When we work with coaches in “Coach the Coach” formats, our goal is to support them—not by using the same tools we apply with athletes, but with strategies tailored to their unique role as leaders. This means helping them navigate stress, regulate their emotions, communicate with clarity, and create environments where athletes can grow and perform at their best.

Supporting a coach is different from supporting an athlete. While athletes typically focus on performance execution—managing pressure, refining skills, and staying mentally prepared for competition—coaches are tasked with leading others. They manage group dynamics, make strategic decisions, maintain team cohesion, and are ultimately held accountable for results. Performance may be a shared focus, but the roles, responsibilities, and psychological demands are not the same.

The psychological demands placed on coaches are also distinct. While athletes often benefit from targeted mental skills training, coaches typically need support in areas like leadership, communication, and structured reflection. Our work with coaches can be less direct and more consultative, often taking place through coach education, informal conversations, or as part of ongoing support embedded within the team environment.

The pressure on coaches—especially at the elite level—is immense and persistent. They live with constant scrutiny, long hours, job insecurity, and the emotional burden of leading others. Research shows this can lead to chronic stress, burnout, emotional suppression, and even a loss of passion for the job (​Olsen et al., 2021​; ​Bentzen et al., 2020​). Here are just some of the challenges coaches face:

• Managing stress and high expectations: They’re judged by team results, and one bad season can mean the end of a career.
• Job insecurity: Especially in high-performance environments, contracts are unstable, and performance is everything.
• Communication demands: Coaches need to give tough feedback, motivate under pressure, and manage conflict—often without training in these areas.
• Emotional regulation: Many feel they must appear strong and composed at all times, leading to internal pressure and emotional fatigue.
• Balancing process and outcome: Winning is often prioritized over long-term athlete development, which can create internal conflict.
• Work-life balance: The long hours, frequent travel, and emotional load can create social isolation and affect personal well-being.
• Adapting to change: From injured athletes to evolving trends, coaches are expected to stay flexible in high-pressure environments.

These stressors aren’t just background noise—they affect how coaches lead, relate to their athletes, and sustain themselves in the role. That’s why supporting them psychologically—helping them become more self-aware, emotionally flexible, and value-driven—isn’t optional. It’s essential.

It’s essential, because coaches shape everything: training sessions, feedback tone, team culture, and how athletes handle adversity. If a coach is reactive, stressed, or emotionally checked out, that trickles down. On the flip side, when a coach is grounded, intentional, and emotionally balanced, it lifts the entire environment. Thus, when we coach the coach, we’re not just helping one person—we’re multiplying impact.

So what does this support actually look like in practice? It doesn’t always mean sitting down with a coach to run through mindfulness scripts or goal-setting tools (though those can be helpful). Often, it’s about creating space for reflection, asking thoughtful questions, and helping them lead with more intention. Here are a few examples of how we can support coaches in everyday practice:

• A coach struggling with self-doubt before a final might most definitely not need a pep talk—they might need someone to ask, “What would you say to one of your athletes in this moment?”
• A coach constantly frustrated with athlete motivation might benefit more from exploring their own communication patterns than from another motivational strategy.
• A coach navigating team conflict may just need someone to normalize how messy leadership can be—and help them lead through it without shutting down.

One coach I work with asked me to observe her coaching behaviors during each practice I attend. After every session, we take time to reflect—sometimes briefly, sometimes in more depth. These conversations help her process her actions in a structured way, making it easier to connect what happened in the hall to her coaching goals. The insights from these guided reflections not only deepen her ongoing self-reflection but also support intentional adjustments in future sessions.

I believe it’s important to have a range of reflective questions ready when working with coaches—questions that can be adapted to the situation, the coach, and the goal of the session. Below are some of the questions I find especially useful when guiding reflection in Coach the Coach work.

• What felt most effective about your coaching today—and why? Can help to identify strengths and intentional choices.
• Was there a moment you’d handle differently if you could do it again? What would you change? Can encourage reflection on learning moments, not mistakes.
• How did your athletes respond to your feedback or energy today? What do you think they needed from you? Can shift the focus to athlete perspective and impact.
• What coaching behavior today felt aligned with your values—and what didn’t? Can bring clarity around authenticity and intention.
• When did you feel most connected—or disconnected—from your team during training? Can support emotional and relational awareness.
• What decisions today came easily? Which ones felt hard—and why? Can explore cognitive load, confidence, and possible stress points.
• Did you notice any patterns in how you reacted to mistakes or setbacks during practice? Can build emotional regulation and awareness of triggers.
• If one of your athletes coached the session, what might they have done differently—and what would they keep? Can encourage perspective-taking and humility.
• How has your coaching evolved recently? What’s something you’ve started doing—or stopped doing? Can support ongoing self-assessment and development.
• What’s one small experiment or adjustment you’d like to try in your next session? Can focus on action and continuous improvement.

Of course, all of this only works if the coach is open to feedback and motivated to grow in the skills that support effective coaching. If a coach isn’t yet open to sport psychology, it’s important to acknowledge that and take a gradual approach. Small, low-pressure opportunities can give them a chance to experience how we work and see the value for themselves. Building trust and relationships is the foundation—before any real work can begin, we need to create a sense of safety and mutual respect. That’s true not only with coaches, but with any client we support.

Coaching the coach doesn’t mean turning coaches into sport psychology experts. It means giving them the same kind of support we want athletes (and probably also clients in other contexts) to receive: honest reflection, space to grow, and tools they can actually use.

I’m convinced that coaching the coach is one of the most powerful ways to create meaningful, system-wide change in sport. When we help coaches become more self-aware, adaptable, and emotionally resilient leaders, we’re investing in every athlete they influence—and contributing to healthier, more effective sporting environments. Supporting coaches is a skill in itself, and when we do it well, we don’t just support one individual—we impact entire teams, cultures, and performance systems.