Rhythmic Excellence

Level 3 rhythmic gymnastics coach and national judge, Francesca started her career as a gymnast at 4 in her hometown in Italy. Although gymnastics was always her passion, it was when she started to assist her coach that she realised that what she loved the most was coaching rhythmic gymnastics and be able to pass on her love for the sport to younger girls. Francesca has been coaching since 2001 and in 2005 she opened her own gymnastics club in Italy, S.G. Concordia. After many years working as head coach and developing gymnasts who competed at a regional and national level, Francesca decided to expand her horizons and, following her studies in Psychology in Turin, moved to London to do an MSc in Sports Psychology. The MSc turned into a PhD, during which Francesca studied and observed the environment of rhythmic gymnastics from a more academic perspective. Having completed her PhD in 2016, Francesca currently is a lecturer in Sports Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University but continues to nurture her passion for gymnastics through her role as a national judge, occasionally coaching, and helping gymnasts develop their love and experience in gymnastics in a positive and healthy way as a sports psychologist.