The Four Pillar Framework to Prevent Burnout

In the last five years, there have been a large number of high-profile coaches who have walked away from the highest level of their sport.

Jurgen Klopp, Roy Williams, Tony Bennett, Jay Write and Nick Saban have all walked away from championship teams and programs. All cited a crushing work load, the changing nature of their athletes and burnout as the reasons behind their resignations.

Things must have been terrible for them to walk away from a job they worked years to earn in a sport they love. Not to mention the millions of dollars they left on the table in salary.

But burnout is real, and it takes a serious toll. Burnout is defined as a state of chronic stress without adequate active recovery.

Factors that can lead to burnout include chronic workload overload, a lack of active recovery, a loss of control, working in a place with misaligned values, unclear boundaries and a lack of meaning. All of which are potentially present in any coaching job.

It can also come from the demands of life outside of coaching.

I have finished a season where I have been burnt out. It is tough because it leads to the exhaustion of your season, dragging out until your body and brain have effectively recovered.

Here is a framework that coaches can follow to help avoid burnout.

Four Pillars of Mental Performance for Coaches

1. Focus

Attention is your superpower. But how can you ensure that you are training your attention in the right place?

What you focus on determines how you lead your team.

The world's best coaches are great at knowing what their team needs to be their best. Rest, extra work, and a practice that pushes them out of their comfort zone. They know what to focus on and ignore the extraneous noise.
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How you can improve your focus:

• Aggressively Monotask. Multi-tasking is a myth. When you are multitasking you are actually switching your attention from one thing to another. This uses a lot of the finite amount of attention you have each day. When you push past this it is one of the reasons you feel exhausted at the end of the day.
• Work on one task or problem at a time.
• Build in breaks between coaching, teaching and admin work to recharge.
• Incorporate a mindfulness practice to help you fine tune your focus.

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2. Stress Management

Contrary to popular opinion, stress is not the enemy. It sharpens focus and boosts problem-solving if managed well. Everyone needs stress to perform at their best. It is our relationship with stress that determines if it is helpful or harmful.

A mountain of evidence shows that stress takes a negative toll on health and performance when you believe that stress is harmful and boosts performance when you see it as neutral or a positive.

Some ways to harness stress:

• Reframe stress as a signal that what you’re doing matters.
• Prioritize the top 1–3 coaching tasks each day.
• Lean on coaching peers for support sharing the burden.
• Use breathing or movement breaks to release tension

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3. Resilience
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Seasons never go exactly as planned. Resilience is what keeps you moving forward when setbacks hit. And they will hit. Resilience is anchored in passion and perseverance. When you can focus on loving what you do and persevering through the hard stuff, you are on your way to being resilient. Adding in a general feeling of optimism, that things will work out and you are setting yourself up for success.

Here are some keys to developing resilience for you and your athletes.

• Anchor your work to your “why” and core values.
• Celebrate small wins with your athletes.
• Focus on the controllables: effort, preparation, culture, rather than referees, parents, or standings.

4. Recovery
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Recovery is not “time off”; it’s a strategy to recharge your body, mind, and emotions.

This is an area where coaches generally do a poor job. The grind mentality is all too prevalent. It is still seen as a badge of honour to sleep in your office. In reality, it is setting you up for burnout. Take rest and recovery seriously. At the end of the day, the extra film study is less valuable than more sleep which allows you to make good decisions on game day.

Here are some steps to build recovery into your weekly routine:

• Physical: Prioritize 7–8 hours of sleep, stay active, and fuel your body well.
• Mental: Set digital boundaries (e.g., no emails after a certain time). Set boundaries on how much you will work and when you will stop.
• Emotional: Practice gratitude, spend time with family/friends, connect with nature.

Basketball coaches pour themselves into their athletes and programs. But to lead effectively over the long haul, they must care for their own mental fitness with the same discipline they demand from their teams.
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Burnout prevention isn’t about doing less, it’s about managing energy wisely. By developing focus, managing stress, cultivating resilience, and prioritizing recovery, coaches can sustain their passion for the game and model the very skills they want their athletes to learn.

An Opportunity for Mentorship

After 23 seasons as a head coach, I am taking a year off from coaching. While I need a break from the grind, I don't want to walk away from the game completely.

I am opening up four slots for coaching mentorship beacause every coach needs a coach.

If you are interested in learning more about how I can help you, send me an email to jasonpayne@evolutionmpc.com

How can I help you on your coaching journey?

Let's work together.

I help coaches thrive.

I would love to help you or your team build a competitive advantage. Here are a few ways I can help:

• Consult with your team or coaching staff
• Teach mental skills to your team via Zoom
• Work 1 on 1 with coaches
• Work 1 on 1 with athletes

Shoot me an email at jasonpayne@evolutionmpc.com, I love to talk coaching and see how I can help you.

Coaching is hard, let's make it easier.

Check out my website at http://jasonpayne.ca​

Thanks for reading and have a great week.