How Do I Become a Coach?
Welcome! Anyone with a desire to bring out the greatness in teens, has the potential to become a coach. Previous experience is not required. Nurturing and supporting teens is fun. The number one rule is being kind to yourself. Have fun, take risks, and be willing to make mistakes. We work with teens who desire to create a great life and may not know how to do it. We are here to assist them. For more information, please Contact Us.

What do Coaches do?
Coaches are volunteers and are an essential element to any OURMP group event. No previous experience is required, just a willingness to make a teen’s life better.

Do Coaches lead a Workshop?
No. A facilitator directs every workshop event. The facilitator is like a teacher; only they lead the event and guide teens and coaches through a series of exercises intended to develop teens self-confidence and self-esteem. The facilitator has the teens break into assigned work-groups. The coach assists the teens in discovering new possibilities for every group exercise. Without a coach, the teens may halt at the first obstacle encountered on the path of their new discovery.

What do I wear to a Workshop?
You are encouraged to dress comfortably and professionally. Slacks are for men and a buttoned shirt, and slacks or skirts and a collared shirt for women are preferred.

What do I bring to a Workshop?
We will have bottle water and lunch will be provided, so you will be fed. If you have a special diet you may want to pack a lunch, if you are not into pizza. All event materials will be provided by the facilitator. Contact your Facilitator and ask if any pre-event assistance is required. That would be appreciated.

When should I arrive to help set up?
Morning events begin usually at 9:00am, which means staff is requested to arrive at 8:00am to help set up the environment for the teens. (moving chairs and tables around). That sort of thing. We also clean up and put the room back together after we complete a workshop. (leave it as we found it).

Coaches Develop Teen Leaders
Teens offten arrive hesitant, pessimistic and concluded. That soon changes as they discover they are in a safe-non-judgemental space where they discover tools on how to overcome obstacles, meet challenges and discover solutions. Coaches transform teen lives by applying the very tools we ask the teens to use. Our intention is to instill a variety of values which may provide the teens with the greatest potential for success.

• Guiding teens to be kind to themselves and to others.
  
• Guiding teens out of answer/conclusion based thinking into question based thinking.
  
• Guiding teens to question any conclusions they believe. (Limiting points of view).
  
• Guiding teens out of withholding/lack into contribution/generosity.
  
• Guiding teens into a willingness to ASK for help/support from others.
  
• Guiding teens to desire discovering their talents and abilities.
  
• Guiding teens to overcome obstacles/dead-Ends/adversity.
  
• Guiding teens to enjoy learning and to recognize opportunity.
  
• Guiding teens to discover that failure/mistakes are required for success.
  
• Guiding teens to discover that creativity is a path to freedom.

Great Coaching Tips
Wow! That's a lot of tips... Don't worry about the volume of tips. We do on-the-job training. Your job is to have fun. The facilitator will walk you through everything. Our job is to insure you have a great time. Your job is to help the teen with his or her homework during the event. So don't worry. Read through the tips below. You will discover the frame of mind that will best serve the teens and the event. For more information, please Contact Us. See you soon!

• Use kindness to create a safe space to share through positive reinforcement.
  
• Motivation starts with a need, vision, dream or desire to achieve. (Focus on benefits).
  
• Honor rules you are asking teens to honor.
  
• Develop trust by keeping your word.
  
• Use the tools your asking the teens to use.
  
• Acknowledge that it is okay to mess up or not say the right thing and move forward.
  
• When you make a mistake, correct it, teens will be generous.
  
• If you lie to teens, they will be merciless.
  
• Feel free to call a facilitator over and ask questions.
  
• Your vulnerability will win over the teens.
  
• If you engage in debate with a teen you create resistance and reaction.
  
• Never embarrass, exclude or shame a teen.
  
• Don’t evaluate the value of a teen’s contribution - no answer is stupid.
  
• “Why don’t you know?” is an evaluation - avoid evaluation and conclusions.
  
• “I don’t know,” is appropriate.
  
• Ask another question and dig deeper.
  
• What does teen know/”gut”/awareness that is true?
  
• Possibility creates change.
  
• Keep asking Questions.
  
• Be aware of what teen’s world is like and what is practical for them.
  
• Don’t open the door to defensiveness, resistance and excuses.
  
• Operate within your perceived awareness of their ability. (Small wins).
  
• Be aware that many of these teens are in survival.
  
• Beware of making the teen’s contribution wrong.
  
• Don’t be the defensive substitute teacher you hated.
  
• The noise level may seem out of control during an exercise. If this happens, ask yourself, is this creative chaos? Is the “buzz” about the topic? Buzz is not always bad. Sometimes excitement and interaction can get loud.
  
• We’re encouraging their full participation and involvement.
  
• The higher the interaction, the higher the retention.
  
• Does the teen have unrecognized talents and abilities?
  
• Focus on the teen's potential.
  
• Focus on possibilities instead of expectations.
  
• When a student offers an inaccurate response, ask another question.
  
• Authentically acknowledge students at every opportunity.
  
• Facilitate the teen’s desire to inquire.
  
• Guide teens to be open to more possibilities/options/choices in life.
  
• Success is discovering what works and doesn't work.

Copyright 2007, 2008 - Our Mission Possible, LLC