly different. Every Wednesday of my six week internship, I went to Eastlakes Primary School to teach gymnastics with Amanda, as well as Ben Creed, which was great for me because I was able to get to know the children that we taught. Amanda is a great TriSkills teacher, definitely one of my favorites; she has so much energy during her lessons, which allows the children to have fun while also doing hard work.
One of my most memorable days while working with TriSkills will definitely be “Pirate Island”, as Amanda called it. For the last lesson of the term, she put on a bandana and talked like a pirate, and even set up the equipment in a cross shape. She even allowed the children to “walk the plank” and jump into a sea of sharks. The children loved it!
Working for TriSkills was definitely a new experience for me in many ways. Before coming to Australia, I was strictly a ball sports athlete. I knew nothing about gymnastics or dance, not to mention anything about teaching it, but the funny thing is that the activity that I taught the most while I was here was gymnastics. Although it is a relatively simple introductory level of gymnastics, it was amazing for me to learn how to teach the sport.
In America gymnastics is, to my knowledge, only taught in private organizations; it is never taught in the school physical education courses. So for me to come to Australia and teach gymnastics in a primary school classroom is fun. As well as spending a lot of time teaching gymnastics, I spent a lot of time at Carnivals, which were definitely my favorite days even though they could sometimes be hectic, or should I say organized chaos. No matter how chaotic, I always enjoyed them. It was great to be able to spend a day outside, watching the children compete and have fun in the activities that they had been practicing all term.
My experience as an intern for TriSkills was one that I will truly never forget. I came to Australia having little to no knowledge of Australia in general, or of the Australian primary school system which I was going to be working in. But now, as I look back on my six weeks as an intern for TriSkills, I feel I have gained knowledge and skills that will be very beneficial in my future. I have had the opportunity to work with children of many different cultures in many different athletic activities, and I have also had the chance to observe and take in multiple different teaching styles. All of the instructors that I had the pleasure of working with were welcoming and helpful. After only a few weeks I was allowed to begin truly interacting with the children, and I would like to thank all whom I worked with for helping me and welcoming me into your TriSkills team. I feel that I have become a better teacher and coach after this experience, and I will take all that I have learned here back to my future teaching career in America.
As advice to any future interns, I would like to say that you will have an amazing experience here in Sydney as well as with TriSkills. You will have daily activity with children and athletics and I feel that it will truly make you a better teacher or coach. Throughout your internship, be willing to learn new sports, new teaching styles, and have an open mind for everything. Having an open mind goes not only for your time spent working, but with everything you do while you are here in Sydney. It is an amazing city that has a lot to offer. Enjoy it while you have it, six weeks goes fast!
Brittany McNabb, University of Minnesota Intern at TriSkills Athletics Carnival
Australian Catholic University (ACU) Home Page
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