0 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Burnout in Sport: Understanding the Process: From Early Warning Signs to Individualized Intervention “…a candle which once glowed brightly, began to flicker, and eventually extinguished” (Raedeke et al, 2002, p.182) Chapter 22 Kate Goodger, David Lavallee, Trish Gorely, & Chris Harwood
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What do athletes say?“Maybe 14 is too young to handle everything emotionally and I needed to escape from the expectation of being able to win every tournament I entered. I was always expected to be at the top and if I didn't win, to me that meant I was a loser. If I played terrible I thought I could handle it, but really I couldn't. I felt no-one liked me as a person. I was depressed and sad and lonely and guilty….I burned out.
After the US Open I spent a week in bed in darkness, just hating everything. When I looked in the mirror I saw this distorted image. I just wanted to kill myself. I'm not addicted to drugs, but you could say I was an addict to my own pain. I had this sarcasm about everything. I was depressed and sad and lonely and guilty.”
‘…a psychological syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced sense of performance accomplishment that can occur among individuals who work with people in some capacity’ (Maslach & Jackson, 1984 p. 134).
‘……a psychological, emotional and at times physical withdrawal from a formerly pursued and enjoyable activity in response to excessive stress or dissatisfaction’ (Smith, 1986 p.39).
‘A withdrawal from swimming noted by a reduced sense of accomplishment, devaluation/resentment of sport, and physical/psychological exhaustion’ (Raedeke, Lunney & Venables, 2002 p.181).
• Overtraining‘…a syndrome that results when excessive, usually physical, overload on an athlete occurs without adequate rest’ (US Olympic Committee Task Force cited in Gould and Dieffenbach, 2002 p.25).
• Staleness‘…a significant performance decrement that persisted for at least two weeks, and that without a doubt was caused by too much physical training (i.e., not by illness or injury)’ (Kentta, Hassmen & Raglin, 2001 p.461).
‘Pressure to win and train year round with vigour and intensity has increased dramatically in recent years, due in large part to the tremendous financial rewards, publicity, and status achieved by successful coaches and athletes’.
• Staleness – ‘a severe outcome resulting from the imbalance between total stress and total recovery, which is largely determined by the overall capacity (stress tolerance) of the individual’ (Kentta, 2001, p.41)
ResultsHigh EE = Less training/instruction and social support, and making fewer autocratic decisions.
DP and RPA = not related to coach behaviour
Lower perceived competence and enjoyment, and higher anxiety and burnout, associated with less frequent training/instruction, social support, and positive feedback.
These were generally characteristics of coaches experiencing high levels of burnout.