Coaches are the ones constantly providing advice, life lessons and imparting priceless experience acquired through their own journey. They shy away from the limelight, allowing their athletes to bask in the glory and achievements and truly are the unsung heroes.

In the spirit of Coach Appreciation month, Singapore Gymnastics (SG) would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all the coaches who have worked tirelessly with their athletes in their pursuit of sporting excellence. In particular, we wish to feature and honour four coaches who not only do their best working with athletes, they have also stepped up to take lead in the development of coaching excellence in their own sporting disciplines. We caught up with these coach developers to share a couple words which would hopefully inspire more coaches to becoming community leaders.

Let us join in the effort to salute these amazing people for their tireless contribution, passion and commitment in shaping our athletes as well as coaches for the future, and ultimately, shaping a sporting Singapore! #cheer4coaches 

Bianka Panova

Bianka is a well-known figure in the world of rhythmic gymnastics. She has been the Head Coach of rhythmic gymnastics teams in Italy and Belgium as well as the National Coach for several other countries like Switzerland, Spain and the United Kingdom. Before her coaching career, Bianka was also successful as an athlete. She has gone to countless international competitions and achieved astounding feats: 9 gold World’s medals, 5 gold European medals and 2 World Cup gold medals. 

In 2015, she decided to relocate to Singapore and is of now, the co-founder and creative director of the Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy, which aims to use rhythmic gymnastics to empower youth and unlock their full potential. Since coming on board the SG team of Learning Facilitator and Coach Mentors, Bianka has been taking up every opportunity at advancing herself as a Coach Developer, to better provide ongoing support, advice and encouragement to the upcoming coaches.

Q: What does coaching mean to you?
I love my work and I absolutely do not take it as a job. I take it as more of an art, which is probably why I can stay all-day long in the gym without getting bored or tired. I love every aspect of coaching, from the shy smiles of the young gymnasts when they first begin and when they start to build their self-esteem and confidence later on in  the training process. 

Q: We hear you are a firm believer that there is more to gymnastics than just the skills. Could you share a bit more about that?
As a coach, we are responsible for the physical and mental development of our athletes; we have to work not only for the physical skills but also their corresponding strong and healthy mindset. If we, as a coach, posses the art to ask the right questions, then, our athletes would know why they are in the gym, what they have to do, and how they have to work in order to succeed. This way, they will learn to make the correct choices by themselves. 

Q: How has the transition from coaching to coach development been for you?
Coach development is a new area which I have been exploring for the last few years and I discovered that it is very different than working with the young athletes. It is challenging but fulfilling. 

As an adult, we have already built our own working style, principles and our own philosophies, but I believe when we fellow coaches share experiences, talk openly about different challenges and the way we manage them, we can definitely enrich our professional knowledge. This way, we can be more useful to the sports development and more helpful to the sports community in Singapore. 

Q: To new and experienced coaches alike, is there a message you would like to share?
Imagine your athlete like a white canvas at the front of you. And you are the artist, ready to draw the masterpiece of a lifetime, what do you want to look like? What would you want to see on this canvas? What do you want to engrave in the athletes’ mind? Everything depends on us. Our own moral standards and integrity will determine our own coaching behaviour and our own coaching style, because to be a coach, it is not just a job, it is a life-calling. 

Coach appreciation month is still ongoing and everyone is welcomed to join us in expressing appreciation to your coaches with the #SGThankYouCoach and #cheer4Coaches campaign so keep the shout outs coming!