Examining the Stress and Mental Ill/Well-Being of the Coaching Workforce

It is widely accepted that the demanding nature of sport coaching has the potential to influence the performance and mental ill/well-being of coaches. As such, we aimed to comprehensively explore the factors influencing coach mental ill/well-being (e.g., experiences of stress) in attempts to better understand how we might enhance their ability to function effectively and thrive in their roles.

The findings of our research with elite football coaches revealed they often had negative experiences of role-related stress (e.g., negative demand appraisals, emotional, and behavioural responses), which they ineffectively coped with, and this led to a range of negative performance, wider life, and mental ill/well-being implications.

The impact of our ongoing research includes supporting the mental well-being of over 500 coach education candidates (Level 4 and 5) at the Football Association of Wales and to developing a series of mental ill/well-being resources for UK Coaching to support the wider coaching workforce.