Performance Coaches

We established Coaches Kōrero as a forum to
recognise and celebrate our Performance Coaching
community in New Zealand. Over the last 20 months
we have celebrated 40 coaches across 21 sports.

In this issue we profile our recent Halberg “Coach of
the Year” Gordon Walker and new ANZ Premiership
Netball coach Donna Wilkins.

Andy Longley has also written a piece around coach
wellbeing “Tackling Mental Health and Burnout
in Coaching”. If you would like to access our
independent and confidential wellbeing service you
can contact Andy at [email protected]

Thank you to those that completed the survey, we
have gathered some really good insights that we will
share with you next month.

Finally, can I encourage you to join our community.
We want to build an independent and sustainable
operating model. For us to achieve this objective,
we are reliant on building a strong and vibrant
membership.

If you would like to join, please complete the membership form:

If you would like more information about Te Korowai or
support services you can contact Andrew Gaze us on
[email protected] or 021 443 523

Ngā mihi,

Tom Willmott

Chair

Behind the Whistle: Tackling Mental Health and Burnout in Coaching

Andy is a team performance expert with a background in psychology & applied neuroscience, who is Te Korowai’s
coach wellbeing lead.

Kia Ora coaches. I wanted to take the chance to shine our spotlight on a topic dear to all of our hearts, our coach wellbeing, mental health and potential burnout. There’s been a lot of focus on athlete wellbeing recently, and rightly so, however I believe that us coaches are often forgotten about. So, I wanted to write this article about coach wellbeing, ensure it is supported by the latest research, and include practical strategies we can all use as we show ourselves a little more love!

In sport, coaches are often seen as the steady hand behind the chaos — the motivators, mentors, strategists, and problem-solvers. But behind our whistle, clipboard, and game face, many coaches are struggling. The conversation around athlete wellbeing has come a long way, but coach wellbeing is still catching up. And the truth is, burnout and mental health challenges are real and a rising concern in the coaching world — including right here in Aotearoa.

Coaching: A Role with Pressure from All Sides
Coaches, especially those working in high-performance sport, face a cocktail of stressors. Job security can be
tenuous, hours are long, emotional investment is high, and the line between work and personal life gets pretty blurry.
Here in Aotearoa the expectations are massive. Most high-performance coaches are wearing multiple hats — coach, analyst, manager, mentor and often with tight budgets and limited support.

A 2020 study published in The Sport Psychologist described a “culture of sacrifice” in coaching, where overworking and self-neglect are normalised. Add to that the relentless pressure to perform (on the international stage, no less), and it’s easy to see how burnout creeps in. A book by Cody Royle titled “The Tough Stuff” is a great read on this very topic if you’re curious.

Closer to home, research out of AUT’s Sport Performance Research Institute has started to dig into the emotional toll of high-performance coaching in Aotearoa. It reinforces what many coaches already know: the work is rewarding, but it’s relentless. And without the right support, it can erode at our mental health over time.

Burnout: The Slow Burn No One Talks About
Burnout in coaching isn’t always loud or dramatic. Sometimes it’s subtle — emotional exhaustion, a drop in motivation, a loss of the care-factor, or a growing sense of disconnection from the work. Over time, it doesn’t just affect you, but it shapes the environment you create for your athletes and colleagues too.

A study by Bentzen, Lemyre, and Kenttä (2016) found that high job demands and low control over scheduling were major predictors of burnout. Coaches who felt isolated or emotionally overloaded were especially at risk. While the study was based in Europe, the findings resonate here in Aotearoa, where coaching roles can feel lonely and all-consuming.

So, What Can Be Done?
The good news? We’re starting to better understand the problem, and research shows there are ways to fight back.
While broader system-level change is critical (more on that soon), there are practical things coaches can do to protect and restore their Hauora (holistic wellbeing).

Here are a few ideas grounded in research and real-life practice:

• Practice What You Preach We teach athletes about performance mindset, breathing techniques, and focus — but how often do we use them ourselves? A 2021 study by Olusoga et al. trialled mindfulness-based techniques with coaches and found reductions in stress and emotional fatigue. Practices like mindful breathing, body scanning, and taking five-minute pauses helped coaches feel more grounded.
  
