How to Prevent Burnout as a Coach

(Inspired by the podcast episode #72: “It’s the Player who makes the Coach” w. Magnus Norman on The Adam Blicher Show — Dissecting High Performance in Tennis)

As a Tennis Coach you don't have a lot of free time. It's tough to plan your vacation because all of a sudden, the player gets injured and you need to e.g. help them in the summer where you were supposed to be on vacation.

I have the deepest respect for Tennis Coaches working with Junior Players from the age of 10-16. Those are the critical years and I think it's very easy to get lost in those years as a coach. You spend a lot of energy trying to help someone else.

Falling into the trap of not taking care of yourself is easy.

That's why for me, triathlon became a source of energy. I think it's important to find something else totally outside tennis. Hopefully it's related to health, to movement or general well-being. For me personally, I've been able to do triathlon, but it doesn't need to be triathlon. No matter what it is try to stay fit, try to eat well, try to sleep well. In general, to take care of yourself. Train your ability to sometimes say no to players because you need to take care of yourself first.

You need to have energy in order to give energy.

Sometimes turn your phone off. Don’t let anybody reach you whether that is when you are in the nature, going for a walk or working out. Take your time e.g. one hour a day. Instead of burning all your energy for a couple of years, you will have it back big time.

I think it's a matter of prioritizing. You can always prioritize yourself. That's the most important thing.

If you're a morning person, then why not start with a walk or hop on the bike or go to the pool and swim a couple of laps or whatever you like to do. Read a book, whatever, just to have that space where you take care of yourself before you go coaching. I think that’s important and something that we often tend to forget in a profession where we care for someone else.

If you want to listen to the full episode with Magnus click here

I hope Magnus Norman’s reflections can help initiate more awareness on the topic of Coaches Longevity and how we all as coaches can create better circumstances for a healthy Work-Life balance where we nurture our psycial-, social- and mental well-being.