Stay curious: Growing as a coach while avoiding burnout

Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 32 Issue 12, which printed on Sept. 15, 2026.

By Danny Struck

The average high school head coach doesn’t stay in the position very long. Depending on the sport and how tenure is measured, coaches often remain in the role for around 3 to 4 years, with 3.5 years frequently cited as the average.

After nearly three decades of coaching, I have learned that longevity doesn’t happen by accident. Coaching can consume you if you let it. Practices, competitions, parents, paperwork, fundraising, recruiting, travel and everything else that comes with running a program can eventually turn something you love into something that feels like a job.

I’ve found that one of the best ways to avoid burnout is to stay curious. I intentionally find ways during the year to keep learning, traveling, reading, exercising, meeting people and, most importantly, having fun. Those things make me a better coach, but they also make me a happier person.

I try to attend about six clinics or conferences every year. That might sound like a lot, but I genuinely enjoy it. I don’t look at those trips as work. I look at them as an investment in myself and, ultimately, my athletes. Every clinic gives me something to bring home to my kids. Sometimes it is a technique. Sometimes it is a different way of organizing practice. Sometimes it is simply a conversation with another coach that makes me look at something differently.

Some of my staple stops are the USA Wrestling State Leaders Summit and the Silver Coaches Clinic in Colorado Springs. These are high-level gatherings with some of the best coaches and leaders in American wrestling. I love being around people who are still trying to get better. That is a great reminder that no matter how many years you have coached, you should never stop being a student.

And don’t just go to Colorado and sit in a hotel conference room all day! Colorado Springs is pretty hard to ignore. I have climbed Pikes Peak, another 14er and the Manitou Springs Incline. When I climb that Incline, I think about all the World Team members and Olympians from different sports who have trained on that same hill. Suddenly, the climb becomes more than exercise. It becomes part of the experience. Wrestling got me to Colorado, but Colorado gave me something to take home.

Another annual stop for me is the National Wrestling Coaches Association Convention. The NWCA brings together coaches from Division I, II, III and NAIA programs. I get to rub elbows with college coaches, learn what they are seeing and build relationships with people who may someday recruit one of my athletes. But it is more than recruiting. It is about understanding where wrestling is headed and making sure I am preparing my athletes for what comes next.

I also encourage every coach to attend their state clinic or conference. You don’t have to fly across the country to learn something valuable. Sometimes the best learning is sitting next to the coach you competed against last weekend. During the season, we are competitors. Outside the lines, we are colleagues who are trying to do the same thing: help kids.

One of the biggest things I have learned about these trips is to bring my wife. I bring her to many of the USA Wrestling and NWCA conferences, and it has been tremendously helpful in keeping me from burning out. She gets to “see the world through wrestling” with me. Sometimes that means seeing the mountains in Colorado. Sometimes it means sitting on the beach in Florida during the NWCA Convention. She gets to meet the people who are such an important part of my life, and we get to have experiences together.

I truly believe that when you can get your family involved in your program, everybody benefits. Your spouse understands why wrestling matters to you, your family gets to experience some of the places wrestling takes you and your athletes get to see a coach who values his family. I want my wrestlers to understand you can be passionate, work extremely hard and still have a healthy family life. In fact, I think they need to see that.

Another major part of staying engaged is reading. I almost always have three books going at once: one on my nightstand, one on my desk at school and an Audible book on my phone. Reading keeps my mind busy and stimulated. I encourage coaches to read wrestling books because they give you stories and ideas you can bring directly to your athletes. I wrote about many of my own experiences in my book, Climbing for Gold, because I believe the stories we collect as coaches are worth sharing.

But don’t only read wrestling books. Read about leadership, history, personal development, mental health, biographies or anything that makes you think. Those books don’t just help you; they help you become better at helping other people. I also like reading books connected to where I am or what is happening around me. During America’s 250th anniversary, I read David McCullough’s 1776. When I travel somewhere new, I will often read about the country or city I am visiting. Suddenly, the trip becomes more than a wrestling tournament. You understand where you are, why it matters and what you are seeing. Wrestling becomes the vehicle that gets you there.

Exercise is another huge part of my strategy for avoiding burnout. And no, I don’t exercise just so I can still roll around on the mat with my wrestlers. Exercise is good for your mind. Coaching is stressful, and exercise is one of the best tools we have to manage stress and improve our overall well-being.

So, when you travel to a clinic, get out of the hotel. Walk. Hike. Ride a bike. Explore the city. Walk the beach. Climb the mountain. You can exercise, sightsee, clear your mind and have an experience all at the same time.

I also host three workouts a week at 6 a.m. and invite other coaches in my school. Some of my best friendships at work, and eventually in life, have come from those workouts. Tom Ryan at Ohio State has used the phrase “Chosen Suffering,” and I love it. We choose to get up early and suffer together. Through that shared experience, we develop mutual respect, talk about our programs and bounce ideas off one another. We become teammates instead of simply coworkers.

And don’t leave out yoga. It is a great way to move, recover, relieve stress and slow yourself down. If you can get your wife to do it with you, even better. There are worse ways to spend an hour together!

Finally, make wrestling fun. One of my mentors once asked me, “Are you doing the things off the mat?” He wasn’t talking about extra practices. He meant the things that make a team a team. Take a team hike. Go canoeing. Have a team movie or lock-in. Have a bonfire or a team meal. Do things together that have absolutely nothing to do with wrestling.

Those moments matter. If the only thing your kids associate with your program is work, eventually the work becomes exhausting. We need to create memories, too. Some of the moments your athletes remember 20 years from now won’t be their best takedown. It might be sitting around a fire with their teammates.

The same goes for your coaching staff. Take care of them. If you can send an assistant coach home early, send him home. Let him surprise his wife. Don’t let your coaches miss their kids’ events when you can avoid it. Have a staff dinner and invite the spouses. Take your assistants to a conference and bring their wives when possible. When families feel involved, they are more likely to support the program.

And learn to say no. Early in my career, I said yes to everything: extra practices, early-morning workouts, spring-break practices, extra nights. Eventually I realized that when I offered all those opportunities, sometimes only a handful of kids showed up — and sometimes it wasn’t even the kid who asked for it!

You have to establish boundaries. Decide when you will work and when you won’t. Protect some time for your family, your health and yourself. That doesn’t make you less committed. It might actually make you a better coach.

After all these years, I don’t want to become the coach who has everything figured out. I want to be the coach who is still asking questions, reading, traveling, exercising, laughing and still learning.

I don’t attend six clinics a year because I need six more certificates on my wall. I do it because I like learning. I like meeting great coaches. I like seeing new places. I like taking my wife with me. I like exercising with my friends. I like making memories with my team.

Most importantly, I still like coaching.

Stay curious. Stay healthy. Stay connected. Stay involved — but know when to step away.

That may be one of the best ways to build a great program, and it might just be the best way to still love coaching decades after you started.