Coaches, look after yourselves!
Issue: Volume 28 Number 4
My role at the Australian Sports Commission, as Manager of the National Athlete Career and Education area, gives me an insight into the demands that are placed on athletes as they strive to achieve results in training and competition. We have a responsibility to ensure that the athletes have access to all the necessary facilities and services to ensure that there is life after their competitive career comes to an end, and to ensure that they enjoy a good quality of life outside the sporting arena even while they are still competing.
In an environment that demands more and more of its coaches, and the only success is often an unblemished winning record, coaches are also under tremendous pressure to achieve results at any cost. The pressure is often greater than even that experienced by the athletes, because in many cases, the coach’s livelihood depends on his or her athletes being successful. Certainly many athletes require results to ensure ongoing sponsorships and playing contracts, but they are only responsible for their own performance, not that of the entire team or squad.
This pressure to succeed can often lead to coaches neglecting their own wellbeing and ultimately causing everyone to lose — players, coach, club, sponsors, fans and so on.
Coaches need to ensure that they put appropriate strategies in place to ensure their own ongoing physical and mental health, and avoid letting their sporting responsibilities consume their every waking hour at the expense of a normal, healthy home, family or social life.
Take a long hard look at how you operate as a coach. Do you rarely see your children awake? Do your friends, partner, parents feel like they have to make an appointment to see you? Do you have time each day or each week set aside to look after your own wellbeing by getting a massage, going to the movies, reading a book (not a coaching text) or just relaxing with family or friends? Do you ever get to exercise just for yourself? Do you have difficulty finding enough food in your cupboard or fridge to make a meal because every spare minute seems to be taken up with training sessions or planning for training sessions?
Life balance is essential to ensure long-term mental and physical health. If answering any of the questions above made you realise that you’re not achieving a suitable balance between your coaching responsibilities and your personal life, then you should sit back and reassess how you’re operating. If you don’t think you can manage this by yourself, talk to a mentor or close friend who might give you some guidance.
Take some time to stay healthy, coach.
John Waser
Manager
National Athlete Career and Education
Australian Sports Commission
