The importance of peer role models when creating a club culture

Over the past 22 months, our club was shut down three times by the government. Each time we reopened fewer members came back. We had a large influx of new members who were unaccustomed to our club philosophy and expectations.

Establishing our training culture was made a lot easier when we had role models who led and guided the newcomers. It was harder in the younger groups where we had good gymnasts with quiet personalities. It was even harder when the children had to be kept distanced from each other. Here are some thoughts on how we have managed to come back stronger.

Damian Hughes in his book, The Barcelona Way, talks about ‘Cultural Architects’ and ‘Cultural Assassins’.

• The architects help shape behaviours and expectations.
• The assassins undermine the coaching staff and cause disharmony.

Whilst we didn’t have any assassins, we lacked architects in several of the classes and it was much harder to coach.

Our club has 3 guiding principles: Turn Up, Stand Tall and Try Hard.

There are also some unwritten rules: don’t show off, don’t talk over the coaches, don’t moan and don’t be rude to other members. It was these unwritten rules that had to be explained explicitly to newcomers.

Previously, the newcomer would enter a club session and learn the rules through osmosis or by a direct partnership with one of our experienced members. This helped them gain confidence and competence. It also allowed the coaches to coach the skills rather than manage the behaviour.

Unfortunately, children sometimes come from clubs or p.e. classes that lack structure and allow dominant characters to take over the sessions. This leaves other children forgotten or unheard. At our club we want everyone to have the opportunity to develop and improve.

We spent a few minutes in each class explaining the unwritten rules after the children, usually midway through the session. Even getting the children to direct their own warm-ups and practice their skills took time.

Thankfully, we now have our juniors working diligently in pairs or individually as soon as they walk into the session. Wearing the club t-shirts helps the children feel like more of a unit as does practising small group routines.

Our area has been badly hit by COVID over the last 2 months and so we have lacked cohesiveness as the children are missing sessions but that has allowed us to work with smaller groups and help them get better.

Yasmin Rashid, Cultural Architect

One great example of a cultural architect is Yasmin Rashid in weightlifting. Two of our most experienced club members, Becca and Daisy, switched from gymnastics to weightlifting earlier this year. I put them in a group with Yasmin so that they could learn from her through observation rather than just listen to an old male coach. Simply watching a small female lift weight above her head helps create a normal expectation for teenage girls.

There was a heck of a lot of talking in those sessions but they managed to get some lifting done too. The girls received a gradual introduction to lifting in a comfortable, non-threatening environment, following the lead of a friendly role model.

The value of this can’t be underestimated. Both girls now train twice a week in the teenage groups and are lifting well. They have since set the standard for boys new to the club: no mucking around, technical proficiency and support for each other.

That is how the culture is spread and developed. The performances and results may or may not follow but that is less important to us than having a safe, fun, challenging but supportive place to train.

Recommended reading:

You win in the locker room first. by Jon Gordon and Mike Smith.