The Moderating Role of the Coach/Athlete Relationship in Athlete Burnout Among Former High School Athletes

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Sporting Activity as Intervention: Effects on Burnout, Anxiety, Perceptions, and Experiences

Abstract

Research shows that the quantity and quality of sport participation including coach/athlete relationship are related to athlete burnout. This study investigated whether different dimensions of coach/athlete relationships––commitment, closeness, and complementarity (3Cs)––moderated the relationships between years of sport participation and burnout, and the number of sports played and burnout. Participants were 252 college students (Mage = 20.80; 173 females, 65 males, three other, and 11 unspecified) from a Midwestern university. They completed a survey including demographic questions and study variables. Moderation analyses indicated that athletes’ perception of their coaches’ commitment, closeness, and complementarity significantly moderated the relationship between years of sport participation and burnout, but not between number of sports and burnout.
Keywords: burnout, closeness, commitment, complementarity, interaction

Authors

• Craig Frea, Minnesota State, Mankato

• Tsz Lun Chu, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

• Kaylyn Herron, University of Wisconsin–Green Bay