Josh Jefferis: from Olympian to Accredited Coach

One of Australia’s most successful male gymnasts, Joshua Jefferis, has recently successfully completed the Advanced Coaching Principles course as he continues his progression in becoming one of the most well-rounded coaches in Australian gymnastics.

“The Advanced Coaching course was excellent, it took my time completing it and it was time very well spent. I think that anyone that takes their coaching seriously should definitely do this course,” Jefferis said.

“One of the best things about the coaching course that I found was the planning, I found that breaking your calendar down, and using periodisation and progressive overload through planning, was one of the most useful lessons that I have learnt from this course”

As an elite gymnast Jefferis' crowning moment came when he competed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. With a sterling performance,  he completed clean routines on all six apparatuses in both qualifying and the finals to finish 19^th in the All Around, earning him the title of best Men's Artistic Gymnastics All Around Olympic result in Australian history.

Beyond life as a competitive gymnast Jefferis also found the time to complete a Masters of Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland. Since graduation in 2013 he has consistently worked with gymnasts in some capacity, be it as the physio for Queensland at National Championships, or through other work at private practices.

Like many who ignite a love for gymnastics from a young age, the flame still burns bright in Josh and it was his love for the sport that lead him back into the gym to begin coaching, adding a third string to his bow as a student of gymnastics, to compliment his knowledge as an athlete and a medical professional.

His genuine passion to help gymnasts at all levels of training and experience is strong and the Advanced Coaching Principles course has equipped him with the tools to further extend and develop his ability to pass on his years of experience to the next generations.

“I really like being involved directly with athletes and people, helping them achieve their goals, whether they are to compete in the Olympic Games or to do their first handstand, that’s what really inspired me to become a coach,” Jefferis continued.

“This course got me learning about the physical pre-requisites specific to certain skills, including stretches and strengthening exercises, and it helped me as a coach to break down skills into smaller components and pass them onto my gymnasts in a more progressive way”

“Now I thought that was fantastic because in my experience as a senior gymnast it was almost placed on the gymnast to come up with new skill drills and progression.  It’s important to reiterate to coaches that it’s their job to break skills down into smaller components, so that athlete can achieve these steps successfully and then combine them to master skills, rather than just trying the whole skill unsuccessfully.”

We love gymnastics and it’s a really tough competitive sport, but at the end of the day it is the gymnasts that need to benefit. It is this idea that is at the core of both Jefferis mentality as a coach and Gymnastics Australia’s focus when creating and developing our coaching courses.

“Gymnastics Australia has done a phenomenal job, I worked hard with the Advanced Coaching Principles course because I could see that I would benefit a lot from it and most importantly my kids would benefit from it, which is what coaching is all about.”

Jefferis is attending the FIG Level 2 Academy Course at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra this week as a candidate for the MAG program.

For more info on the Advanced Coaching Principles course or any other coaching courses available with Gymnastics Australia simply clickhere and start increasing your knowledge today!