What Clients Share About Their Experience in Coaching

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Generosity, Wisdom, Spirit. Aila Coats.

I met Aila as a fellow student in Steve Chandler’s six-month workshop for professional coaches.  

At one point, several of the students expressed an interest in Aila’s uniquely successful practice coaching teens.  

Aila spontaneously volunteered to share with us what she did at lunch the next day. Sure enough, for the next day, she carefully prepared a fantastic lesson in what she does. It was jam-packed with information. Inspiring, too. And, whenever there was a question, her responses were so honest, heartfelt, and complete that, well, I learned a lot.  

My experience was similar when I became a student of Aila’s in a six-session, online class she led the following year. It was fantastic. For starters, she simply knows more about coaching teens and coaching athletes in leadership and mental skills than anyone else I’ve run across. And, she taught me so much. When I (just one of 25 or so students) wanted to know more about the specifics of how she reached out to teams and coaches, she created a seventh class (at no additional fee) to address the details of that.  

When I had questions about the content of the workshops that she ran for athletic teams, she shared with all of us her outlines and notes for the workshops that she had presented. I don’t know how she could have been more open and generous. As a result, by the time the six (oops, seven) classes were done, I had already scheduled the first two trainings I was to give on mental skills and leadership for athletes where I live.  

It’s worth my emphasizing that Aila’s personal style, which I think she has intentionally developed in herself over decades, is as honest, gentle, and vulnerable as you can imagine. As a student of hers, and as a colleague, I have always felt lovingly embraced by her presence. Everyone seems to have that experience with her.

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— Joshua Hornick, PCC, JD, MA jh@jhcoaching.com 413-230-3933

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Coaching with you has been really supportive. I am learning actual, real strategies to help me out in life, rather than just talking about things.  It has been supportive in that is its more active than just talk therapy. It’s been helpful to see how so much of my stress around school and life are just my own negative thoughts – and those thoughts are like clouds going through my mind. They are not real or permanent. They don’t have any substance. The more I see that, they can just float by. That’s been really helpful. I feel like I am less hard on myself. I think I am more accepting of myself overall which is really good. If I slack or mess up, I really see that it is me, doing my best in that moment. Knowing that things are not good or bad, it’s just a thing that happens, just like I am not good or bad, things are not good or bad, when I assign things (or myself) as good or bad, I am more stressed about them. In my relationship with myself, I am more interested in following my own passions rather than what I think is expected of me. I want to follow my happiness.

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– 17 yr old 

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Working with you two has been really awesome for me! I’ve been able to process my emotions and refocus quicker while I’m on the court. I have more self awareness of the things I do that are detrimental to what I’m trying to accomplish and because of the work we’ve done together, I have tools to tackle those speed bumps!

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— Pro Beach Volleyball Player/2016 Olympic Athlete)

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During our work together, I learned that I use to judge myself really harshly and this was the thing that caused my performance to dip. I thought that it would make me better but it doesn’t.  Instead, I learned that I can appreciate my efforts and my small wins and in doing that, my performance (and how I feel) will keep improving.

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—19 year-old, college athlete

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In our work together, I learned to appreciate myself and my qualities as a person.  I realized how much we judge ourselves day by day and that to feel happy and confident is my choice.  And I can choose it every day.

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— 20 year-old, college athlete

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Coaching has helped me a lot with my relationship with myself. What I mean by that is it’s helped me embrace myself and my “inner child”. I don’t typically let myself be silly and free, but I’ve learned to let myself goof around and be lighter. Even recently I was dancing in the car with my friend. I am having more and more moments like that which is a big change.

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— 16 year-old

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I know know that I can always love myself, even when I mess up in life or lose a match.  I can always be encouraging myself, no matter what.

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— 15 year-old volleyball player

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Working with you, I learned how to really shift my focus onto SELF LOVE, when it was previously focused solely on how other people perceive me. I learned that it is ok, and actually really good to love myself and how to base my opinion of myself on what I AM feeling about me, and nothing else.

