Study Shows Two-Thirds of UK Swim Coaches Experience Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety

In a research study by sport and exercise psychologists at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom, researchers dove into the mental side of coaching, specifically swim coaches, to identify certain challenges that may lead to stress-related health issues, primarily within individual sports such as swimming, rather than a team-centered sport.

Lead researcher Dr. Ella McLoughlin noted that past studies have focused more on coaches in team sports than in individual sports, while stating that coaching itself is “inherently stressful”.

“It is clear that we need to give more attention to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of swimming coaches, particularly those working full-time as longer hours poolside was associated with higher levels of emotional exhaustion.” Dr. McLoughlin said in an article from Nottingham Trent University.

The study polled 150 coaches across varying levels of competition (senior international through club), revealing different symptoms and other mental health-related challenges they have experienced.

The results showed that 64% of coaches reported feeling some form of depression; among that 64%, 20% noted the depression ranking as severe or moderately severe.

67% of coaches reported some symptoms relating to anxiety, 37% of whom reported it as severe or moderate.

The study prefaces the results with the inherent responsibilities/obligations that coaches experience within day-to-day work, including irregular sleep (due to early or late training sessions), year-round training, travel, and high-performance culture, among others.

Overall, coaches had reported low levels of wellbeing, though the symptoms of burnout were low.

Additional data shows that 29% of coaches felt a sense of isolation or loneliness in their role, with a wanting of more support. 31% felt overwhelmed by the work-life balance from the work they were required to do.

Dr. Joseph Stanford, a researcher at the School of Science and Technology at Nottingham Trent noted that these numbers are significantly higher than those that athletes and members of the general population have shown.

“And what was disappointing to hear was they felt that they had nowhere to turn, and they were extremely isolated and didn’t know what to do to support themselves.” Dr. Stanford said in a video from Nottingham Tech.

Levels of anxiety and depression were both higher when coaches felt the demands of their role were high and felt as though working relationships were strained. 29% pointed out that some of the struggles related to relationships with parents or committees within a team or the sport.

The British Swimming Coaches Association (BSCA) offers a BSCA Membership Assistance Program to directly combat these feelings within coaches.

“The Association has already acted upon the recommendations, having agreements in place with the relevant national governing bodies and has initiated an employee assistance programme as a benefit of membership for BSCA members,” said Brian McGuinness, the Executive Director of the BSCA in the report from Nottingham Tech.

The program offers tools such as counseling services and financial advice, as well as access to digital health assessments and guidance.