It’s the first week of winter practice. The gym smells like new paint and old sweat. Your players are fired up.
You should be too. But you’re tired, and the season hasn’t even started.
Maybe you finished a fall sport two weeks ago. Maybe you spent last weekend planning practices, setting up team meetings, and answering a parent’s long email about playing time. Maybe you love this job, and that’s exactly why it’s wearing you down.
If that sounds like you, you’re not weak and you’re not alone. You might just be coaching on empty.
This article is for the coach who keeps pouring into everyone else and has forgotten how to get filled back up.
Burnout Is Real, and It Spreads
Coach burnout isn’t just a bad week. People who study coaching have called it a known risk of the job for a long time. Signs can include losing interest, feeling down, and feeling more anxious than usual.
Here’s the part many coaches miss: your tank affects your team. One coaching resource points out that high school and college athletes who play for emotionally drained coaches have more anxiety and burnout than athletes whose coaches are full of energy. Those players also see their drained coaches as weaker teachers who give less praise.
In other words, you can’t hide it. When you show up empty, your players notice.
The same resource names five big sources of coach stress:
- Conflict: hard talks with players, parents, staff, and officials.
- Pressure and expectations: from the school, the community, and yourself.
- Team discipline: handling attitudes, rules, and team problems.
- Isolation: feeling like you’re carrying the program alone.
- Giving up personal time: nights, weekends, and family moments.
For a lot of coaches, parents sit right in the middle of all five. A high school basketball coach in Minnesota stepped down in 2018 after seven seasons as head coach. He told reporters that parents confronted him over and over at practices and after games. He had worked 30 years as a police officer before coaching, and he said coaching was the more stressful job. In his view, that kind of parent pressure is the top reason coaches are leaving.
Not every coach faces that. Many parents are a real gift. But if you’ve ever dreaded checking your phone after a loss, you know the weight is real.
A Prophet Under a Tree
If anyone had a reason to feel strong, it was Elijah.
In 1 Kings 18, he stood on Mount Carmel against 450 prophets of Baal. He prayed, and God sent fire from heaven. It was the biggest win of his life.
Then one threat from Queen Jezebel sent him running. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah ran into the wilderness, sat down under a broom tree, and told God he was done:
“It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” (1 Kings 19:4, ESV)
Right after a mountaintop moment, he hit the bottom. Coaches know this pattern. A big win on Friday, then a Monday that feels like you’re dragging a sled uphill.
Now look at how God responded. He didn’t scold Elijah. He didn’t hand him a list of things to do better. Here’s what happened next:
“And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Arise and eat.’ And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, ‘Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.'” (1 Kings 19:5-7, ESV)
God let him sleep. God fed him. Then God let him sleep again. Only after that did Elijah walk on, in the strength of that food, to meet with the Lord at Horeb (1 Kings 19:8).
Notice what the angel said: the journey is too great for you. God didn’t pretend Elijah was fine. He named the truth. Elijah had limits, and God cared about them.
That’s good news for a worn-out coach. Your exhaustion doesn’t surprise God, and it doesn’t push Him away. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap and eat a real meal.
This story also shows us something important. Elijah’s tiredness went deep. He said he wanted to die. If you’ve ever felt that kind of hopeless, please don’t carry it alone. Talk to someone today. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
You Can’t Out-Work an Empty Soul
Athletes in Action teaches a principle called Holy Sweat. It asks one question: How do I grow?
The answer has two sides. There’s sweat: real, steady effort to train your soul, the way you train your body. And there’s surrender: letting the Holy Spirit lead and change you, and letting God’s Word shape how you think and live. Paul tells Timothy that bodily training has some value, but godliness has value in every way, for this life and the next (1 Timothy 4:8).
Most coaches are great at the sweat part. We know how to grind. We stay late, watch film, and outwork the other staff. But burnout often shows up when we try to run a whole season, and a whole life, on sweat alone.
Jesus offers something different:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV)
A yoke is a wooden beam that joins two animals so they can pull a load together. Jesus isn’t telling you to quit pulling. He’s inviting you to pull with Him. When you’re yoked to Jesus, He carries the weight you were never meant to carry.
That changes how you coach. You still care about wins. You still work hard. But your worth isn’t riding on the scoreboard, the parent emails, or whether everyone likes your rotation. You coach from His rest instead of for your own approval.
And notice how Jesus describes Himself: gentle and lowly in heart. He’s not a coach screaming from the sideline for one more rep. He meets tired people with kindness. That’s the kind of leader He is to you, and it’s the kind of coach He can grow you into.
How to Refill Before the Season Gets Loud
You wouldn’t send a player into a game dehydrated. Don’t send yourself into a season that way either. Here are a few places to start.
1. Take care of your body like Elijah did. Sleep. Eat real food. Drink water. It sounds simple, but many coaches skip all three during the season. God started Elijah’s recovery with a nap and a meal, so you can too.
2. Build a short daily soul workout. You don’t need an hour. Try ten minutes before you open your email. Read a short passage, like Matthew 11:28-30, and ask God, “What do You want me to know today?” Then tell Him honestly how you’re doing. That’s the Holy Sweat side: small, steady reps.
3. Hand God the weight on purpose. Before practice, pray something like, “Lord, I can’t carry this team alone. I’m yoked to You. Lead me today.” That’s the Wholly Surrender side. You’re not just trying harder. You’re trusting more.
4. Don’t coach alone. Isolation is one of the big burnout drivers. Find one or two people who will ask how you are doing, not just how the team is doing. That could be another coach, a pastor, an AIA staff member, or a friend from church.
5. Set clear lines with parents early. Before the first game, share how and when parents can reach you. Many coaches use a 24-hour rule after games and ask parents to set up a meeting instead of talking on the court or field. Clear lines protect you, your players, and the parents too. Talk with your athletic director about what support the school can give.
6. Guard a little personal time. Pick one night a week, or one part of the weekend, that belongs to your family or to rest. Put it on the calendar like a game.
7. Get help when it’s more than tired. If you can’t sleep, feel hopeless, or feel numb most days, that may be more than burnout. Talk to your doctor or a licensed counselor. Getting professional care isn’t a lack of faith. It’s wise, and God can work through it.
Coaching From a Full Tank
Your players need your skill, your plans, and your energy. But more than that, they need a coach who is walking with Jesus. A rested coach who trusts God can show a team what real strength looks like.
The season will be long. The journey may feel too great for you. That’s okay. It was never meant to be carried alone.
Questions to Think About
- Which of the five stress sources (conflict, pressure, discipline, isolation, personal time) is hitting you hardest right now?
- Where are you trying to carry something Jesus is asking you to give to Him?
- What is one small step you can take this week to rest your body and feed your soul?
- Who is one person you can be honest with about how you’re really doing?
