New gym coach beaming with pride
Ormerod is back on the floor training young athletes
Christine Ormerod is back where she’s happiest, on the floor coaching young gymnasts.
The veteran coach is in her third week as Kawartha Gymnastics new head coach. She replaces Becky Ansell who left the club after 20 years to accept a full-time teaching contract in September.
Ormerod founded the Clarington Gymnastics Academy, now Galaxy Gymnastics, in 1999. Most recently she’s travelled the country as a consultant helping non-profit sports organizations to restructure.
“What I say to the athletes is I’m going to put in 110 per cent for you if you give me 110 per cent,” Ormerod said. “If you put in 50 per cent, I’ll put in 50 per cent. What you put into the sport is what you get out of it.”
Ormerod is a Kingston native but her late father Ronald Genge was from Peterborough. She has family here and that was one reason the job appealed to her. The COVID-19 pandemic was impacting her consulting work.
“I’m familiar with Kawartha Gymnastics. We had done some cross training when I had Clarington gymnastics with Kawartha. I was familiar with some of the coaches and the organization. It felt like the right fit.”
Replacing a coach who was in place for 20 years can be a challenge but Ormerod sees it as an opportunity to bring a fresh approach.
“I see what Becky has done over the past numerous years she’s been here but there’s always room for improvement,” she said.
“The staff have been very accepting and have made my transition into the role very welcoming. I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from coaches and athletes,” she added.
“The athletes are motivated and eager to learn. They take what I say to heart and are very respectful. They’re working hard and even in this short period of time I’ve seen dramatic changes. The morale of the gym has lifted and the work ethic has lifted,” Ormerod said.
“The kids stop me and tell me how proud they are that I’m working here with them and that I’m their coach. It almost brought a tear to my eye.”
She’s impressed by the athletes’ base of fundamental skills.
“Going forward I see there are some challenges because it’s a club with a lot of older athletes,” she said.
“It’s my challenge to restructure the competitive stream to make sure kids are in their right categories and have proper training technique as well as the staff. I want to filter the kids through a competitive, structured program that challenges them to lift the club and bring it to the next level.”
Heidi Collins, hired as the club’s first general manager in August, played a key role in hiring Ormerod, a Level 3 NCCP coach, to oversee 30 coaches and more than 600 athletes.
“Christine has a heavy amount of experience working in the non-profit sector which is interesting for us,” Collins said. “We feel strongly about our mission and values of serving the community.
“Having been a previous business owner herself is a tremendous asset. Not only does she understand all the technical aspects of the sport but she has this other side of business knowledge to make sure the club is operating successfully.”
Collins was the club administer for three years. Prior to moving to Peterborough in 2013 with husband Jesse Collins, who is a Lakefield native, she was director of UGot Active Kids a fitness and dance program in Toronto.
She founded Jump Rope Kawartha.