Helping teen student athletes create a high performance mindset
…with balance, happiness and building healthier, more authentic relationships with confidence.
Ways I can Work with You
There are two ways how I work with you: (Each one is done separately)
1) Coaching is the mindset component. I offer 60-75 minute (phone/virtual) coaching sessions and start by getting to know the person I am working with. What are his or her vision of an ideal future? What does it take to get there? As a certified life coach for teens, I take an approach that harnesses each teenager’s strengths, acknowledges weaknesses, and builds confidence to succeed one step at a time.
We take into consideration their talents and interests, what’s most important to achieve success, and personality. We look at the quality of their thinking, to help prepare their mind for the journey they are going to take and we pack for the trip appropriately. We explore, investigate together. From there, we collaborate on a strategy plan that starts slowly and gains momentum.
2) Training is the body component. Each session is 50 minutes. This can be done virtual or (in-home) if geography and time are possible. The initial session I will assess how you move, take into account training experience, space and equipment needs and what your goals are. I teach the fundamentals of strength training and the A,B,C’s of movement (Agility, balance, Coordination). Whether you are playing a sport or just want to get stronger, my philosophy is there is an athlete in all of us!
Personalized Coaching/Training Packages can be created in order to meet the needs of each individual:
What’s the most supportive for you or your teen? Coaching? or Coaching & Training?
How I work: Typically I work in 3, 6, or 12 month bocks.
Why?: Change takes time, it’s a process and I have experienced this personally with coaching
Typical Program Format: 1st month meet every week (To gain Momentum) Then meet every other week thereafter.
Each of my clients has unique challenges. But they all have a way to live more fully at a young age. The lessons I wish I would have known when I was their age can be taught in a way that uplifts and empowers.
I have found personally over the years, that how I express myself physically helped me gain confidence within whether wanting to excel in sports or just feel good, to feel strong, feel capable! Moving often and moving well helps us think better, clears our minds, helps us find our solutions, brings joy from within. How we move, think, act are all connected. Combining how we think, act and be in the world along with physical exercise has a more powerful healthy effect. I have found that when working through emotions, movement goes hand-in-hand in enhancing the process. It is something that I found inherently important when I was a teenager. I just wish I had the mindset component of coaching as well growing up, especially when wanting to perform at my highest levels whether in sports, in the classroom or in life!
Being a teen hasn’t changed, but the environment they are living in certainly has. The digital age is upon us. How kids use and are influenced by social media is not going away. The ongoing pandemic has created much social isolation, changed the way they are learning and their social behaviors. Many kids are having a hard time thriving in this environment. Their sports and activities have been taken away, or greatly reduced. In short, many teens have not been able to do the things that bring meaning to them. Now more than ever teens need role models to help them navigate this challenging time. We need to ensure the emotional, mental and physical literacy of our kids by connecting on deeper level with them. To let them know they are not alone in this!
The fact is quite often they just need someone who can listen to their wants, ideas, desires, hopes and dreams. To empower them to create their solutions because when they get into the habit of taking responsibility for what they have to do, they are likely to take responsibility for the rest of their lives.
Areas that I can help your teen improve:
Sports Performance: How can you maximize your abilities, physically and mentally? How you show up each and every day whether in practice, in the game, on the sidelines, or on your own, the quality of your thinking (mindset/confidence) has to match your efforts and actions.
Stress Reduction: For young people, there is a lot of stress caused by academic pressures, parental expectations and attempts to find friendship that they can count on.
Social Connections: It’s really tough to fit in. Fitting in can take on so many meanings. But for most teenagers feeling comfortable their peers is very important, no matter what adults think of this on the scale of what matters in life.
Self-Identity: Most often teens are told who they should be. But we all know happiness comes from within. Everyone was put on this earth with gifts to share. I help teenagers find their passions and turn them into constructive activities that can transform every waking moment.
Helping teen student athletes create a high-performance mindset with balance, happiness and building healthier, more authentic relationships with confidence
Coaching vs. Therapy
In general, coaching is not appropriate as front-line support for individuals suffering from acute chronic and severe depression, anxiety, neuroses, or addictions. In these cases, trained therapists may work with those clients seeking professional help to work towards healing, recovery, and issue resolution.
As the coach, I can be a part of this support system, in conjunction with the therapist. I am not here to diagnose, treat, or “fix” someone. As a coach, I am working with the teenagers (or parents) who need a good listener and some meaningful tools to better trust themselves and the choices they make, in order to engage fully and joyfully in the world around them.
I don’t work with teens who are actively suicidal or self -harming. Not that I don’t think I could help it’s just the kind of situation that requires a lot of attention from a different professional.
Can I work with teens who have suicidal ideation and move through experiences of depression/anxiety?
If I’m about to start a coaching agreement with someone who is dealing with a lot of depression/anxiety/eating disorders/self-harming, I would also require that they start seeing a therapist in conjunction with working with me. It takes a village and I am NOT doing that level of psychotherapy as a coach.
The coaching sessions can help create new thought patterns, new ways of being with pain, a new healthier relationship with themselves and that process takes time. It’s not something that is a quick fix by any means although a lot can happen over the course of several months.
I believe in building a support system, and then I become a part of that support system. To make it very clear and as a distinction: I am not an on-call coach. I have a 48 to 72-hour window for responding. This is really important to explain about upfront.
When I am asked this question; Should my kid do therapy or coaching? Which is better?
It really depends on the person coaching or the person counseling. Many coaches and counselors work in similar structures as in committed programs overtime or doing one-off sessions. Coaches and counselors can do both. So, if “You” the parent has a preference, I would encourage you to look for something that suits you and your teen.
Being in the service industry as a trainer for over 18 years, I have found that I may not always be the best fit for the person in front of me, but I can still serve them in many ways, such as referring or recommending another trainer. This is all part of the process of serving for the greatest amount of good. I have experienced over time, that when the timing is right, many of the people I referred, come back into my picture because I have built up that trust and ultimately wanting what’s best for “you” the parent(s) and teen.
What are the most common themes with teens in what they want out of coaching? What do you see as their biggest challenges, hang-ups or common language they use?
Just like adults, the one thing I do talk a lot about is the nature of our reality. I have found through my own experience, that I was always looking outward for the answers, whether it was from someone else, a book or a course. When all along, I had the answers within me.
That I just needed to have the confidence within, to slow down and have someone make me aware of the quality of my thinking. How it was affecting me, or holding me back. We all inherently want to know that we are loved, “seen”, and “heard” in a safe environment.
Many are afraid that they will make the wrong decisions. Yes, they will, but that’s not a problem. We all do, that is what makes us all uniquely perfect in being human. And we can course correct, we are not wrong for changing directions or changing our minds. In fact, it’s very liberating to allow yourself to do so...