AN ONLINE, SELF-PACED COURSE FOR PROFESSIONAL COACHES, WHO WANT TO WORK WITH TEENAGERS
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE COURSE
Have you always dreamed of working with teens but don’t think you can create a thriving coaching practice with that as your main focus?
Does working with teens and dealing with their parents seem complicated?
Do you already serve teens but would like to explore ways to have more impact and expand your practice?
When people hear I work with teens, I often get one of the above questions or some version of it. I hear people say how much they would love to serve this group, but they assume they can’t be successful.
Whether you want to work with teens or you have clients that do, this program will be helpful. This is a great program for experienced to new coaches.
I get a lot of calls from my colleagues asking me to talk with them because they either have a teen coming into their practice and they have no idea what to do or they have a client, who is a coach, who has a teen coming into their practice and they have no idea what to do.
This program is for anyone in either of these camps and for anyone looking to boost their coaching practice. While the emphasis will be on coaching teens, the foundation of creating a solid coaching practice is the same.
I’ll share the in’s and out’s of all I have learned to thrive professionally as a coach, creating a 6-figure coaching practice, primarily serving teens and their families.
I’ve received the best coaching in the world as I have ventured down this path. Michelle Bauman, Carolyn Freyer-Jones and Steve Chandler have been instrumental in supporting me in finding my way to serve this demographic in a way that truly makes a difference for my clients, but also supports me in making a living…so I can keep on doing it.
I'll cover the questions I get asked ALL THE TIME.:
How do I actually make a living serving teens and young adults when they are the poorest demographic in the world!?
What does the intake process look like and how much are parents involved?
What do I actually DO with a teen once we’re working together? (I’ll share some of the actual processes and exercises I use at different times).
What do I charge and what do my programs look like?
Is there an actual need for it?
Where do I get clients?
How do I handle parent expectations when it’s the teen doing the work?
What do I do in the workshops I facilitate and how do I fill them?
Beyond this I will talk about 2 primary areas that I see are VITAL for the success I have experienced working in this field.
MINDSET and STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS while working with a teen and their parents and…
SOUND BUSINESS PRACTICES THAT ARE BASED ON SERVICE – and that actually work.I coach coaches who work with teens and this is the very same material I share with them to help them serve this demographic in meaningful ways. I couldn’t love this work more and it’s a pleasure to share it with others who feel called to work in this field.
One coaches experience working with Aila
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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
Here is an excerpt from my upcoming book,
Coaching Teens Well
When I am working with a teen I am always looking for the wisdom that is behind any action, any emotion, any thought pattern or behavior pattern. When I look in this direction, toward their well-being and their natural wisdom, I always find it. It is always there.
When a parent tells me that they want their kid to achieve a perfect score on the SAT, my conversation with that parent goes very deep and wide. My first question is always, “Does your kid want that too?” If the answer is yes, I’ll tell the parent that I will work with their teen around that goal and that in my experience setting up a good plan of action around preparation, along with an inner-support plan is how you achieve success. The teen is supported in knowing that whether they get a perfect score or not they’re still completely capable of having a wonderful happy life. They know that regardless of how they do on the actual test, the winning is in learning how to take consistent action toward something that they want and if they do that, I’d consider it a huge success. If they are kind and gentle with themselves no matter what their score is, that’s a cherry on top.
When I’m talking about this with a parent they tend to agree naturally because they know that there’s a lot of love and support and also wisdom in that approach. Going for a big goal like that is never what my coaching is focused on but it’s more about drawing out the resiliency, the competency, the loving and the wisdom in each person I work with.
Before I ever take money from a parent I make sure that they understand this. Big goals can come to pass and they are temporary and what I’m really about is creating a lasting difference, an inner transformation that remains way beyond our work together.
When I tell parents, “I want your kid to know that they are unconditionally lovable whether they achieve this goal or not,” sometimes it shakes something open within a parent where they realize that they can offer that not only to their teen but they can also begin to offer that to themselves as a way of being. It’s the most beautiful thing in the world to offer that kind of gift to a person.
What Teens Share About Their Experience in Coaching
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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