Posted by Sandra Clifton on Jul 30, 2011 in
Academic Coaching,
Student Success As a professional life coach, I’m certified through an organization called the International Coaching Federation (ICF), which is a non-profit established in 1995 that now has over 16,000 members who are committed to upholding the highest standards in this growing profession. I enrolled in a school accredited through ICF called the International Coaching Academy by participating in classes and training seminars for two years, in order to earn my CPC, or Certified Professional Coaching certification.
The ICF defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” This is the process that I provide for my students and client families every day–-and it’s an incredible journey.
As the new school year begins in less than a month, I invite you to consider if you’d like your child to explore more of his or her untapped potential….It can feel daunting if you’re charting the path alone, but as a professional coach, I am upholding these ICF standards:
- Asks powerful questions, and
- Uses direct communication, all of which contributes to
- Creating awareness, from which
- Actions are designed,
- Plans and goals for those actions are set, and
- Progress and accountability are measured.
- Uses direct communication, all of which contributes to
- Creating awareness, from which
- Actions are designed,
- Plans and goals for those actions are set, and
- Progress and accountability are measured.
I’ve decided to add my monthly “Clifton Comments” from the Cornerstone newsletter. Here are my thoughts for July 2011:
Together.
This past month, we reveled in the success of the US Women’s Soccer Team in Germany, and cheered for the USA each step of the way…. some of us stunned and many excited as the momentum led to the final moments of the championship match. Last Sunday, I talked to an old college buddy about how thrilling it was
just to be in the game, and she responded, “Yeah, but we
have to
WIN!” Instead, each of us watched as Japan kicked that final goal into the net and claimed the World Soccer Cup. I have to admit that–despite my pride in Team USA–it was heartening to see the country so ravaged by a recent tsunami come together and heal their nation with this hard-won victory.
While it’s never easy to “lose,” acknowledging someone else’s excellence is a sign of emotional intelligence–and an important life skill. While teaching a film analysis class this summer, we went to the QUAD Theater in the Village to see a little picture called WIN-WIN, which I highly recommend. Afterwards, I taught the class how to analyze a movie through deconstructing its title. As we explored the theme/s of winning, I remembered a little speech from the movie White Men Can’t Jump that went something like this: “Sometimes when you win, you really lose. And sometimes when you lose, you really win. And sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose. Winning or losing is all one organic globule, from which one extracts what one needs.”
My meaning? It’s yours to make….both with the women’s soccer game and your own battles in life. Because–as expressed in the book I’m reading this summer called Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, “The real cycle you’re working on is a cycle called yourself,” and the cycle of that game never ends. We’re constantly in a state of repair on the journey–this time, Japan may have “won,” but the game starts again when we hit the Olypmics. Perhaps our American team will be even more hungry then for a win–and maybe the ‘prize’ of a gold medal will mean even more than the World Cup trophy. Who knows?
One thing for sure is–you really can’t win them all. But one thing I do believe is that it’s not all about the final score. Both soccer teams brought their countries together by renewing our morale and boosting our pride–even busy celebrities like Tom Hanks found time to tweet admiration for our athletes….And for one Sunday afternoon, we stopped the usual routine, raising our vision to a common goal. Abby Wambach reflected on that fact after beating France, saying, “It’s not about one save or one goal–it’s about how you can do it all Together.” Study the success of any team and that’s what you’ll find: a devotion to getting the job done (not necessarily won–) through facing the odds as a unified force.
Another game came to an end this summer with the finale of my beloved series, Friday Night Lights. And yes, the down-n’-out Texas teams of Coach Eric Taylor ultimately did a lot of winning along the way. But when the players of his football team talked about their coach, they didn’t discuss the final score on the field when they walked away–what his players claimed were the lessons they gained about a bigger game. “You changed my life, Coach” were the words of underdog quarterback Vince Howard, who knew he’d be dead or in jail without the strength and belief of his mentor.
These are the points that really matter on the scoreboard of life. The banners fray, the trophies tarnish, the state championship ring is lost….But the value of working together, rising above criticism, facing our demons both on and off the field–these are the goals of winning in the daily grind of life–where the strongest muscles we build are discovered in our commitment to bringing out the best in each other.
“Clear eyes, full hearts–can’t lose.”
Now that’s a WIN-WIN.
Posted by Sandra Clifton on Jul 23, 2011 in
Student Success In my work with students over the past twenty years, I’ve employed a variety of motivational metaphors to inspire academic excellence—but none of them work quite as well as my athletic references. You see, I was supposed to be a boy….a son and an athlete. So when I was growing up, my dad did the best he could with an artistic, shy little girl—but when I felt daunted and defeated, he would coach me, just like any athlete. And it stuck. As an adult, I have encountered several ‘personal’ losing seasons, but I’m known among my family and friends as being pretty tenacious. I may be down, but I don’t give up—and I believe that this stubborn vision is because of those talks when my father would reference a great athlete or coach or team that faced the odds and walked away with some kind of victory…Maybe they didn’t leave the field with a championship win, but it was always an inspiring story—one to hang in the halls of history.
Which is one of the reasons why I’ve reached many of my students—not only did I attend their games and cheer at a variety of athletic events, but I was continually fascinated by both their individual investment in athletics and the drama of America’s teams. I’ve found that this approach to connecting academics with sports is an excellent way to energize athletes to stay in the game at school.
Now I’m taking those themes and weaving them into a program called “The Academic Edge: Inspiring Athletes to WIN in the Classroom!” Many of my current students who are involved in sports are not as engaged in academics, but it’s NOT because they aren’t smart. It’s NOT because they lack the intellectual ability. It’s because they haven’t learned to translate the skills they’ve mastered on the court and on the field into the classroom. “The Academic Edge” is a monthly coaching call that will focus on inspiring this excellence—and it’s free.
The first Wednesday evening of each month in the school year at 9PM/EST, I will sponsor an hour-long coaching call for athletes to learn a strategic school skill and then relate it to their experience in sports. My hope is to have college athletes and other sports personalities make guest appearances as special highlights of the calls, and to encourage athletes to become actively engaged in their academic success and earn winning scores on homework, quizzes, essays, and tests. “The Academic Edge” will help motivate students who succeed in sports to also SOAR scholastically—so that their future is one of bright options, regardless of injuries or other obstacles.
“Clifton Kickoff” will happen at the start of this school year, to launch an academic season of focus and vision. Here is the Fall Schedule for 2011:
Sept 7th: ORGANIZATION
Oct 5: PARTICIPATION
Nov 2: COMMUNICATION
Dec 7: COMPLETION
All students need in order to participate in this opportunity is commitment through our Facebook page and a phone—I will provide a free conference line, and record the call so that it is available online for others as a later reference. If you know an athlete who might benefit from some academic inspiration, please give him or her this information. In addition, if there is an athletic director or someone in sports who is a role model that you know personally, I would love to connect with that individual to be a “spotlight” for one of the calls, and appreciate your effort to make an introduction and send him or her my way!
The Clifton Corner is dedicated to inspiring young people to claim their unique gifts—both on the court and in the classroom. Please join us in this new effort to reach athletes and inspire excellence!
