BURNOUT IN BURNOUT IN COACHESCOACHES

Lynn GugliuzzaApril 28, 2008

What is BurnoutBurnout?

A state of emotional exhaustion caused by excessive psychological and emotional demands. It is a chronic condition occurring when demands exceed an individual’s abilities to cope, leading to feelings of being overwhelmed, and resulting in psychological, emotional, and physical withdrawal from the stressful activity.

(Drake, 2002)

Stress / Role Strain / Role Overload can be viewed as a mismatch between the perceived demands of a situation and one’s perceived capabilities and resources for meeting those demands.

(Kelley, 1994)

Three components Emotional exhaustion- feeling overextended or

emotionally exhausted by work Depersonalization- characterized by a lack of

caring for clients or athletes Lack of personal accomplishment- failure to

perceive a desired level of competence and achievement in one’s work

(Drake, 2002) (Kelley, 1994)

Are these three VALUES we want to pass along to our athletes?

Sport Specific Model Main theme: Cognitive appraisal of and

physiological responses to stress influence the development of burnout.

Supported by the fact: Perceived lack of accomplishment,

autonomy, and support were more predictive of burnout than the actual amounts of time coaches spent in work and leisure activities.

(Vealey, 1998)

How does this transition into coaching? IMBALANCE between the

demands of the coaching situation (understanding and motivating athletes, planning practices, developing budgets) and the

resources available to deal with the situation (communication skills, support staff, basic accounting skills) can lead to the development of coaching burnout.

(Kelley, 1994)

STRESS Factors Burnout

Self-imposed and external pressures to WIN *Single greatest source of stress in athletics*

TIME demands viewed as overwhelming ROLE CONFLICTS

Teaching courses, coaching multiple sports, parental roles Inequalities between men’s and women’s programs General lack of administrative understanding/support

Shrinking budgets for program needs & coach’s salaries Being a ROLE MODEL for their athletes Belief that today’s athletes lack dedication Loss of patience with athletes.

(Kelley, 1994) (Hjalm, 2007) (Drake, 2002) (Felder, 1990)

Winning above all else, even your health? Sacrifice family time for your job?

WIN TIME ROLE CONFLICTS ROLE MODEL

YouTube - Angry NFL Coaches“Coaches are performers, educators,

administrators, leaders, planners, motivators, negotiators, managers, and listeners, but they are also people.”

(Hjalm, 2007)

What messages are we sending to our athletes?

How does this effect the athletes? Coaches begin to distance themselves

from the athletes and experience a reduced sense of meaning about their work

… which leads to

A decrease in the quality of the athletic experience for the coach and athletes.

(Kelley, 1994)

Coach Burnout

Perceptions of Coach’s Behavior

Athlete Anxiety

Athlete Burnout

Vealey’s Study in 1998

What was found? **Overall, higher levels of burnout in athletes was related to

their perceptions of their coaches’ communication and feedback behaviors and coaching styles. Perceived their coaches were:

less empathetic emphasized dispraise as opposed to praise as a motivational

technique implemented an autocratic coaching style emphasized winning as more important than the development of

athletes.

Coaches with stronger feelings of personal accomplishment were perceived by their athletes as having a greater tendency to use praise, communicate effectively, and display empathy.

(Vealey, 1998)

Bruce Parkhill, former Penn State basketball coach, resigned because he was “tired, lacked commitment, but most of all, he didn’t want to cheat his players, his program, or Penn State.”

(Wojciechowski, 1995)

“Coaches who see change rather than stability as the norm in life, who believe they have the ability to influence the course of events, and who approach life with a sense of purpose and a healthy curiosity are less likely to perceive situations as threatening and are less prone to burnout.”

(Kelley, 1994)

Cognitive Coping Strategies Develop an awareness

Recognize your own symptoms of self-destructive stress and using psychological techniques, correct and then eliminate burnout

Accept the limitations of one’s control Player injuries, underperformance, referees

Focus on what you can control Training sessions, mental preparation and

motivation levels of players Share control with assistants, players

(Steinberg , 1999) (Hemsley, 2003)

Prevention Stretegies Personal Release

Means to separate yourself physically or mentally from work

Organization Skills Structure the coaching environment to be

rewarding and satisfying to maintain commitment. Mentors

More experienced coaches should help guide young coaches to help them achieve success and maintain the desire to remain in the profession

(Drake, 2002) (Raedeke, 2004)

Tips to staying committed REST…you may sleep a lot but you seldom feel “rested”

Good Nutrition Physical / Emotional Exercise

Relaxation techniques Time Alone Spiritual and Religious Time Time with children / family / friends New Interests or hobbies Develop new talents

(Hemsley, 2003) (Maskaly, 2008) (Raedeke, 2004)

So…What is the key to it all?

Sounds like a simple word, but without it many things are not possible

(Maskaly, 2008)

References "Angry NFL Coaches." YouTube. 26 Apr. 2008 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGXHxhDMBBY>. Drake, Diane, and Edward Hebert. "Perceptions of Occupational Stress and Strategies for Avoiding Burnout: Case

Studies of Two Female Teacher-Coaches." Physical Educator (2002). General OneFile. Boston University, Boston. 16 Apr. 2008.

Felder, Dennis, and Dan Wishnietsky. "Role Conflict, Coaching Burnout and the Reduction in Number of Female

Interscholastic Coaches." Physical Educator (1990): 7-14. EBSCO. Boston University, Boston. 16 Apr. 2008. Hemsley, Aaron. "Running on Empty? You Can Recover From--or Better Yet Prevent--the Peril of Emotional

Burnout." Research (2003): 60-62. General OneFile. Boston University, Boston. 17 Apr. 2008. Hjalm, Soren, Goran Kentta, Peter Hassmenan, and Henrik Gustafsson. "Burnout Among Elite Soccer Coaches."

Journal of Sport Behavior (2007): 415-418. Academic OneFile. Boston University, Boston. 17 Apr. 2008. Kelley, Betty C. "A Model of Stress and Burnout in Collegiate Coaches: Effects of Gender and Time of Season."

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (1994): 48-59. Academic OneFile. Boston University, Boston. 17 Apr. 2008.

Mannie, Ken. "To Those Who Really Matter." Coach and Athletic Director Sept. 2007: 70-71. Boston University,

Boston. 16 Apr. 2008. Maskaly, Michelle. "Life Balance is the Key to Avoiding Burnout." The Quill (2008): 29. Academic OneFile. Boston

University, Boston. 17 Apr. 2008. Raedeke, Thomas D. "Coach Commitment and Burnout: a One-Yeah Follow-Up." Journal of Applied Sport Psychology

16 (2004): 333-349. Boston University, Boston. 17 Apr. 2008. Steinberg, Gregg M., Robert N. Singer, and Milledge Murphey. "Lack of Control in Coaching: Potential Complications

and Strategies to Help Coaches." The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (1999): 39. Academic OneFile. Boston University, Boston. 17 Apr. 2008.

Vealey, Robin S., Lucinda Armstrong, William Comar, and Christy A. Greenleaf. "Influence of Perceived Coaching

Behaviors on Burnout and Competitive Anxiety in Female College Athletes." Journal of Applied Sport Psychology (1998): 297-318. Boston University, Boston. 17 Apr. 2008.

Wojciechowski, Gene. "Dunn's Dream Comes True, But Not the Way He Planned." The Sporting News 23 Oct. 1995:

54. Academic OneFile. Boston University, Boston. 17 Apr. 2008.