![ALL-AROUNDER: PCYC Tamworth head gymnastics coach Kim Smart has volunteered at the club for about three decades. Photo: Peter Hardin 170521PHE033 ALL-AROUNDER: PCYC Tamworth head gymnastics coach Kim Smart has volunteered at the club for about three decades. Photo: Peter Hardin 170521PHE033](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hAWJC77isbRCSsmqzS5A6F/a4a4dee8-be7d-4016-8896-391303cda9f1.jpg/r0_0_5891_3927_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
AT LEAST three nights a week without fail, Kim Smart can be found at the PCYC gym.
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A volunteer for more than 30 years, finding the time to give to young people who want to learn gymnastics has never been a tough balancing act for the club's head coach.
The job itself was serendipitous, after former gymnast Ms Smart saw a story about the local PCYC in the paper.
"I moved here from the United States, I was involved in gymnastics there and I saw a story in the paper, I rang up the club and spoke to the police officer here at the time and started to come and help with classes," she said.
"I was a gymnast myself, I competed in the United States and at university.
"Gymnastics is a passion I have had since I was a little kid, when I was at university I coached YCMA clubs and I love working with kids so it's a win-win."
As head coach, Ms Smart has started to teach others how to coach to Gymnastics Australia standards as the sport continues to grow.
She has also played a significant role in helping at risk-youth to get back on their feet, Oxley Police District Senior Constable and youth case manager Andrena Sandison said.
"Kim has been really open to engaging youth at-risk and young offenders in the gymnastics program, she treats them all on an even playing field and is really welcoming and inclusive," she said.
"It gives those young people opportunities they might never get."
It's one of the things Ms Smart really loves about volunteering at PCYC Tamworth.
Sports involve a team and an individual, she said.
"They are working on their own self-esteem and confidence as they learn new things, but it's also about working together," she said.
"I think that's a really important part for anyone who might have an unsettled background to find out what it means to be part of a group or a team."
Personally, Ms Smart said the sport "keeps her young", but as a coach it's important to have an understanding of how the mechanics of it work and a desire to help other people learn.
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"I'm moving with the kids and doing things so there's a fitness element for me, but it's just what I've always done," she said.
"It doesn't mean I don't like my school holidays when I can go home early, but it's always great to come back and see the kids and their smiling faces when they're learning.
"It's an easy option for me I suppose, maybe it's my nature - I really couldn't tell you."
This week is National Volunteer Week.
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