PHOTOS:

Fraser and young gymnasts
Fraser with Andy Grey and Matei Todarov
Fraser in his safety harness
Fraser giving a lift

 
Strength, grace, and perfect execution.
 
Following some hasty pre-training research, these were the three major components I identified as imperative when trying to become a successful gymnast and as someone whose fitness levels have always tended to exceed technical ability – the first component held little fear. The latter two however, contained words I have rarely been associated with in sport.
 
 So expectations were low when I turned up at Steynton for my sixth Commonwealth Games challenge at Milford Haven Gymnastics Club. This represented my first experience of the activity for 14 years, when I reluctantly performed a compulsory routine as part of my GCSE Physical Education exam.
 
“We run sessions here every day of the week and then travel around Wales to compete on weekends,” said coach Andy Grey, whose name is synonymous with gymnastics throughout Wales.
 “The club has around 250 child members – but local schools, adults, and disability groups also use the facility so more than 300 people come through the door to train each week.”
 He added that from those 250 members, about 40 will regularly compete for the club, while others will train for fun and enjoyment.
 
And the club can boast a string of success stories in recent years, none more so than earlier this year when current members Vicky Haworth, Felicity Warlow and Katy Blockwell claimed silver as a trio when representing Wales at the Celtic Games in Glasgow.
However, Andy, who has been involved in the sport for more than 30 years and is now an Honorary Member of Welsh Gymnastics, readily admitted that maintaining a club like Milford Haven often requires volunteers to go beyond the call of duty.
 
“Gymnastics is one of those sports where you are only as good as the support you get,” he said. “Our youngsters will usually train for about 12-15 hours each week, which puts big demands on them and their parents.
 “So while we have to rely on the children to keep the club going, we also have to rely on their family members for transport - and voluntary contributions as well.”
 
In that respect, the club is blessed. At the early morning session I attended (moved forward from the evening due to the Easter holidays), a host of parents were on hand to offer help and support.
 Also in attendance were Pam McGillivray and daughter Sarah, renowned for their sterling work at the club in their respective roles as treasurer and coach.
 
And last but not least, was Matei Todorov, a former UK coach for 23 years, originally from Bulgaria, who regularly travels around the country to offer a helping hand to clubs like Milford Haven. Unfortunately, his presence ensured I wasn’t going to get off lightly as I gingerly approached the vast equipment in the room.
 
And during the warm up, it wouldn’t have taken a rocket scientist to have spotted the odd one out, as I tried to get to grips with a series of drills while youngsters buzzed around me with boundless energy, which led me to ask Matei to confirm my theory that gymnastics was very much a young person’s game.
 
“When a child is developing there are specific windows of opportunity as far as gymnastics is concerned,” he said.
 “Female levels of flexibility often peak when a girl is aged between 7-11, while their spatial awareness peaks when they are between 11 and 12.
 “Boys hit their peaks slightly later. But either way, the sport is highly demanding on the body and it’s difficult to maintain the intensity of training when you are older - which is why competitors in the Olympic Games tend to be so young.”
 
I could have done with some exuberance of youth as I performed a series of warm up jumps on one of the large mats. After barely a dozen, I felt like I was jumping on quick sand.
 
Matei and Andy then put me through a series of exercises as I progressed towards my first real challenge - performing a back flip (while safely attached to a harness in case of catastrophe).
 Ironically, armed with the excellent pointers from Matei and Andy, my first few attempts were successfully negotiated. But when fatigue set in, there were lapses in concentration and the odd botched landing, prompting Matei to remind me it was essential to really drive my legs back over my head.
 
From there it was onto the vault, and again, the coaches’ expertise soon turned me from a clueless novice into a ‘gymnast’ able to perform the skill to an acceptable level – even if my take off and landing technique did fall narrowly short of perfect.
 I did however manage to avoid any serious form of tumble – whilst being fully aware of Bill Carne waiting expectantly with his camera nearby,
 
And while I wasn’t about to get carried away and start mapping out a belated Olympic career, my enjoyment prompted me to ask Andy an intriguing question. Could a regular football or rugby player really combine gymnastics with his or her own training?
 
