Dynamo coach shares story of helping athlete in transition

We are so proud to share this story authored by Dynamo Gymnastics Sports Centre’s Tumbling Sports Head Coach, Denis Vachon. It was written for CBC.

Coaching an Athlete in Transition, My World is a Better Place Because of Her

E is for Emily. I have been coaching for almost 20 years. I have produced many world class athletes. I have taken advanced coaching courses around the world. But nothing and no one prepared me for the delicate challenge of coaching an athlete who was going to transition.

I had to learn quickly, and as error-free as possible, because this child needed me.

When I first met Emily, we called her by a boy’s name, which also started with E. (Something else I learned quickly: the trans community hears disrespect in ‘dead’ names. So we try to avoid using them.) As a young boy, he was timid, shy, stuttered a bit and had a difficult time looking you in the eye. If he did raise his eyes though, you’d see a sparkle and a glimpse of something beautiful. When E was 12, his mother asked for a meeting to tell me he’d gained the strength to tell his parents he was meant to be a girl and that they were honoring his wishes to do so.

Read the full article here