Coach and Athlete Burnout - West Virginia University

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trait anxiety. Situational factors included amount time spent working and in leisure, level
of coaching, and sport type. The results indicated that trait anxiety was the strongest
predictor in burnout among coaches. Coaches who approached their job with feelings of
nervousness and worry tended to experience higher levels of burnout. Cognitively, the
results indicated that high levels of burnout were associated with a lack of perceived
meaningful accomplishments, as well as a perceived lack of control, success and support.
Intrapersonally, only gender emerged as relating to burnout, with females reporting
greater levels than males. The authors suggest that the results provide some support for
this model, particularly for its cognitive and dispositional factors.
Kelley and Gill (1993) also employed Smith’s (1986) model of burnout in their
examination of collegiate teacher-coaches. They sought to identify the relationship of
personal and situational variables to stress appraisal, and the relationship of stress
appraisal to burnout. The results of their work revealed that satisfaction with social
support, more coaching experience, and gender (with males scoring lower) were
predicative of stress appraisal. In addition, a greater stress appraisal was linked to higher
levels of burnout. The authors suggest that their results provide strong support for
Smith’s (1986) proposed model of burnout.
Gould, Tuffey, Udry, and Loehr (1996) conducted qualitative research in an
attempt to examine various aspects of burnout in junior tennis players. The authors
analyzed their results keeping three models of burnout in mind. These included Silva’s
(1990) negative training stress model, Coakley’s (1992) socialization model, and Smith’s
(1986) cognitive-affective model. Gould, Tuffey, and colleagues (1996) concluded that
their results were best explained using Smith’s model as a framework as it was the most