Why should the Tiger Woods and Anna Kournikovas of the world be the only ones to get a little coaching? Just because there’s no field or net doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t benefit from a little whistle-blowing help from the sidelines.

More business owners, executives and ordinary individuals are hiring coaches to help them lead and make better decisions. Want to leave your corporate job and start a dot-com? Get the feeling you spend your whole life toiling for things you don’t really need or even want? Looking to put balance in your life and find more time? Those are a few of the issues people bring to personal and business coaches, whose ranks have swelled since the early 1990s.

The trend is catching on. The International Coach Federation (ICF), a Washington, D.C.-based association of personal and business coaches, estimates there are more than 10,000 coaches nationwide and the number is skyrocketing as business and personal coaching has become one of the hottest trends in management. The federation has more than doubled its membership to 3,500 in the past year.

The ICF, which has 3,500 members in 137 chapters in over 20 countries, is the only independent accrediting body for personal and business coaches. It has certified over 600 coaches internationally.

Want to find out more about coaching? The third annual International Personal Business and Coaching Week will be held February 5 to 11. According to the ICF, “The purpose of the week, is to educate the public about the value of working with a coach and to provide an opportunity for coaches and their clients to acknowledge the results and progress made through the coaching process.”

Locally, ICF member Maria Marsala, known as Coach Maria, will be conducting free 20-minute life and business coaching sessions on Wednesday, Feb. 7 from 1-5 p.m. and again from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. No appointments are necessary. If you get a busy signal, simply call back.

For more information about local coaching contact Marsala (360) 598-3880, maria@coachmaria.com or visit www.coachmaria.com.