  Try this: Build a short “mental reset” into your day. Even five minutes of quiet breathing or reflection between sessions can make a difference. Taking a breather supports not just your mind, but your whole Hauora — your mental, physical, social and spiritual wellbeing.
  

• Peer Support: Don’t Go It Alone
  Coaching in Aotearoa can be tight knit but isolating. Everyone knows everyone, but that doesn’t always mean you feel supported. Coaches who build a network of trusted peers — whether that’s a formal mentoring setup, a group chat, or just a regular catch-up over coffee — tend to report greater resilience and job satisfaction. Shared stories create shared strength. This is in fact one of the reasons why Te Korowai was established – to help connect and support our coaching community.
  
  Try this: Set up a monthly “coaches’ huddle” with a few mates in the system. No agenda needed — just a safe space to offload, learn, and support each other.
  

• Redrawing the Line Between Work and Life
  One of the biggest contributors to burnout? A lack of boundaries. When your phone’s always on, your weekends disappear, and your identity is wrapped up in results, things unravel fast. High-performance sport in Aotearoa doesn’t always allow for clear lines between personal and professional life, but that makes it even more important to carve them out where you can.
  
  Try this: Use calendar blocking to protect personal time. Mark non-negotiable blocks for family, rest, or even just doing nothing. Normalise having a life outside of sport and protect it with tenacity.
  

• Purpose, Not Just Performance
  Most of us coaches got into this game because we love sport and care about people. But it’s easy to lose sight of that when you’re in the grind of selection cycles, funding reports, and international competition. Coaches who reconnect regularly with their “why” tend to feel more grounded and less burnt out. Reflecting on values and coaching purpose helps keep you steady when things get tough.
  
  Try this: Write or revisit your coaching philosophy. Why did you start? What do you want to be known for? Use it as your anchor when the noise gets loud.
  

Organisational Responsibility Matters Too
Let’s be clear: coach burnout isn’t just a personal issue. It’s systemic, and organisations have a huge role to play.

Sport NZ’s Balance is better philosophy is already shifting the way we think about athlete development. That same lens needs to apply to coach wellbeing too. Coaches can’t be expected to sustain high-performance performance environments without sustainable support.

Sporting bodies like SNZ, HPSNZ, or your NSO can help by:

• Providing tailored mental health and wellbeing resources for coaches.

• Encouraging reasonable workloads and respecting recovery time.

• Offering ongoing development focused on resilience and leadership.

• Creating safe spaces for honest kōrero about stress and pressure.
  

The Final Whistle
In a country where sport is woven into our national identity, looking after the people behind the performance is everyone’s responsibility. A well-supported coach means better outcomes — for athletes, teams, and the future of sport in Aotearoa. Taking care of your own mental health isn’t soft — it’s smart coaching. If you’d like to learn more about this essential topic, check out Te Korowai’s website for plenty of free resources, or join our coach community to help you stay connected, learning and supported.

Te Korowai Support
We appreciate that you might have some awesome people in your NSO or sport to talk to which is fantastic, but if you’d rather chat with someone outside of your immediate circle, Te Korowai is here for you.

As part of our well-being offer, we are proud to offer free wellbeing support for our Member coaches in the form of:

• a confidential consultation with a high-performance wellbeing expert.

• a range of great resources for self-education on a broad range of wellbeing related topics like sleep, mental health, social connections, or finding your purpose that can be found in our Members only section of our website.

References

Bentzen, M., Lemyre, P. N., & Kenttä, G. (2016). Emotional exhaustion and burnout among high-performance coaches in Norwegian football: A self-determination perspective. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 11(2), 217–228.

Olusoga, P., Bentzen, M., Kenttä, G., & Roberts, R. (2021). Mindfulness-based interventions for the reduction of stress and burnout in coaches: A systematic review. International Sport Coaching Journal, 8(2), 199–210.

Royle, C. (2021). The tough stuff: Seven hard truths about being a head coach. Lioncrest Publishing. Sport New Zealand. Balance is Better. https://balanceisbetter.org.nz/

The Sport Psychologist. (2020). Special Issue on Coach Wellbeing and Burnout. The Sport Psychologist, 34(1).

AUT Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand (SPRINZ). Research on High-Performance Coach Wellbeing. https://sprinz.aut.ac.nz/