Balanced Excellence: Juggling Relationships and Demanding Careers

possible to achieve a balance between a highly demanding profession and meaningful relationships? Twenty full-time national team coaches were interviewed to determine the nature of their job demands and the perceived impact of these demands on relationships with their partner/family. The coaching occupation at the elite level requires a huge time, energy and emotional commitment as well as extensive travel. Coaches, on the whole, believed that this commitment was necessary to achieve their high level goals and that their devotion to their work impacted on the quality of their relationships. Even with this commitment, however, most coaches felt that it was potentially possible to achieve excellence in both their occupation and their relationships if certain conditions were attained. Some necessary prerequisites for balanced excellence are discussed.