Perfect Blending of Sport and Art | Erika Howard

Erika Howard is a former National Level rhythmic gymnast. When she was competing, her name was Erika Leigh Stirton, but she has since married Canadian Olympic rower Malcolm Howard. Her most successful competition was the 1998 Commonwealth games in which she earned 5 gold metals.

Erika believes in sport as a way to set youth up for success. She says that gymnastics can teach you “discipline, work ethic, persistence, taking criticism and learning from it, self development, becoming an independent learner, and working well in a team.”

After competing in rhythmic gymnastics, Erika began dancing and did a 3-year program in contemporary dance at the School of Toronto Dance. Additionally, she got involved with CrossFit and yoga. Erika received a general degree at the University of Guelph, but had an interest in psychology, and from there she went on to coach in rhythmic gymnastics and teach dance classes.

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Table of Contents

0:25 - Guest intro 

1:09 - Youth sports experience/growing up

7:10 - Perspective as an adult 

11:35 - Switching from artistic to rhythmic gymnastics

13:06 - The 1998 Commonwealth Games 

20:25 - Getting into coaching

24:15 - What she’s doing now

26:10 - Top 3 characteristics of coaches  

 29:40 - Engaging parents 

35:10 - What can we do so kids love the game more at the end of the season than they did at the beginning?

39:50 - Growth mindset

44:18 - Resources 

51:55 - #1 tip to help coaches shave 5 years off their learning curve