Balancing winning and holistic athlete development: The role of different coaching identities in burnout symptoms through coaching stress and satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to examine whether different types of coaching identities (generalized, winning-centered, development-centered) predicted burnout symptoms directly and indirectly through coaching stress and coaching satisfaction. Using a cross-sectional design, collegiate coaches (N = 536, 65.7% male) completed previously validated measures of coaching identity, coaching stress, coaching satisfaction, and burnout symptoms with a history of validity evidence. Structural equation modeling results revealed that the relationships among coaching identities and burnout symptoms were fully mediated by coaching stress and coaching satisfaction. Specifically, winning-centered coaching identity was positively associated with burnout symptoms through coaching stress and coaching satisfaction. In contrast, development-centered coaching identity was negatively associated with burnout symptoms through coaching satisfaction. Finally, generalized coaching identity was negatively associated with burnout symptoms through both coaching stress and coaching satisfaction. Findings suggest that coaching identity may play an important role in understanding burnout symptoms among collegiate coaches through its associations with coaching stress and coaching satisfaction.