News about past clients

It’s just great hearing good things about people I have been very involved with in the past. Vered Bouskila from Israel, who I coached throughout 2005, has just finished 1st as part of a new team at one of the Grade 1 international sailing regattas – Hyeres, South of France. The results are at http://sof.ffvoile.net/results/470w.htm

I am so delighted for her. She has had a tough time recently and it is just great to see her talent having a chance to develop in a new partnership.

At the same regatta, Annie Lush who sailed with me in our Olympic Campaign 2002-3 in the Yngling class, http://www.cathyfoster.co.uk, was sailing with Nancy Haberland and they finished 4th. Again great news for both. Annie is now an incredibly accomplished international crew, and a World Champion in her own right, while I coached Nancy as part of Carol Cronin's Yngling crew during 2004 after our own campaign finished early. Well done them.

Beaulieu Boat Jumble

I'm just recovering from a very busy weekend. I've been to the sailing equivalent of a car boot sale in an attempt to reduce 30 years worth of chandlery items. A very interesting experience. It is the first time I've been to Beaulieu Boat Jumble, and its huge! However there were lots of 'shamateur' stalls in amongst the boating enthusiasts looking to re-cycle their old sailing stuff.

I didn't sell much, and some of the more juicy items got stolen so I'm feeling a little bruised by the experience. The preparation and general organisation I put into it went very well, but I'm not an experienced retail salesperson and it showed. The whole thing has reminded me of a very strong lesson I've learnt in the course of my life - focus on what you are good at. In this case being super-organised was no substitute for a poor selling effort.

Hey ho - plans to go to a car boot sale for the next clear out of old worldly goods have been banned from my mind for ever, and eBay, here I come!

Hi. This is me - Cathy Foster, otherwise known as cathy-coach.

My biography describes what I do.

Clean Language

A fascinating week for me. I am exploring how NLP can be integrated into my sailing life and work as well as my Life Coaching. I went to an NLP conference last Saturday that while a butterfly experience was none the less rich for that. One of the ‘how to market yourself’ presentations encouraged us to try blogging as a way of establishing an internet presence, so here I am.

I picked up a number of NLP books on subjects that I find particularly intriguing – coaching, NLP and sports coaching and ‘Clean Language’ – and am now steadily working through them.

Clean Language is appealing to me since the many years of coaching sailing at elite level has taught me the power of asking the appropriate question at the right time and in the right way. I want to expand the skills I have already acquired to further effect.

Clean Language is a technique developed by David Groves in which he uses metaphor to ‘heal the child within’. The book describing what he does is ‘Metaphors in the Mind – James Lawley and Penny Thompkins. I may never use the technique itself – it was developed for psychotherapy use – but then again, I may. Wendy Sullivan www.smallchangecompany.com is the main proponent in the UK, and her website describes other uses of clean language in areas I’m interested in – Life and Executive Coaching - so I’ve signed up to one her free teleclasses to try it out. I’ll report back later!

Hi. This is my first ever blog. Very exciting.

I will write about the coaching I do. I've been a sail-racing coach for 16 years, and over the last 12 months have decided to take my skills sideways into Life and Executive coaching. I'm having a great time discovering whole new worlds out there!