Everyone Needs a Coach

We never planned on being pickleball instructors. I know I didn’t. I just loved the game and one day, someone asked me if I’d be interested in coaching the youth clinics at the local park, and I said yes. As part of volunteering, the club offered to send me to instructor certification. I passed, word started getting around and before I knew it I had my first client, then my second and so on.

Today, I’m fortunate enough to have enough clients to fill my weekly available hours and I love it. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised; during my years at Cisco, my standout assessment characterized me as a Teacher/Creator. I think what makes me good at teaching is realizing that even though there is a standard approach to training, every student or group of students is different.

Every client has different requirements: different goals, experience levels, ages, ways of learning. Some clients prefer to work 1:1. Others come as a team of two. Some prefer drilling in small groups. Every situation is unique in their own way, and being an effective coach depends on empathy and meeting the client where they are.