WAG Internships?

[Redford]

Hello all,
for my studies a stay abroad of at least three months is mandatory (for language learning purposes). How we spend those months is up to us.
Those of you who have read a few of my posts or are familiar with German gymnastics will know that our system works differently from those in the US or UK. I have coached rec and compulsory level gymnastics for roughly five years now and had to fight hard for everything (coaching skills, education, practice time, equipment, support) and I am proud of what I accomplished.
However it has always been a little dream of mine to take a look into a "real" buisiness set up gym, see how it is run and to shadow and learn from higher level coaches.
So I was considering if I could do some kind of 3 months internship but I'm a little unsure about how to approach this.
Is this something you think your gym would consider? I'll need to live off something but I can hardly expect to get paid for such a short term commitment, can I? Are there going to be insurance issues?
I'm mainly looking for possibilities in the UK or Ireland, but everyone else is welcome to chime in too.

Thanks in advance!

 

[bogwoppit]

Hello all,
for my studies a stay abroad of at least three months is mandatory (for language learning purposes). How we spend those months is up to us.
Those of you who have read a few of my posts or are familiar with German gymnastics will know that our system works differently from those in the US or UK. I have coached rec and compulsory level gymnastics for roughly five years now and had to fight hard for everything (coaching skills, education, practice time, equipment, support) and I am proud of what I accomplished.
However it has always been a little dream of mine to take a look into a "real" buisiness set up gym, see how it is run and to shadow and learn from higher level coaches.
So I was considering if I could do some kind of 3 months internship but I'm a little unsure about how to approach this.
Is this something you think your gym would consider? I'll need to live off something but I can hardly expect to get paid for such a short term commitment, can I? Are there going to be insurance issues?
I'm mainly looking for possibilities in the UK or Ireland, but everyone else is welcome to chime in too.

Thanks in advance!

Would coaching at a summer camp work? IGC and Woodward both hire coaches from abroad. IGC has an amazing facility/

 

[Redford]

It's an option I will have in the back of my mind for if nothing else works out. It would certainly be a great experience and good fun.
However I'm looking more for a glimpse into everyday life and the training system of a regular gym.

 

[coachmolly]

I would check with different gyms or organizations to see if they have any leads. Gymnastics Ireland is a little bit smaller, so that might be a good place to start. They might be able to work something together where they arrange for you to stay with a family or another coach. It certainly doesn't hurt to ask. If there are any gyms in particular that you are thinking about I would go ahead and contact them directly.
That sounds like a great idea and could be fun for another gym to bring someone in.

 

[azara]

Many smaller gyms are family/community affairs, at least in Australia. If you're already a coach, you could always apply for a coaching job at some gyms and explain your situation. In Australia, most coaching jobs are casual and/or part time affairs, and the turnover is very quick. Three months is a short, but still reasonable, amount of time, as long as you tell them in advance.

In my experience, at least some gyms will be willing to help you out and if they're a particularly understaffed one, they might be grateful to have you around. This is especially true if you're willing to do office work/administration, this will free up the coaches, who in my experience often double as the administrators.

I'd do some careful research into internship laws as well. Don't let yourself be in a situation where you're an unpaid intern, and the gym is breaking the law by not paying you. That wouldn't end well. I'd highly recommend being gainfully employed somewhere.

 

[Vivianflips]

Many smaller gyms are family/community affairs, at least in Australia. If you're already a coach, you could always apply for a coaching job at some gyms and explain your situation. In Australia, most coaching jobs are casual and/or part time affairs, and the turnover is very quick. Three months is a short, but still reasonable, amount of time, as long as you tell them in advance.

In my experience, at least some gyms will be willing to help you out and if they're a particularly understaffed one, they might be grateful to have you around. This is especially true if you're willing to do office work/administration, this will free up the coaches, who in my experience often double as the administrators.

I'd do some careful research into internship laws as well. Don't let yourself be in a situation where you're an unpaid intern, and the gym is breaking the law by not paying you. That wouldn't end well. I'd highly recommend being gainfully employed somewhere.

It's also like this with smaller gyms here in America too. I think many of them would be open to having a visiting coach come in for just a few months. In my experience with small gyms, they always need extra sets of experienced hands!

 

[sun]

UC Berkeley hires coaches from outside of the country pretty frequently for their recreation and J.O. program (we have 2 coaches from Ireland, 2 coaches from Iran, and a gymnast from Finland at the moment), the Irish boys (lads?) are constantly raving about how much they've learned from senior coaches in such a short timeframe.

 

[Redford]

Thanks a lot for all the input, really appreciated!
I think I'll go ahead and contact Gymnastics Ireland first, see if they can recommend anything for my situation and then (after I survived my exams) I'll do some research into laws on internships/working abroad before I contact any particular gym.