Coaching Chronicle by Gerard O’Donovan

Just got back yesterday from my two-week trip to Florida. I was there initially to attend a four-day coaching convention run by the ICF.

We usually take a booth there every year

It was held at the Convention centre at Rosen shingle Creek.what a huge magnificent place

I was there with my wife and two of my children who did the usual tourist things ( Disney World, universal studios etc) while I attended the conference.

At the conference when we first arrived it was interesting to see a whole group of SWAT people walking around all with their guns on their hips.

They were attending their own convention.

I found it very interesting that in a convention setting they were all wearing camouflage trousers and boots and carrying their guns, and so different to the UK.

 Later that evening we saw most of them wandering around in the bar drinking beer but still wearing their guns on their hips.( Only in the USA !!!!!)

Now, that’s an interesting combination, guns and beer.

One I don’t really want to see together.

 Coaches and SWAT teams, you really couldn’t get two more different types of people.having meetings in the same hotel.

I have to say the ICF ran a very well organised and structured convention,hats off to them.

 It was great to see a lot of old faces from last year in Montral and from the year before in Los Angeles.

Next year it is at Forth Worth in Texas,looking forward to that

In fact one of the most hectic times in the last year. I am currently at the residential training course at Eynsham Hall near Oxford .(http://www.eynshamhall.com/)  

We have fantastic men and women who have flown in from all over the world, Deborah from Canada Lavinia from Romania, Monica from the south of France,Lukasz from Warsaw in Poland to name just a small few.

As well as our intensive coaching residential program we also have a large exhibition happening at the Olympia in London being run by Emma and her team

while at the same time Vali and her team are running a five day exhibition in Bucharest.

The head office team are also preparing for our five day exhibition in Orlando in Florida which starts the day after tomorrow so I have to fly over early tomorrow morning with Gordon and Christopher and others to oversee that.

I have to say though that I am really looking forward to it. I am bringing my family with me so that we can also have some holiday time together and possibly go to Disney World etc.

I haven’t stopped working and yet I can’t seem to put my finger on exactly what I have done !!

The e-mails have been coming thick and fast today as soon as I deal with a bunch of 20 or so, another bunch comes in.

 Spoke to Gordon Piggott today, general manager of Westminster Indemnity Insurance, ( http://www.westminster-indemnity.co.uk/ )I’m flying over to Orlando with him at the end of this month.

They provide a specialist indemnity and liability insurance to the whole of the coaching world.

 We are both going to the ICF ( International Coaching Federation) annual convention in Florida. We go together every year.

This time I’m taking my wife and children with me so that they can have a good time in Disney World etc while I’m working and at least I get to spend some time with them in the evenings.

The plan is that we will then have the second week together as a family in Florida, although to be honest we haven’t planned anything yet other than booking our return flights and hiring a large seven seater car for the whole two weeks.

So I guess I need some ideas about where to spend week two ??

Anyone got any suggestions – ?

 Looks like I’m going to Cardiff next week to do a special ” Introduction to Coaching” seminar on Tuesday evening. That should be good, haven’t been to Cardiff for quite a while.

 Then I have got the residential at Eynsham Hall near Oxford a couple of days later ( http://www.eynshamhall.com/ )

It looks like we have people coming from many different countries to do their coach training programme.

The only problem is I am also booked to give a talk on both Thur and Friday at the “Business Start Up” at the Olympia in London.

Looks like I will have to split myself in two !!!!!

Not really, thanks goodness I have a really efficient team to do all of the training and administration