Basketball Australia has recently conducted a series of clinics and presentations around well-being and self-care for coaches as part of an ongoing commitment to supporting coaches at all levels of the sport.
Here are some notes and observations from these presentations, designed to provide food for thought for coaches as they juggle the busy nature of modern coaching.
What is Coach Well-being?
- Physical
- Sleep
- Rest
- Nutrition & hydration
- Exercise
- Emotional
- Work-life balance
- Time for family
- Friends and relationships
- Mindfulness
- Growth
- Discipline/change of habits
- Learning about how best to manage self
- Ongoing investment in self-care
The Three Important Questions –
- Do you practice what you preach in relation to looking after yourself?
- Are you flourishing in your role as coach or simply coping?
- Do you a plan to manage you?
The Reality –
- Generations of coaches have been raised on old adages such as –
- “best first there, last to leave”
- “don’t let anyone outwork you”
- “grind mentality”
- Are you guilty of “celebrating the grind”?
- Important to place “function over fortitude” – you are the only one impressed by a 65-hour working week
The Three R’s of coach well-being –
- Respect
- for self
- family
- players
- assistant coaches and support staff
- Realistic
- managing expectations of yourself, your staff and your players
- Reflection
- Reassess your current habits and practices
- Review constantly
Aspects to consider –
- Sleep is an investment in performance
- Burn-out is real at all levels of sport
- Balance is important and so are you
- Journaling is a valuable self-care tool
The Coach’s care plan –
- Create a “contract” with yourself for improved self-care as a coach
- Share it with your staff – “this is what I plan to do and I need you to hold me accountable”
- Share it with your family – “this is what I am going to do”
- Document the process – journaling is powerful
- Celebrate and communicate the small wins
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