Life coaching is the job I never planned to do yet it is the job I’ve been preparing for all my life.   I never once thought about it as a career until a series of life-altering events in the fall of 2020.    I was working as an athletic director/assistant principal for a small public primary/junior high school.    Prior to working as an administrator had spent over a decade teaching High School science and coaching basketball at different levels.   Then in the span of 4 months, I battled a cancer diagnosis and then suffered an unrelated ischemic stroke while managing a school during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Again, “life-altering” was not an exaggeration.

I spent the first few months of 2021 learning to speak and read aloud again (luckily as a school administrator I had access to the curriculum).  Strokes are strange and I was left in the unenviable position of being able to think clearly but not communicate clearly.  It was frustrating and eventually, an anxiety attack prompted a trip to the ER. The head nurse said bluntly, “Honey, you need to get some mental help”. So I did.   The help came in the form of a therapist who had experience working with brain trauma patients. She taught me how to use positive psychology to retrain my way of thinking.  It was so useful and life-changing that rather than return to work as an administrator, I opted to immediately start life coach training a mere 5 months after my stroke.   Now armed with the necessary credentials and my prior experience, I love being a Life Coach as I work to help student-athletes, teams, and educators navigate the ever-changing world of athletics and education. 

The good news is that you don’t need to experience a year like I had to benefit from coaching.   The only prerequisite is that you not be perfect and have a desire to improve.   

While the above story explains some of my life coaching “street cred”, I also have some other more tangible degrees and certifications as well.  Here they are.