In the last few years, a growing amount of focus has been on the mental health and well-being of coaches. Coaches, especially those who coach full time as their primary job, report experiencing a high degree of pressures that have led them to feel overwhelmed with stress and mental exhaustion. Uniquely, and often under reported and under discussed, coaches struggle with high rates of mental health difficulties. According to the most recent NCAA survey on mental health, 40% of head coaches and 36% of assistant coaches feel mentally exhausted. Similarly, up to 37% of head coaches feel overwhelmed by all that they had to do.

With, at times, minimal income for the high amounts of work, focus, stress, and travel that is put into coaching, it is no surprise that there are complimentary stressors that follow. Financial worries, concerns of job security, success on and off the field, feeling as though they are not “doing enough”, are just a few issues that coaches report struggling with. In addition, the stress from their jobs tends to affect home life, relationships, parenting, work-life balance, and self care.

Therapy can help.

If you are a coach, a mentor, sports administrator, or someone who plays a similar role in your career, and are struggling with any sort of mental health issues, I urge you to reach out for support.