St Mary’s Salesian Football Club has provided a great example of the importance of investing in mental health, with their involvement showcased across the Tackle Your Feelings themed round in the VAFA competition recently.
The club’s Under 19s team wore specially designed red and blue guernseys to recognise the connection they have with the Tackle Your Feelings program.
“When I was thinking about doing the reversible jumper, I suddenly thought that Tackle Your Feelings was the perfect opportunity to really say to our young men and to all of our club that we really support and recognise how important it is to make sure we have good mental health,” St Mary’s president Penny Heath said.
Under 19s Captain Charlie Matthews said it was vital that he and his teammates checked in with each other regularly.
“After training just having a chat about mental health it’s just important to make sure people are on top of it and people are aware of the current stigma around it,” he said.
TYF ambassador Dylan Buckley joined in with the players for a training session on the same night they were part of a free mental health workshop run by Tackle Your Feelings.
“I know I wish I had a program like this when I was 19 years of age. It’s so important at that age… such a trying age and so many things in life popping up that it’s really important to be skilled in mental health,” he said.