The professional coaching school founded by international bestselling author and entrepreneur Marco Robinson achieves ICF Level 1 accreditation, announces its first graduates and builds a faculty led by ICF Master Certified Coach Merci Miglino.
LONDON, UK AND NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 15, 2026 / Coaching Heroes, the professional coach education school founded by British entrepreneur and international bestselling author Marco Robinson, is now officially accredited at Level 1 by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
The accreditation marks a major milestone for Coaching Heroes as it develops an international professional coach education model combining recognised coaching standards with practical education in building and growing a sustainable coaching business.
The school has also reached another important milestone.
Students have already graduated from the Coaching Heroes program.
The first graduates include:
Jen Ripa
Elizabeth Bjorndal Ruud
Jodie Gruninger
Kersten Stengel
C J Janzen
Dianne Tremblay
Samir Doh
Lauren Margaritis
For Robinson, the combination of official accreditation, an experienced faculty and students successfully completing the program represents the transition of Coaching Heroes from an idea into an established professional education platform.
“We didn’t want to create another coaching course with a certificate designed by the people selling the course,” Robinson says.
“We wanted to build a real coaching school around recognised professional standards.
“That meant creating the curriculum, bringing in highly credentialed coaching professionals, building proper assessment and mentor coaching into the education, and ultimately going through the process required to achieve ICF accreditation.
Now the school is officially ICF Level 1 accredited, and we already have students who have graduated from the program. That is something we are incredibly proud of.“
OFFICIALLY ACCREDITED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COACHING FEDERATION
The International Coaching Federation is one of the world’s leading professional organisations for coaching and establishes globally recognised standards for coaching education, ethics, professional competencies and individual coach credentials.
Coaching Heroes has achieved ICF Level 1 accreditation for its coach education program.
The distinction is important.
This is not simply an internal Coaching Heroes certification described as being based on ICF principles.
The program itself has undergone the accreditation process and has been recognised within the ICF coach education framework at Level 1.
ICF Level 1 education provides a recognised educational pathway for people seeking to develop professional coaching skills and, if they choose, subsequently pursue the ICF Associate Certified Coach, or ACC, credential.
Students who graduate from the Coaching Heroes accredited program have completed the school’s Level 1 education and assessment requirements.
Individual ICF credentials such as ACC are awarded separately by the International Coaching Federation after applicants satisfy the applicable ICF requirements, including coaching experience and credentialing requirements.
That distinction is deliberately made clear to Coaching Heroes students.
Robinson says transparency around professional standards has been central to the school’s development.
“People deserve to know exactly what they’re paying for and exactly what their qualification represents,” he says.
“That’s one of the reasons achieving the ICF accreditation mattered so much to us.”
A STRUCTURED PROFESSIONAL COACHING EDUCATION
The Coaching Heroes curriculum combines formal coach education with live learning, practical coaching, mentor coaching, observation, feedback and assessment.
Students study the foundations of professional coaching and the competencies required to create meaningful coaching relationships.
The education covers areas including ethical practice, establishing coaching agreements, building trust, active listening, creating awareness, powerful questioning, facilitating client growth and developing the mindset required of a professional coach.
But the school was designed around another challenge Robinson identified within the coaching profession.
Becoming capable of coaching someone and becoming capable of building a sustainable coaching career are not necessarily the same thing.
Robinson wanted Coaching Heroes to address both.
MERCI MIGLINO, MCC LEADS COACHING HEROES EDUCATION
At the centre of the school’s educational structure is Merci Miglino, MCC, Director of Education for Coaching Heroes.
Miglino is an ICF Master Certified Coach with more than two decades of experience in coaching, coach education, mentoring and leadership development.
The MCC designation represents the highest level within ICF’s core individual coaching credential structure.
Miglino has designed and delivered ICF accredited coach training and has extensive experience mentoring coaches progressing through ACC, PCC and MCC credential pathways.
Her work has also included executive and organisational coaching with leaders and organisations internationally.
As Director of Education, Miglino provides senior educational leadership to Coaching Heroes and helps ensure the coaching component of the school is built around rigorous professional standards.
For Robinson, appointing an MCC-level professional to lead the educational side of the organisation was intentional.
“My expertise is building businesses, creating offers, generating sales and helping people monetise what they know,” Robinson says.
“I wasn’t going to pretend that made me an MCC coach educator.
“So we built the school differently.
We brought in people whose professional credentials in coaching speak for themselves.
“Merci is an extraordinary coach and educator. She protects the integrity of the coaching education while I concentrate on helping our students understand how to turn their skills into a real business.”
ANTOY GRANT BRINGS ICF NEW YORK LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
The Coaching Heroes leadership and faculty structure also includes Antoy Grant, ACC, business partner, instructor and accreditation strategist.
Grant is an ICF credentialed Associate Certified Coach and served as President of the International Coaching Federation New York City Chapter in 2025.
Her role brings direct experience of the wider professional coaching community into Coaching Heroes alongside her background in leadership, entrepreneurship and coach development.
Grant works with the Coaching Heroes team on professional standards, student development and the structures supporting the school’s coach education.
Together, Miglino and Grant create a strong professional coaching foundation beneath the wider Coaching Heroes model.
Miglino contributes MCC-level coach education and mentoring expertise.
