It's that time of year when people start to reflect on their achievements and plan for the future.
For two of New Zealand's high profile athletes, the process of reviewing and planning has caused a few headaches.
Valerie Adams and Moss Burmester, two athletes with very different outcomes at the Delhi Games, have made statements that have caused controversy.
Through her manager, Adams has suggested she'd prefer to be coached by Swiss Jean-Pierre Egger rather than Frenchman Didier Poppe.
Adams' time with Poppe has been short, and in that time he has attempted to change her technique and focus on speed rather than power.
Apparently Adams, who has been going through a lot of personal turmoil this year, has not adjusted well to the new training regime and coach-athlete relationship with Poppe and instead she has put her last-minute improved performance down to a short stint she had with Egger.
As outsiders watching this coach-triangle from afar, we can only speculate on what is going on behind the scenes.
Poppe seems genuinely hurt by the latest statements from Adams, especially since he heard about her intentions through the media.
It's like he has been dumped by text.
What is going on in her life to make the usually friendly and composed Valerie appear uncharacteristically tense and cold? Considering all the changes that have taken place in her life this year, it is amazing that she has managed to overcome these difficulties to finally beat her Belarus rival Ostapchuk with a year-best throw of 20.86m.
Poppe may have to accept that he was merely a link in the chain, the rebound guy, and unfortunately in the eyes of Adams - disposable.
Another relationship that has broken down recently is that between Burmester and Jan Cameron.
Burmester, who failed to fire at the Delhi Games, has quit the sport of swimming and decided to leave in his wake, a trail of accusations directed at Swimming New Zealand.
In hindsight, Burmester's body language spoke volumes leading up to and at the Games, and packing a sad is hard to hide with those voluptuous lips of his.
Burmester's main bugbear revolves around losing his coach/mentor Thomas Ansorg eight weeks before the Commonwealth Games, and he is adamant that Ansorg jumped before he was pushed in an organisational atmosphere that lacks trust.
Cameron has come out defending Swimming New Zealand's treatment of Burmester and Ansorg, but the latest news that the New Zealand swim team won't have a head coach at the 2012 London Olympics suggests Burmester's efforts to kick up a storm have created momentum.
A face-to-face meeting between Burmester and Cameron has supposedly cleared the air, which is just as well for the butterfly specialist heading off to Las Vegas for a flutter.
Not all coach-athlete relationships end in tears or tantrums, and sometimes coaches receive praise and accolades from their athletes and the New Zealand public.
The judges will have a tough decision at the New Zealand rugby awards in mid-December choosing a coach of the year from the likes of Jamie Joseph (Maori), Dave Rennie (Under-20), Brian Evans (Black Ferns), Gordon Tietjens (sevens), and Graham Henry (All Blacks).
It will be difficult to beat Henry's coaching credentials this year but Joseph may already have a trophy under his arm by then as he, Adrienne Morrin (netball) and Stephen Kearney (rugby league) battle it out for coach of the year at the Maori sports awards this weekend.
Coaching is such a difficult and thankless profession at times, and coaches are at the mercy of their athletes' performances and temperaments, so the least we can do is to publicly praise them every now and then.
