Coaching Burnout and Safety: Uncovering the Hidden Crisis in Our Sports Culture

Survey says, 91.9% of coaches say they love what they do… so why are nearly 85% of them facing burnout and ready to quit?

The Coaching Crisis is here, now. Few are talking about it — but Barry Healey of BC Canada is.

A SafeSport report on its coaches survey began by exposing the hidden crisis in U.S. sports — where passion for coaching is crushed by politics, pressure, and lack of support.

Parents, Politics & Pressure = Burnout

The biggest burnout driver for coaches? It’s not the kids. It’s the parents, the politics, and the impossible pressure.

Coaches Are Quitting in Droves

National survey data uncovers the truth: Coaches are quitting, and it’s not because they stopped caring. Verbal harassment, retaliation fears, and racial + gender disparities — sports coaches are under fire. It’s time we talked about it.

Episode #87 of Heavy Or Not, The OG Swim Guide, examines the U.S. National Coaches Survey from SafeSport. The stark paradox of love‑filled coaching plus crushing burnout is woven in the today’s profession. We want you to consider what it means for the future of athletics.

• 91.9% of coaches say coaching positively impacts their lives, yet ≈ 85% report burnout in the past five years.

• Safety culture gaps: athletes are prioritized, coaches’ well‑being is largely ignored; 96% feel prepared to react to harm, but only ~50% hold proactive prevention talks.

• Disparities by gender, race, and disability: female and disabled coaches face higher burnout and fear of retaliation; Asian and Black coaches report almost 1‑in‑4 fear retaliation.

• Parent dynamics: verbal harassment from parents (and peers) tops the list of burnout drivers; coaches call it “worse than children.”

• Recommendations from the field: stronger top‑down leadership and accountability, concrete support for dealing with parents, and expanded training/educational resources.

The full PDF report is within a lesson at the course, CYA as part of the Learning Management System of the International Swim Coaches Association at Read.SwimISCA.org.

• Direct link to the report, PDF, 4.3mb, 94 pages.

• Direct link to the CYA course.

• Direct link to Read.SwimISCA.org.

• Link to the Headquarters site for ISCA.org.

Check out this episode!