Kawartha Gymnastics head coach praised for producing champions
Becky Ansell recreational club’s most successful coach ever
Kawartha Gymnastics has been a successful recreational club since it opened in 1971 but in recent years it’s become a force at the competitive level.
When you ask athletes and parents they’ll tell you the major reason for that improvement is head coach Becky Ansell.
Jill Gilders recalls eight years ago she was the only Kawartha gymnast to qualify for provincial championships. This year, the club produced 10 including two provincial champions in Claire Woodgate and Lilly Ferrier.
Last year, Cassidy Connelly became the club’s first Eastern Canadian champion. Four of the past five years Ansell has been a Team Ontario coach and had one of her athletes compete at Eastern Canadians also including Woodgate, Hailey de Wolde and Gilders. Woodgate and Connelly won gold on floor and Gilders a gold on beam at Eastern Canadians. This year, the club had six athletes with top five overall placings at provincials.
“To be such a small club and have that recognition is fantastic,” Ansell said. “They’ve worked really hard. I’ve coached Claire for three or four years and the rest for seven. I’ve seen them grow up and come along in the sport. To have that accomplishment at the end of their time is great to see.”
Gilders now coaches alongside Ansell and credits her for the club’s success.
“Becky is super dedicated,” Gilders said. “She gives everything she has to the athletes and their parents, for that matter. She has really good attention to detail and knows how to fix things to help the kids be as successful as they possibly can. It helps that she is a judge as well. She really understands the level system.”
Connelly points to Ansell as a major factor in her championship.
“I had the pleasure of having Becky as my coach for seven years,” said Connelly. “She's an extremely dedicated coach filled with wisdom. She knows how to get the best out of her athletes. She wants each one of us to reach our personal best. My success as a gymnast is a direct result of her commitment.”
Cassidy’s mother Sue Connelly, a member of the club’s executive, says Ansell is the most successful coach the club has had.
“She loves the kids genuinely and wants to be here. She likes to see them succeed,” said Sue Connelly. “She’s formed some great friendships with these kids some of whom she’s coached since they were three or four and now they're teenagers and going off to university. She was their coach and mentor and now has become their friend.”
Ansell, 31, grew up in Lindsay competing with the Victoria Vivants before attending Trent University in 2000 and began coaching at Kawartha. While she competed at Ontario Summer Games in 2000, Ansell admits many of her athletes have reached higher levels than herself. Her calling has been coaching which makes sense given her full-time profession is as a teacher in the Trillium Lakelands board.
“I have put a lot of effort and energy into this gym and building this program,” Ansell said. “One thing which has helped their success is the consistency of me being in this position. They know what my expectations are.”
Gilders says communication is a key to Ansell's success. She has each gymnast keep a journal they share with the coach.
“They can write how their day was or she can write them a message so they can stay on the same page,” Gilders said.
Ansell strives for a clear message.
“I expect and I demand clean form and doing things properly and tight,” Ansell said. “There is no point in doing something if it’s not to the best of your ability. I expect they are going to always put forth that effort.
“The fact I’ve had them so long, I can read their minds now,” she said, letting out a loud laugh.
Gilders says Ansell believes in building a club from the foundation.
“She's a huge supporter of the recreational, the precomp, the invitational. She sees value in all of that and really works to help all those areas be as successful as they can,” Gilders said.
“I'd like to see our numbers increase,” Ansell said. “I’m working to recruit more coaches and more athletes into the competitive program this year so we can build.”
The club boasts more than 250 recreational athletes and 30 competitive. It’s hosting a yearend show, showcasing the entire club, Saturday starting at 9 a.m. There will also be a barbecue.