Play Based Coaching Starts with You (But Isn’t About You)

Show Up. Step Aside. Support Greatness.

As Play Based Coaches, our role isn’t to fix, force, or lead from the front. It’s to show up, stay present, and sometimes, most powerfully, to step out of the way. Children already carry the seeds of confidence, creativity, and resilience within them. Our job is to create the conditions where those seeds can grow.

Here are a few simple, powerful reminders to help you support children to show up as their best selves while making sure you don’t block the light they need to thrive.

1. Show Up Fully (Even When It’s Hard)

Leave your stress, ego, or need for control at the door. Be present but okay not being perfect. Kids don’t need your polished performances; they need real people who see them, hear them, and meet them where they are. This is why our Play Based Coaching System® works! It allows us to be present in a way that children understand! We speak their language of play. 

🟡 Tip: Before every session, pause and ask: “Am I here for my coachee, or am I trying to prove something about me?”

2. Step Out of the Way

Sometimes the most powerful move you can make in a Play Based Coaching session is silence. Let the child lead. Let the mistake happen. Let the moment breathe. When you stop over-directing, you create space for self-discovery and growth. 

🟡 Tip: Try giving fewer instructions and asking more questions like, “What do you think you need right now?” 

3. Trust the Play

Play isn’t a distraction from growth. It is the growth. Through play, children explore who they are, stretch their limits, and bounce back from failure. Let go of rigid outcomes. Let play be the teacher. Old school thinking of top down with the adult knowing all the answers is outdated. Be progressive and allow the child to lead. 

🟡 Tip: Instead of correcting, observe. Look for what the play is telling you about the child’s mindset or needs and meet them there.

4. Hold the Vision

Even on tough days, remember, you're not just coaching behaviour. You're nurturing identity, a sense of personal agency, hope and self-belief. Your calm presence and deep commitment to purpose are part of what makes our Play Based Coaching® work transformational.

🟡 Tip: Reconnect with your “why” regularly. Your coaching are more than just playful sessions. They are meaningful and mindful moments that can shape a life.

Children don’t need you to be perfect. They need you to be present, playful, and purposeful.

Show up with heart. Step aside with humility and watch who they become when you believe in who they already are. It is never about you...it is always about coaching children through play and making it their journey to own!