Coaches work in environments that can make them susceptible to burnout. There are high performance expectations from management, parents, and athletes. Many high-performance coaches deal with short contracts and pressure around job loss (Kentta et al, 2020). Perhaps one of the biggest contributors to burnout in coaching are the long, irregular work hours with extensive travel (Dixon & Bruening, 2005). These high demands on coaches time and the expectation to be available 24/7 can lead to an imbalance with too much time spent at work and interference with home life (Bentzen et al, 2016). It is also a job that requires a lot of time, care, and investment in athlete performance and well-being which can make adequate self-care and recovery for the coaches challenging (Olusoga, Maynard, Hays, & Butt, 2012).
In 16 years of coaching, I have had a lot of stops along the way. Throughout the years, I have slowly (and not always successfully) created better balance in my work. From earliest to latest, there are three jobs in three unique areas of the fitness industry that I will highlight.
Swim Coaching
My first coaching job was with a club swim team. There were 10 practices a week with morning practices 5:30 – 7am and evening sessions were typically 5:30 – 7:30pm. There were Saturday morning practices and swim meets to attend approximately 2x/month. Swim meets tend to be an all-weekend affair or 4 – 5 days if they are a championship meet. At swim meets you will typically be on the pool deck from 6am – 9pm with possibly 2 – 3 hours break in the afternoon between prelims and finals. To earn more income, I also worked part-time at the local running store ~ 10 – 15 hours per week.
I really do love swim coaching. If it weren’t for the unsustainable schedule and travel, I would have done this long term. However, having a completely opposite work schedule to your partner and family and then not being home many weekends takes a heavy toll. I get asked occasionally, if I’m interested in a swim coach position and it is really hard to say no. But ultimately, this career is not great for my overall wellness, and in my opinion there is a lot of burnout in the swim coaching industry. I would consider a seasonal position or Master’s swim coaching that does not have the same amount of time demands.
High Performance Center
During my PhD studies, I worked part-time in a high performance center. Looking back, I have absolutely no clue how I managed to finish a PhD in four years and work 20 hours/week. It was likely a lucky combination of having a great PhD supervisor, a wonderful group of colleagues at the high performance center, and some good old fashioned hard work. I really loved this environment and grew a lot as a coach here. Within the high performance center there were anywhere from six – eight professionals that were qualified to work with any number of sports. In South Africa, they have a health profession called biokinetics. The closest American counterpart would be an athletic trainer. With injured athletes they are involved in the final phases of rehabilitation and are heavily involved once the athlete returns to play as well. I was involved with endurance sports. This ranged from conducting Vo2 max tests, writing training programs, swim coaching and private swim lessons, helping with a beginner triathlon program, and more.
It was truly a lot of fun, but combined with my PhD studies the schedule was grueling. My work day often started at 5:30am with swim coaching, and there was very often an evening commitment of coaching or PhD work. It was not unusual to spend from 5:30am to 7:30pm at work with weekend work commitments at least 1 – 2 x/month. I think I enjoyed it more than I should have as being in a new country and beautiful setting was exciting. I also knew there was a time limit to the madness – I had to finish my PhD in four years as my study visa was expiring then. If not required to leave the country after my study visa expired, I would have loved to continue working in a high performance setting. Interdisciplinary work is the best way to grow as a coach.
Owning my own coaching business
Does anyone else have mental blocks when recalling life in the early stages of the Pandemic? Starting my own coaching business was born out of a necessity to earn money after completing my PhD in March 2020. Several work opportunities fell flat within a few weeks. I was hired at a high performance gym which promptly shut their doors one day after being hired. A post-doc position went to *hit. I could go on but it’s kind of depressing to recall all of the rejections and closed opportunities at the time.
But we find a way! Whether by accident, necessity, or a dream – I have now owned my own coaching business for over 4 years. In the last 16 years of being a coach, it is by far the most balance I have had in my life – but I still have to be careful and purposeful not to fill my days from 5 am – 8pm with work.
While no two days are ever the same as a solopreneur, I have control over how many athletes I will coach and how many commitments I will take on. There is still weekend work that involves being at races, checking in with athletes, and reviewing training on TrainingPeaks. However, it is far more manageable than the weekend commitments while swim coaching. I do know some running coaches that are at races every weekend and travel extensively. I have no doubt that this is great for business and can be both fulfilling and fun, but I have to honor what I find sustainable and fair to my family – not to mention how it can be very costly.
Summary
So, have I suffered burnout in coaching? It’s difficult to make that assessment without outside expertise, but there have certainly been periods of time where I have felt exhausted and that my work-recovery balance was out of whack. However, I truly couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. The love of this career runs deep. I have learned that there is a difference between my ideal dream job and one that is sustainable over the long term.
It is sooo easy as a coach or anyone in the fitness industry to find themselves working from 5am – 8pm. There is always a team looking for a coach or fitness class that needs an instructor or a gym that needs a trainer to fill those early morning or late evening hours.
What you find sustainable will change over your career. What seemed great in your 20’s as a single, young, and energetic new coach may not seem so great or even be necessary later in life. As with any career, being adaptable is necessary. I’m so thankful for this journey.
References
Bentzen, M., Lemyre, P. N., & Kenttä, G. (2016). Development of exhaustion for high5
performance coaches in association with workload and motivation: A person-centered6
approach. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 22, 10-16.
Dixon, M. A., & Bruening, J. E. (2005). Perspectives on work-family conflict in sport: an16
integrated approach. Sport Management Review, 8(3), 227-253
Kenttä, G., Bentzen, M., Dieffenbach, K., Olusoga, P. (2020)
Challenges Experienced by Women High-Performance Coaches: Sustainability in the
Profession. International Sport Coaching Journal, 7(2): 200-208
https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2019-0029
Olusoga, P., Maynard, I., Hays, K., & Butt, J. (2012). Coaching under pressure: A study of 11
Olympic coaches. Journal of sports sciences, 30(3), 229-239