Andy, a former scrum half at Pontypool RFC, is in a better position than most to answer.
 “It was only when I got to college I realised the benefits of gymnastics,” he said.
 “It not only helps you maintain strength and fitness but also improves your balance and spatial awareness.
 “Shane Williams was a great gymnast, and you could see how agile he was when he played. Also, he was rarely injured in his career, so it really can set you up for other sports.
 
However, this benefit of hindsight was now of little help to me as I moved onto ‘acro’ gymnastics, which Andy described as a concept that required “teamwork and an incredible level of trust.”
 
He wasn’t wrong.
 
One unfortunate, and yet extremely brave volunteer was brought over to stand on my shoulders while I was crouched down in a kneeling position. When Andy and Matei instructed me to stand up straight, with the youngster still perched on my shoulders, my heart skipped a beat.
 With sweat beads pouring from my brow, the next ten seconds or so seemed like an eternity, before the youngster in question nonchalantly hopped down onto the mat and back to her training session. Those nervy moments were soon put into perspective as I watched the youngsters perform a series of ‘pyramids’, requiring extortionate amounts of balance and control, and deceptive levels of strength.
 
And for those wondering how much dedication goes into such excellence, Andy told me that members, who arrived at 9.30am, will leave at 5pm following a break for lunch - a standard training day during the school holidays.
 
And what struck me most was that such levels of dedication are not fuelled by rich rewards. Gymnasts, coaches, and volunteers are there because they love their involvement, they love the sport, and they love the enjoyment it brings. Sessions take place with smiles on faces, with no hint of resentment from anyone.
 
“This club caught my eye at a National Championships event,” said Matei. “They are a great club and I love coming down here. Gymnastics in Pembrokeshire is in safe hands with clubs like these.”
 
I could not have concluded it better myself.
 

Fraser fires on all cylinders at Milford Haven Gymnastics Club

 
Fraser Watson was even quieter than usual when setting off for his latest challenge and he admitted en route to Thornton, the home of Milford Haven Gymnastics Club, that he wasn’t a whizz at gymnastics in school but I hope I settled him a little with my comment that he would be well looked after by Andy Grey.
 
Andy is a tower of strength at the club and rightly chosen as ‘Coach of the Year’ with the BBC awards in Cardiff a while ago, and someone who is held almost in awe by his young gymnastics charges.
 

Matei makes us welcome

 
He met us at the club with Matei Todorov, a man with a glint in his eye as soon as gymnastics is discussed and a lovely smile that gives Fraser a little more confidence.
 
He tells us he was British coach for 23 years after being head-hunted in his native Bulgaria, and he is charged with the responsibility of teaching Fraser how to do a back somersault and to vault properly.
 
But before that Fraser has to warm up with the young gymnasts and is put through his paces by Andy Grey and Sarah McGillivray, who like Andy forms the backbone of the club, alongside her mum Pam as Hon Secretary. Other parents soon arrived in what is clearly a family-orientated club.
 

Somersault start

 
The kids are brilliant with our intrepid challenger and then it is onto a mat where Fraser learns how to throw himself backwards for a somersault before being trussed up like a turkey in a harness expertly held by Matei, and with Andy making sure Fraser is close at hand in case he makes a mistake.
 
The look on Fraser’s face as he completed his first back somersault was a picture, as if he had scored a winning try for Wales at Cardiff!
 
There were inevitably a couple of errors as Fraser tired but overall Matei said it was a good start – and then it was on to a box for a spell of vaulting, which Fraser accomplished with success as his natural good form slotted in.
 

Standing on Fraser’s shoulders to round off a terrific stint

 
Then came the acrobatics component as Fraser lifted a young gymnast in a typical move; the look of trepidation on his face as she finally stood on his shoulders was another moment to treasure!
 
It is easy to see how much pleasure the kids have as well as learning from that fun and becoming very good gymnasts. Andy, Matei and Sarah are brilliant with them but their expectations rub off on those they coach.
 
Fraser Watson was no exception because on the way home he was thrilled by what he had achieved in a short space of time and surely that quality of coaching is what makes our local sport so good – and Milford Haven Gymnastics Club is certainly one such club in that set-up!