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— 16 year-old, volleyball player

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Besides just the fact that coaching has helped me through some of the biggest and scariest moments in my young adult life thus far and definitely been an enlightening resource in countless situations where I simply had no idea what to do, coaching has also just instilled a security and a wisdom in me that everything will be ok. I feel much more at ease in my life because of coaching which is something so many people can almost never say about anything.

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— 18 year-old

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From working with you, I learned that I have all the power that I’ll ever need already residing within.  I learned that I have the power to choose how I respond to everything- nothing has power over me. I can get stronger and better from every mistake, and I can choose to support myself no matter what.

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— 20 year-old, college athlete

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Coaching with you has been really supportive. I am learning actual, real strategies to help me out in life, rather than just talking about things. It has been supportive in that is its more active than just talk therapy. It’s been helpful to see how so much of my stress around school and life are just my own negative thoughts – and those thoughts are like clouds going through my mind. They are not real or permanent. They don’t have any substance. The more I see that, they can just float by. That’s been really helpful. I also feel like I am less hard on myself. I think I am more accepting of myself overall which is really good. If I slack or mess up, I really see that it is me, doing my best in that moment. Knowing that things are not good or bad, it’s just a thing that happens, just like I am not good or bad, things are not good or bad, when I assign things (or myself) as good or bad, I am more stressed about them. In my relationship with myself, I am more interested in following my own passions rather than what I think is expected of me. I want to follow my happiness.

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— 17 year-old

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I have known, loved and respected Aila since I met her at the University of Santa Monica- well over a decade ago. Last summer my sister recommended I reach out to her when I was wanting to work on some things that were coming up in my relationship with my son. What I’ve always personally loved about Aila is her beautiful, gentle, wise old soul spirit- and it’s exactly these things that I love about her as a coach.In our initial few conversations- we unpacked what was going on with me and my son. She brought me profound insight that helped me release the stress and tension I’d been experiencing with him.During our time I also revealed the fears that were coming up as I was building my coaching practice. She kept generously sharing her own experience with building a practice- and I lit up- because it aligned with the vision I had for mine.It felt aligned on so many levels that I signed up with her.  I’ve been working with privately for almost a year now, and also in her Coaching Well group.Not only have I learned so much from Aila around client creation, I’ve learned to serve even more deeply- and she modeled how I can do it all from such a relaxed place within myself- and from a deep place of authentic caring for my clients. Aila you are a phenomenal coach and an extraordinary human. I feel so blessed to be working with you. And I feel deep gratitude for the impact you’ve made in my business, and with the relationship with myself and also with my son. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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— Donna Otmani | New York, NY

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Aila Hale-Coats is the embodiment of Loving Encouragement. When I think about Aila and the amazing coaching I have received from her, my immediate thoughts are that of support, guidance and encouragement. Aila believed in me, more than I believed in myself, and instead of giving up on me, or becoming increasingly frustrated with me,(as I was doing with myself) she just kept loving me, supporting me, guiding me and encouraging me. Through her generosity of Spirit and heart, and her expertise in the art of life coaching, I slowly began believing in myself. With Aila’s coaching, my entire way of being as a teacher has shifted. While I was always loving and compassionate toward my students and their parents, I became even more so. And, the deeper cut was that I became more loving and compassionate towards myself in how I was showing up as a teacher. With Aila’s coaching, my entire way of being as a professional life coach has shifted. While I was always loving and compassionate toward my clients, I became even more so. And, the deeper cut was that I became more loving and compassionate towards myself in how I was showing up as a coach. I’ve learned how to lean into the profession with much more Joy, Ease and Grace because of the encouragement Aila showered on me. With Aila’s coaching, my entire way of being as a friend, sister, and daughter has shifted. While I was always loving and compassionate toward other humans, I became even more so. And, the deeper cut was that I became more loving and compassionate towards myself. If you want the experience of being held in capable and loving hands, Aila is the coach for you.

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—L.N. Culver City, CA