Country Football WA’s Social Impact team hit the road to spend the week in the Goldfields to run mental health and wellbeing workshops, clinics and education sessions across the region.

The week started with a visit to Mines Rovers Football Club at Kalgoorlie’s Digger Daws Oval for an Ahead of the Game (AOTG) session with the club’s under-16s team, teaching players, parents, coaches, umpires and volunteers how to recognise mental health challenges.

The Diorites’ senior side then had a Tackle Your Feelings session, a free mental health training program for players, community AFL coaches and support staff, which was well received with excellent engagement and numbers.

On Wednesday morning the CFWA team helped out at a clinic ran by Goldfields Regional Football Specialist Eshe Christie at East Kalgoorlie Primary School.

That evening, the team went to Boulder Football Club to facilitate the Ahead of the Game and Tackle Your Feelings sessions which had a great mix of male and female footballers.

There was a visit to Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison on Thursday to deliver a Tackle Your Feelings session in the Kalgoorlie prison to compliment the AFL coaching work Eshe has been doing.

That evening, Kalgoorlie City Football Club took part in Ahead of the Game and Tackle Your Feelings workshops at Sir Richard Moore Oval.

Friday started with an early morning breakfast function at SMC Mining hosted by business owner Tamara Sheppard which was all about promoting conversation around mental health.

That evening, the crew attended Railways Football Club’s Jumper Buddy night, a big family-focussed training where all juniors and senior players mix in for a shared training session which was a special night, followed by Ahead of the Game and Tackle Your Feelings sessions for the club. The mental health programs throughout the week delivered by WA Football alone engaged over 250 participants.

The week was capped off by Goldfields Football League’s annual Think Mental Health Round with special events happening at the Boulder-versus-Mines game, which included a 24-hour bicycle challenge setup.

Country Football WA’s Social Impact Manager Alex Carkeek praised the Goldfields football community for their buy-in during an important week and their efforts in promoting the Think Mental Health Round over the weekend.

“We’re really proud of what our team delivered across the week and commend the engagement and buy-in shown by the Goldfields football community,” Carkeek said. The initiative taken by the local football league and volunteers to engage local stakeholders, and WA Football to support their efforts is a fantastic example of how impactful a collaborative approach can be for the community. We hope the stories coming from the week inspire other leagues and clubs to reach out for support from us to do the same in the future.”

Image Credit - Mariah Baxter