Burnout among judo coaches in Turkey.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of professional burnout experienced by Turkish judo coaches and to compare possible differences in the three burnout dimensions based on coaching experience in years and satisfaction status of their sport administrators. METHODS The data were obtained by using a three-section questionnaire including a socio demographic data form and the Turkish version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory from 65 judo coaches working in the Turkish Judo and Kurash Federation. RESULTS In the analysis of data, descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and one-way ANOVA tests were used. This study showed that judo coaches have medium level burnout experience. The results also showed that there were significant differences in the emotional exhaustion levels of judo coaches based on coaching experience in years and satisfaction status from their sport administrators. CONCLUSIONS Burnout appears to be a problematic issue for judo coaches. When coaches begin to feel emotionally depleted, they distance themselves from athletes, and experience a reduced sense of meaning about their work; it is likely to affect the quality of the athletic experience for both the coach and the athletes.