The Relationship between Coaches’ Leadership Styles and Athletes’ burnout among Universiti Utara Malaysia Athletes

Athlete burnout in sports can be greatly exacerbated by specific coaching and leadership styles, especially when they lead to ongoing stress and lower motivation. The present research examines the relationship between coaches’ leadership styles and athletes’ burnout among Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) athletes. The statistical population for this survey is all athletes who represented UUM in Sukan Institusi Pengajian Tinggi (SUKIPT) 2022. There were 116 athletes, consisting of 67 males and 49 females participated in different individual and team sports. The coaches’ leadership styles were measured using the Leadership Scale for Sport (LSS), while the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ) was used to measure the level of athletes’ burnout. Furthermore, the data were analyzed using the mean and standard deviation for each item. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was employed to examine the relationship between coaches’ leadership styles and athletes’ burnout, with statistical significance set at p < .05. The results showed that positive feedback was the most preferred coaches’ leadership styles among UUM athletes (M = 4.12, SD = .62). Results also revealed that the overall score for burnout among athletes was considered low to moderate (M = 2.63, SD = .68). Meanwhile, among the five leadership style dimensions, only training and instruction demonstrated a statistically significant relationship with athletes’ burnout (r = –.229, p = .013). Furthermore, the analysis revealed that there was no significant relationship between coaches’ leadership styles and athletes’ burnout (r =-.162, p = .08). These findings highlight the importance of adopting effective leadership approaches, particularly those emphasizing training and positive feedback, to minimize burnout among athletes. Coaches who balance performance expectations with supportive behaviors can help sustain athletes’ motivation, well-being, and long-term engagement in sports.