The impact of coaches leaving the profession goes beyond workforce numbers. Communities lose relationships, local knowledge, and safe environments for sport and activity. Coach dropout reflects how coaching is experienced across the system.

This project was developed in partnership with Leeds Beckett University and brings together survey data, qualitative insights from coaches, organisational perspectives, and a full synthesis report.

What the research shows

Coaches consistently describe their role as purposeful and rewarding. However, the conditions surrounding coaching can make this work difficult to sustain over time.

Coaches rarely leave because of a single event. Instead, decisions to step away are typically the result of accumulated pressures over time.

A consistent finding across the research is that coaches value coaching itself, but find the surrounding demands unsustainable.

• What’s driving coaches to step away: Key factors include workload and burnout, financial pressure, administrative burden, limited progression opportunities, and culture and support issues.
• Not all dropout is the same: Some coaches leave due to life changes or positive transitions, while others step away due to avoidable pressures. Understanding this distinction is critical.
• What needs to change: The findings point to a need to shift focus from recruitment to retention, improving the conditions in which coaching takes place and strengthening support for coaches.