For Nikki Stubbs, owner and head coach of Junxion Gymnastics, gymnastics coaching was never part of the original plan.

“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” she said. She pursued teaching after school, but soon realised her true calling was already in front of her.

“When I started coaching gymnastics, I realised I was still teaching. It was just in a different field. I was working with children anyway, and I knew this was my passion.”

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Today, that passion has shaped her life for more than four decades in the sport, and has seen her influence the lives of hundreds of young gymnasts.

Stubbs’ gymnastics journey began when she was seven years old. She then left the sport for ballet, but returned as a teenager, competing for several years before retiring from gymnastics at the age of 16.

Her coaching career began almost immediately afterwards. She said one of the most influential chapters of her career came while coaching at Ferndale Gymnastics Club, where she worked alongside renowned Belarusian coach Tamara Alekseeva.

“Everything I know about high-performance gymnastics I literally learned from her. It was a privilege to have been mentored by someone of that calibre.”

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Her coaching expertise eventually earned her the opportunity to represent South Africa on the world stage, accompanying Protea gymnasts to the World Championships in Belgium in 2001 and Anaheim, California, in 2003.

“It was wonderful, but also a huge learning curve. You’re on the world stage and you have to know your stuff. There is a lot of pressure, but it was an incredible privilege.”

While those experiences remain special memories, Stubbs says her proudest achievements have come closer to home.

“I think what I’m most proud of is what we’ve created here.”

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After stepping away from high-performance coaching to focus on her family, she established what become Junxion Gymnastics. What started as a small programme at a local school grew into the thriving facility it is today.

Many of the coaches now working alongside her were once gymnasts she trained herself. “They’ve come up through the system. Some of them, I’m now teaching their children. It’s gone full circle.”

For Stubbs, gymnastics has never simply been about producing champions.

“A lot of these children see this as their second home. If we’re making a difference in their lives, then that’s what matters most.”

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