Community coaches across Australia will receive training in mental health awareness ahead of season 2020, through a new partnership between Tackle Your Feelings and CoachAFL.
The Tackle Your Feelings program has built a bespoke module that will sit within the CoachAFL platform, the AFL’s official coach education platform, and be accessed by up to 50,000 community coaches.
The 15-minute Four Quarters of Mental Health Awareness module will act as the first step on a community coach’s journey to understanding, recognising and managing mental health through the Tackle Your Feelings program.
All coaches will access the module as part of their coaching accreditation requirements in 2020, ensuring all accredited coaches across community football complete a level of Mental Health Awareness training.
New coaches will complete the module as part of their Foundation course, while current coaches will complete the module during their re-accreditation process.
AFL Coaches Association CEO Mark Brayshaw said the program was delighted to partner with CoachAFL to provide and play a role in the official pathway for community coaches.
“This is an outstanding opportunity for the program to extend its reach across the country, but also deliver something of value to community coaches,” he said.
“We hope it gives these coaches a taste of what the program is about and primes them to complete the full program when it’s available in their footy club.”
After completing the Four Quarters of Mental Health Awareness, community coaches will then have the opportunity to visit the TYF online learning system (TYFO) to access resources and sign up for the full program in their local area.
The full TYF program includes local face-to-face sessions run by accredited local psychologists and additional online modules that delve further into understanding, recognising and managing mental health.
CoachAFL provides accreditation for all Coaches of Australian Football. Accreditation is a requirement for all community coaches across Australia. You can learn more about it here.