In a display of leadership and community care, Kingsway Junior Football Club has emerged as a frontrunner in promoting mental health awareness, delivering 16 dedicated education sessions this season to its junior members. 

The club partnered with Country Football WA, the AFL and Movember to host “Ahead of the Game” mental health workshops, aimed at educating young players, coaches, and parents about identifying early signs of mental health challenges and how to support one another through conversation. 

Facilitator Tyrone Winder-Smith explained the program's goal: “It aims to educate junior players early on the signs and symptoms of ill mental health, as well as how to have a conversation and be a good mate. That’s what it’s all about.” 

The initiative came after Kingsway recognised that mental health was an area the club wanted to focus on. 

“The conversation regarding mental health has been quite vocal,” said Football Operations Manager Shane Carlson. “Before we even knew about the course, the committee had already been discussing how we could address mental health within the club.” 

After receiving an email about the program from Louis Tanner at WA Footy, Kingsway immediately signed on and began rolling out sessions. The positive response from players was overwhelming. 

“The feedback was amazing everyone was really positive after the initial sessions, so we reached back out to book more,” Shane said. 

Since then, the club has conducted 16 sessions targeting players from 6 different teams/age groups as well as coaches and parents. By the end of the season, Kingsway will have completed 16 sessions, reaching approximately 220 participants. 

The impact has been tangible. Shane reflected on the changes he’s witnessed: “Oh, 100 percent for the kids to come away and continue the conversations is impactful. We’ve even had kids pull themselves off the field when they’re feeling mentally unwell. They’re vocal in the workshops and they feel better afterwards.” 

WA Footy has delivered 36 “Ahead of the Game” sessions statewide in the last three months, with Kingsway accounting for a remarkable 44 percent of those. 

“I just want to praise Shane’s efforts,” said Louis Tanner, Project Specialist and lead on the AOTG program. “The club’s willingness to adopt the program and the standard they’ve set in terms of engagement especially as a large club is admirable. We look forward to continuing to build that relationship and support them any way we can, whist also reaching out to other junior football clubs across WA who may want to take up interest in Ahead of the Game the "Kingsway" way” 

Kingsway Junior Football Club still has three more sessions scheduled before the end of the season, solidifying their ongoing commitment to fostering a mentally healthy football community.