Community, Connection, and Success: Back to Cool Coaching in Kirkland, WA
It’s just about midway through the schoolyear, meaning it is time to buckle down for many high schoolers looking to improve their grades, get organized, and motivated for the next semester. That’s where Back to Cool Coaching comes in! A local, small business located in Kirkland, WA, serving the greater area as a resource for teens and parents alike. Chris Kocher, owner, uses a back-to-basics approach and an ability to work through problems that teenagers are struggling with through the development of skillsets that will empower them into the future. Serving the Kirkland community is a passion for Back to Cool Coaching.
Chris is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant and ICF-approved Certified Life Coach (Level 1), has grown children of her own, and serves as a mentor with LINKS for the Lake Washington School District. She says, "Staying connected with the community I serve is a key way to continually help bridge the gap between students and success.” Outside of coaching, you will often find her out in nature or hiking the trails around Kirkland.
Chris emphasizes that building core life skills like time management, persistence, and self-monitoring, is the key to setting up a teenager for success in the future. She works with parents who have tried everything and said everything they can think of to bring these skills to struggling teens. The Wonts, The Cants, and The Self-Controls are how she categorizes the three most common walls facing teenagers and helps to forge a way through these barriers, no matter how difficult.
Once determining the necessity of coaching, Chris establishes a rapport with the student and works to grow their self-awareness. Building on this new self-awareness, the focus then shifts to exploring how their mind works and how they might respond in certain scenarios. As these foundations are built, the student is guided to engineer their internal controls and become the independent self-learner that they can be.
With Chris’ involvement in LINKS (Looking into the Needs of Kids and Schools) a volunteer program in the Lake Washington School District, she stays connected with the challenges facing teenagers and how best to guide them through those challenges. When using Back to Cool Coaching’s services, you are not only investing in your teenager's growth but in the community as a whole.
To have your business featured, send an email to Christian Switzer (cswitzer@kirklandwa.gov) to be placed on the list of potential businesses the City will feature on Shop Local Kirkland (SLK).