Grant contributes credentialed coaching experience and direct leadership experience within one of ICF’s major city chapters.
Robinson brings the commercial component.
MARCO ROBINSON’S ROLE: BUILDING THE BUSINESS BEHIND THE COACH
Robinson founded Coaching Heroes after identifying what he believed was a significant gap between professional education and commercial reality.
A coach may possess strong coaching skills but still struggle to answer fundamental business questions.
Who is the client?
What problem does the coach solve?
How should that expertise be positioned?
How should the service be priced?
How does the coach build authority?
Where do clients come from?
How does someone turn professional expertise into a sustainable business?
These questions form the commercial side of the Coaching Heroes philosophy.
Robinson’s business career has involved building companies, sales organisations and brands across multiple industries and international markets.
At Coaching Heroes, his role is to teach the commercial disciplines surrounding the coaching profession rather than replace the professional coach education delivered by the school’s credentialed faculty.
The result is a deliberate separation of expertise.
The coaching faculty teaches students how to coach professionally.
Robinson teaches them how to build the business around the coach.
“There’s no point becoming brilliant at changing people’s lives if nobody knows you exist,” Robinson says.
“Professional standards matter enormously. That’s why we went through the ICF accreditation process.
“But once somebody has developed those skills, they also need to understand positioning, communication, marketing, sales and client acquisition.
Great coaching creates transformation. A sustainable business allows the coach to keep creating it.“
FROM ACCREDITATION TO GRADUATION
The significance of the Coaching Heroes accreditation is now being demonstrated through students completing the program.
The school’s graduates represent different professional and personal backgrounds but share the common objective of developing professional coaching capabilities they can apply in the real world.
The first graduates include Jen Ripa, Elizabeth Bjorndal Ruud, Jodie Gruninger, Kersten Stengel, C J Janzen, Dianne Tremblay, Samir Doh and Lauren Margaritis.
Their completion marks an important point in the development of the school.
Coaching Heroes is no longer talking solely about what it intends to build.
The accreditation has been achieved.
The faculty is established.
The program is operating.
Students have graduated.
And future cohorts are now able to enter an established ICF Level 1 accredited education program.
WHY ICF ACCREDITATION MATTERS
The professional coaching industry has expanded rapidly around the world.
But unlike professions in which a single government licence controls entry, the term “coach” can be used broadly.
That makes professional standards and recognised education increasingly important for clients, organisations and people considering coaching as a career.
ICF accreditation provides an internationally recognised framework through which coach education programs can demonstrate that their curriculum and assessment processes meet established professional requirements.
For Coaching Heroes, achieving Level 1 accreditation therefore represents more than a marketing milestone.
It provides external recognition of the professional coach education underpinning the school.
It also gives students a defined educational pathway should they subsequently decide to pursue an individual ICF credential.
BUILDING A DIFFERENT KIND OF COACHING SCHOOL
Robinson believes the next stage of Coaching Heroes will be defined by combining professional standards with entrepreneurial capability.
The objective is not simply to graduate more coaches.
It is to develop coaches who understand professional ethics, competencies and coaching practice while also possessing the confidence and commercial knowledge required to build sustainable careers.
That philosophy is reflected in the school’s leadership.
Marco Robinson: Founder and Business Mentor
Merci Miglino, MCC: Director of Education and ICF Master Certified Coach
Antoy Grant, ACC: Business Partner, Instructor and Accreditation Strategist, and 2025 President of ICF New York City
The structure intentionally combines entrepreneurship with professional coaching expertise rather than expecting one individual to provide both.
THE FIRST GRADUATES ARE ONLY THE BEGINNING
With its ICF Level 1 accreditation achieved and its first students now graduated, Coaching Heroes is preparing for its next stage of international growth.
Future cohorts will continue to receive the professional coaching education required by the accredited program alongside the separate commercial training that differentiates the Coaching Heroes model.
Robinson believes that combination can create a new generation of coaches who are not only professionally educated but commercially independent.
“This was never about putting another badge on a website,” Robinson says.
“It was about building something real.
We now have an officially ICF accredited Level 1 coaching program.
We have an MCC leading our education.
We have an ICF credentialed coach who served as President of ICF New York City working inside the organisation.
And most importantly, we now have graduates.
“Those are the things that matter to me because they are tangible.
“We built what we said we were going to build.
Now we’re going to take it to the world.“
ABOUT COACHING HEROES
Coaching Heroes is a professional coach education and business development school founded by international bestselling author and entrepreneur Marco Robinson.
Its International Coaching Federation Level 1 accredited coach education program combines professional coaching education, mentor coaching, practical experience, observation, feedback and assessment.
The school’s educational faculty is led by Merci Miglino, MCC, with Antoy Grant, ACC, 2025 President of ICF New York City, serving as a business partner, instructor and accreditation strategist.
Alongside its professional coach education, Coaching Heroes provides separate business development education designed to help coaches understand positioning, branding, offers, marketing, sales and client acquisition.
The school has now graduated its first students and is expanding its international education community.
Media Enquiries
Marco Robinson
Founder, Coaching Heroes
Website: coachingheroes.coach
Email: info@coachingheroes.coach
Media interviews, education partnerships and Coaching Heroes enquiries are welcomed.
SOURCE: Coaching Heroes
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