The Importance Of Coaching and Giving Back to the Invictus Community

As International Coaching Week begins, we are proud to shine a light on the powerful role coaching plays in the recovery journeys of wounded, injured, and sick (WIS) service personnel and veterans around the world.

Throughout this week, we will be sharing a series of inspiring video stories from members of our international community. They include individuals who once stood on the start lines at the Invictus Games, united by their commitment to rediscovering purpose through sport. Today, they are using that same spirit to coach others, helping fellow WIS individuals unlock the transformative power of sport in their own lives. Once served, always serving.

These stories mark a significant evolution in our community—from participants to leaders, from those once coached to those now guiding others.

At the heart of this initiative is a growing body of research that underlines the importance of coaching in post-trauma rehabilitation. The Invictus Games Foundation has looked at understanding how effective coaching programmes contribute not just to better performance, but to better lives. Coaching provides structure, motivation, and above all, connection. It fosters a sense of identity and achievement, creates trust in the process of recovery, and strengthens community.

Research also shows that coaching can improve mental health outcomes, enhance confidence and self-efficacy, and sustain long-term physical and emotional wellbeing. When coaching is inclusive, adaptive, and trauma-informed, it becomes an essential tool for healing.

As we highlight these remarkable journeys from competitor to coach, we invite our global community to reflect on the profound impact of sport, and of those who guide us through it. Whether you're a coach, a teammate, or someone just starting your own recovery journey, we celebrate your role in shaping a stronger, more resilient future.

Follow along on our channels this week as we share the faces, voices, and stories of coaching that make recovery through sport possible.