Local Gym Club on the hunt for a new home. Alfie Busson Fitzharrys

Miss Poppy’s gymnastics is a gymnastics club for children, currently located in a school hall where they have many gymnasts come train with them. Head coach Poppy Smith has done gymnastics from a young age herself and began to engage in coaching following an injury in her training at 18 years old. One reason why Poppy loves coaching is that she “absolutely thrives off helping little ones achieve new skills they never thought they could do.” Poppy also said because she has been in gymnastics for so long, she can “relate to how the gymnasts are feeling”.

Poppy Smith began her coaching career at an elite gym but wanted to create her own club that would be approachable for beginners, fun and caring.  At Miss Poppy’s gymnastics they celebrate all levels of achievement “from their first bunny hop to landing a new vault” Poppy Said. The club also has a “family feel to it” and Poppy says she is “so proud of everyone.”

When Poppy was asked when did you feel you succeed in owning your own club she said “I never feel I succeeded. I am always on the lookout for new ideas on how I can make the club better.” There are over 300 gymnasts on the waiting list to join and the club has already maxed out its hours it can hire the space for.

So, Poppy Smith’s next goal is to find a new venue to store equipment and run classes full time. “The goal is to have a fully kitted out gym where we can run classes from Toddler classes to adult classes all day everyday” is Poppy’s ambition. She would also like to venture into different disciplines like Display Gymnastics, Disability Gymnastics, Parkour Gymnastics, Tumbling and Trampolining. To go alongside their current programme of Pre-School Gymnastics, Artistic Gymnastics Women’s + Men’s, Recreational Gymnastics and Teen classes. Poppy isn’t only a gym coach but also a personal trainer so would use her new gym to offer GP referrals, fitness classes and one to one sessions.