Organisational and occupational commitment as predictors of volunteer coaches' burnout

Abstract

Volunteer coaches play a significant role in the provision of sport and have a great impact on those they coach. Issues such as increasing numbers of athletes, coupled with more stringent legislation affecting safety and child protection, are putting added pressure on coaches. Some of the consequences are burnout and high drop out rates. The purpose of this research is to examine the organisational and the occupational commitment of volunteer coaches in community-based sporting organisations and the implications of such commitment for coaches’ experience of burnout. This research is a work in progress conducted in Townsville, northern Queensland. Volunteer coaches in various sports including hockey, rugby league, basketball, soccer, and surf lifesaving completed a survey instrument which assessed their demographic and background characteristics (including experience, qualifications, and hours dedicated to coaching) organisational and occupational commitment, and burnout. The findings of the analyses conducted to date indicate that affective occupational commitment is a predictor of two aspects of burnout: reduced professional efficacy and exhaustion and cynicism; normative organisational commitment was a moderate predictor of reduced professional efficacy only. These findings suggest that commitment to the coaching role may be an important aspect of volunteer coaches’ sense of self. Future research should focus on further exploring the impact of commitment components on coaches’ burnout to better understand their interrelationships and their implications for coaches’ wellbeing.