Who Takes Care of the Coach? | Mental Health in High-Performance Sport

Описание: Brown Bag Lunch with The Athlete Psychotherapist
Conversations on sport, identity, and high-performance culture.

In this episode of Brown Bag Lunch with The AP, Laura sits down with Nick Stirrett for a conversation about the often-overlooked mental and emotional wellbeing of coaches.

Coaches are often expected to lead, regulate, and support others while managing pressure, performance expectations, and their own internal experience. But what happens when there’s little space for coaches themselves to process, reflect, or recover?

In this conversation, we explore:

The emotional labor of coaching
Chronic pressure in high-performance environments
Boundaries and sustainability in coaching roles
The culture of toughness in sport — and its impact on wellbeing
What it means to move from survival mode to sustainability

This is a conversation for coaches, clinicians, sport leaders, and anyone working in performance-driven environments.

👤 About Nick Stirrett

Nick Stirrett is a former collegiate soccer player and track athlete, and former assistant and head coach who began his career in Division III and spent the last decade coaching at the Division I level.

Nick has a deep interest in the often-overlooked mental and emotional wellbeing of coaches. Drawing from his own experiences in high-performance sport, he understands the pressures coaches face — including constant expectations, emotional labor, and the challenge of supporting others while managing their own stress.

Nick is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Social Work, where his training emphasizes trauma-informed, strengths-based approaches to mental health and sustainable performance. He works with youth, young adults, and professional athletes, and is particularly interested in how coaches can build self-awareness, emotional regulation, and healthier relationships with pressure and identity.

With experience in both coaching and program development, Nick brings a grounded, practical lens to conversations about burnout, boundaries, and the culture of toughness in sport. He is passionate about helping coaches move from survival mode to sustainability — so they can show up more fully for their athletes without sacrificing their own wellbeing.

🌱 Learn More / Work With Laura

If you’re a coach, athletic program, or organization interested in learning more about how to support coach mental wellbeing and build more sustainable performance environments, you’re welcome to reach out:

🌐 https://lcollinslcsw.com/

Bring your lunch. Come hang out.