The slingshot.

One of my most vivid childhood memories is of playing with a slingshot. There was a kind of magic to the whole thing.

Ours was handmade. I remember my dad and my elder brother making one. They searched for a branch with the right Y and the right strength, then carved it with Dad’s pocket knife into something that was a thrill to hold. Strips of black elastic from an old cycle tube were fixed on either side, with a small piece of red leather in the centre to cradle the stone.

The kids who had a slingshot of their own were never short of friends. I don’t remember them being sold in shops — maybe because we never went looking for one.

Later, much later, when I went on some holidays, I found ones that were sold in souvenir shops. They were not just toys, but powerful instruments that could shoot farther and hit what they were aimed at.

Getting your hands on one was half the joy. You find a small pebble that fits the red leather. You pull the band back and push the wooden Y away, building enough tension that your hand is somewhere between quivering and the steadiness the shot requires.

Then you let go — at the nearest mango tree or a tin kept for practice.

I don’t think I hit many of the things I aimed for.

The C is the coach. The Y is the yantra, the instrument; its Sanskrit root means to hold up and to sustain. And I visualise the red dot as the coachee — held for that moment before they let go and move towards what they are reaching for.

Coaching lives in that moment between quivering and steady.

The coach holds the frame still, giving the coachee room to steady themselves, think, see the target clearly and clear what is in the way.

The coach doesn’t choose the target. The coachee does. Then the coachee finds their way to the goal.

A solo coach is also the scheduler, the book-keeper, the logger and the chaser.

And every wobble there reaches the shot.

CoachYantra™ holds the frame of the practice: agreements, sessions, hours, invoices and payments.

The coach holds the conversation.

We manage the mechanics. You drive the momentum.

See how CoachYantra™ holds the frame for your practice →

When did you last hold a slingshot?