At Delta Gymnastics, our coaches are not just mentors to our gymnasts, but are skilled athletes themselves. One of our athlete-coaches is Coach Alisha, who teaches in our Active Start, Fundamentals, and Xcel Programs. Recently, Coach Alisha competed for Team Canada at the International Dance Organization’s (IDO) Competition in the Acro Dance category in Italy.
Acro is a style of dance that combines gymnastics and dance in one routine. The routine is judged on various strength- and flexibility-based gymnastics movements that flow seamlessly and gracefully into steps, choreography, and dance. There are various styles within Acro dance, such as lyrical, modern, and jazz.
At the competition, Alisha performed a jazz solo, which placed in the top 10 out of 36 solos, and in a lyrical trio, which placed 5th. Alisha also competed in the Acro Adult Group category, where she helped bring home a first-place finish for Canada.
Alisha’s journey to represent Canada started when she was 2 years old in her first dance class, and later her first gymnastics class at 3 years old. Through the years, she worked her way up to becoming a competitive gymnast.
“The competitive mindset and muscle memory that my teachers and coaches helped me build [as a young athlete] …ultimately gave me the confidence” to audition for Team Canada and compete again as an adult after a 4-year break, said Alisha.
Her coaching journey at DGS started when she was 16 years old – she calls it her first ‘adult job’. When she started coaching, she was “a shy teenager who couldn’t stop overthinking”. She credits DGS on being a part of her road to “becoming a more confident adult and coach” who does things like audition and compete for Team Canada.
Since returning from the competition in Italy, she has used the experience to help her with her coaching. She also says working with her previous coaches as an athlete has helped her build stronger connections with the athletes that she coaches today.
“I am so excited for the upcoming competition season. I was just there with my own nerves and having that recent experience,” she said, has allowed her to really understand and hopefully help the guide the athletes with their own nerves. “The way I handled my nerves as a young athlete was very different from what I do now, so I hope to support athletes and their nerves before a competition.”
We are so proud of Alisha for representing Canada at the IDO Acro Dance Competition! Congrats Coach Alisha!
