On-Line Resources for Coaches

The Best of What's Out There

by Tony Stoltzfus

 

        We all use the internet in one way or another (even if just for e-mail), but are you making the most of it as a coach? Below are some of the best coaching resources on the internet for networking, small group coaching, information, tools and resources, and more.

 

§  Networking
The Christian Coaches Network (www.Christiancoaches.com) is the largest gathering of Christian coaches on-line, with some good basic coaching info as well as links to a lot of books and resources by Christian Coaches. Most training schools have membership sites: for instance, PCCCA sponsors a Christian life coaching club at www.christiancoachingclub.com. The ICF (www.coachfederation.org) is the secular coaching standards body -- they have links to news articles on coaching, plus sections on coaching ethics, core competencies and more. The Christian Coaching SIG (special interest group) from Coach U (www.christiancoachsig.com) features resource pages plus regular free bridge calls with interesting speakers on coaching topics.

§  Small Group Coaching
SmallGroups.com includes links to coaching and coaching resources (as well coaching articles) within a larger site on small groups. SmallGroups.com has a good small group newsletter that often includes coaching content, as does Joel Comiskey's newsletter at JoelComiskeyGroup.com (he's authored a couple books on cell group coaching). Touchusa.org focuses on cell groups, with a large bookstore and has a new social networking site called Small Group Friends. Coach22.com includes a section of small group coaching books and resources.

§  Free Newsletters and Blogs
Gary Collins has a provocative general-interest coaching newsletter at GaryRCollins.com, as  does ChristianCoachesToday.com (both featuring book reviews, coaching articles and blogs). Linda Hedburg has an interesting blog at ChristianCoachingResources.com. Most of the coaching schools (just google "Christian coach training") have newsletters, although some are members only. They often have content geared toward marketing your practice and coach training.

§  Resource Sites
FreeConference.com lets you make free, reliable bridge line calls -- I highly recommend it. Peer Resources of Canada (www.peer.ca/coaching.html) has a huge collection of coaching resources - book reviews, coaching research, lists of coaching organizations, etc. E-life Plans (www.elifeplans.com) is an on-line life purpose discovery and life planning site designed for coaches. Daniel Harkavay's business coaching book, Becoming a Coaching Leader, features a number of downloadable business and life coaching tools at www.becomingacoachingleader.com. Coach22 offers a page of free coaching articles at www.coach22.com/discovercoaching/, while Coaching Pastors has an interesting inventory of coaching articles and case studies (as well as a ministry coaching newsletter) at www.coachingpastors.com/tools.htm. Coachnet.org is a well-known site that has on-line record keeping and appointment tracking tools for coaching, as well as a vast array of articles and worksheets geared toward small group and church planter coaching.

§  Miscellaneous
Results of an interesting global executive coaching survey can be found at www.sherpacoaching.com/survey.html. The Coaching Psychologist (www.sgcp.org.uk/coachingpsy_home.cfm) is a British e-zine on coaching research. And then there is CoachingToys.com, with all kinds of creativity gadgets from the interesting to the bizarre that coaches might use.