A gymnastics coach from Portsmouth has been shortlisted for a national prize for his dedication to nurturing the next generation of coaches.  

Matte Hart, 39, has been a British Gymnastics coach educator for nearly a decade and this year has been shortlisted in the Education category for this month’s British Gymnastics Awards.

Hart, whose full-time job is coach education, says he loves nothing more than watching his pupils blossom.

“I love fostering the next generation of coaches," said Hart. 

“I've always enjoyed coaching and helping gymnasts learn their skills and develop and grow, but I think a big part of the sport’s growth is giving that same care and attention to the coaches as well.

“I really like working with coaches that are finding their feet and discovering what sort of coach they want to be.

“You are this resource that can just throw new ideas at them, show them some different ways of going about things and give them lots of tools.

“You set them on their way and I really enjoy that process.”

Hart admits it was a ‘big surprise’ to be nominated for an award and he will discover his fate when the results are announced this month.

A tutor and assessor since 2014, Hart knows the British Gymnastics system inside out and says an athlete-centred approach is crucial to maximising young talent.

“Put the athlete first,” he said. “One thing I talk about in my courses is that you will learn how to coach different skills and how to physically support them, but it's not about us.

“Sometimes we might feel in a rush to teach our athletes everything we've learned but we have to take our ego out of it.

“Not every single gymnast is going to be ready straightaway. You need to think of the qualification as a collection of new tools with which you can dive into and pull the right tool out at any given moment.”

The British Gymnastics Awards are community led and about championing those who make the sport an uplifting experience for all, with more nominations than ever before coming in this year.

It is the creativity, dedication and passion from people in the sport that make gymnastics an accessible, inclusive and enjoyable sport for all.

The nominations have been judged by panels made up of British Gymnastics committee members and external panellists from across UK Sport, Gymnova, Milano, Gymaid, Youth Sport Trust, Sport England, Women in Sport, The Include Summit, Sport and Recreation Alliance, The Sport for Development Coalition and GB gymnasts.

Hart’s career as a coach encompassed a brief foray into the world of Cirque du Soleil.

And taking a leap outside his comfort zone enabled him to return as a more rounded instructor.

“It was incredible and a unique opportunity to use all of my coaching skills in a completely different way,” he said.

“I've always dealt with gymnasts getting ready for competitions, whereas that was a case of dealing with people coming from all around the world.

“It was a lot of different pressures and a whole different beast. I wanted a challenge and it certainly provided one.” 

The British Gymnastics Awards celebrate those at the heart of gymnastics who create an uplifting experience for all. British Gymnastics has launched a new vision for a new era of gymnastics, learn more about Leap Without Limits here - https://www.british-gymnastics.org/vision