Why do Coaches Drop Out
Why do coaches drop out?
According to research gathered from the Sport Ireland Women in Coaching Survey, coaches who dropped out of coaching cited the following reasons:
- 60% stopped for time related reasons of trying to balance work, family and coaching
- 43% stopped for personal reasons such as moving house or pregnancy
- 30% stopped for club related reasons such as management issues, challenges within the club, coach environment within the club, felt undervalued, lack of respect and support.
Keeping female coaches in sport is built around providing opportunities that engage and excite them in an environment that values them, recognises their contribution and supports them to develop.
Many of the things that help women develop as coaches will also be the things that retain them in coaching – so a number of the principles below will have already been outlined in more detail in the previous Chapter on Development.
Chapter 4: Retention Suggested Actions
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Gather data to understand how long your coaches stay coaching your sport. Is there a difference between men and women? Are there any patterns around the age at which a coach starts or drops out of your sport, or the level they drop out at.
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Issue a questionnaire or encourage clubs to use an ‘Exit Questionnaire’ to collect feedback from coaches who exit /decide to stop coaching in their club.