Clubs invited to participate in Movember 'Ahead of the Game' program

By John Harrington

The GAA and GPA along with Movember, the leading men’s health charity, are inviting clubs to participate in the third phase of the Movember 'Ahead of the Game' program.

Movember Ahead of the Game is a mental health literacy program that features a series of interactive workshops delivered by past and present intercounty players and members of the GPA.

It teaches young players, parents, coaches, and volunteers to understand mental health, build mental fitness, and strengthen resilience to deal with challenges in sport and life.

So far 10,307 people have participated in the program – 5,789 players (3,220 Male, 2,569 Female) and 4,518 Parents & Coaches – with 816 workshops delivered in 331 clubs.

A survey of participants found that 94 per cent of players reported a better understanding of who to go to and where to go for mental health help for themselves and others and the importance of being mentally fit and healthy.

While 95 per cent of players reported feeling improved confidence talking to their children about mental health.

It is hoped that 300 more clubs and 10,000 players, parents, and coaches will participate in Phase 3 which will run from September to May and be rolled out by a team of 36 facilitators that include Derry footballer Anton Tohill, Cork camogie star Saoirse McCarthy, Antrim hurler Domhnall Nugent, and Dublin ladies footballer, Leah Caffrey.

“The personality of the facilitators, how authentic and honest and open they are, is a big part of the success of this so far and the positive impact it has had,” says Movember Ahead of the Game Program Manager and Mayo hurler, Corey Scahill.

“They all have the values that are shared between the GAA and the GPA and Movember in terms of mental health, player welfare, community focus and being inclusive and showing respect.

“It’s about being accountable to your community as well and showing leadership while taking a player-centred approach.

“The most important part is their personal story, it's very authentic. They're using their brand within their community to make a difference and share their own personal stories making it relatable for players. They use their personal truth to give back to communities by educating others.”

When young people don’t talk about their mental struggles quite often it is for a couple of reasons. They believe that what they’re going through is a personal thing that wouldn’t be understood by others, or, for many young males in particular, there can be a fear of admitting what they might perceive to be weakness.

The Movember Ahead of the Game workshops break down these barriers to communication by showing that we all have mental struggles and they’re usually very common ones.

This doesn’t just help players on an individual level, the experience of sharing and supporting in a group setting has the added bonus of bringing a team of players closer together.

“The player work-shop is called 'Help out a Mate',” says Scahill. “It's the idea of creating that culture within a team to be open and sharing with the view to creating a better bond between each other.

“That there's nothing you can't go through together because as a club player you play with these guys from U8 up to minor and then you play another 10 years with a lot of them as a senior club player.

“So you effectively play with the same people for a lot of your life and the younger you can create that bond and have those conversations the better the rewards are going to be for all the people involved in terms of, not just on the field, but off the field in your life and being able to navigate the different challenges that present themselves.

“There can be an awakening for players to see that it's okay to talk about these things and to also be aware of other people and to maybe reach out and help them or talk to them.”

The Movember Ahead of the Game workshops are hugely helpful forums too for club coaches and the parents of players.

They help to destigmatise mental health issues and better equip the adults with the tools to identify them, and provide them with more confidence in having conversations around the topic of mental health.

“People can sometimes feel a bit rigid or even fearful when it comes to talking about mental health,” says Scahill.
“But while the subject is serious, the Ahead of the Game programme is designed to be fun, engaging, and interactive. It helps make the conversation feel lighter, more approachable, and ultimately more digestible for those who might otherwise shy away from it.

“When we go in and deliver a session we do a player session for one hour then we take a 15-minute break and then we're in with the parents for 45 minutes to an hour afterwards.

“I suppose the rationale behind that is you're trying to create a bird’s eye view for everybody involved of what we're trying to get across.

“You’re also trying to start that conversation between the parents and players who are there because oftentimes it can be a parent or coach who will spot that something might be off with someone else's teenage boy or girl and if they have those lines of communication open within that community it can help things get better faster.

“A big thing we're trying to do is to facilitate a conversation between the parents for that reason, that they're comfortable talking about the topic with each other as well as with their own teenagers.”

Go HERE if your club is interested in participating in Phase 3 of the Movember ‘Ahead of the Game’ mental health literacy programme.

Movember ‘Ahead of the Game’ testimonies

“I didn’t want to go. I sent my son to do what I wasn’t bothered to do myself. I am so sorry for doing that, thank you so much for helping me too.” Male parent and coach, Offaly club.

“Today, I thought the workshop was very inspiring and such an eye opener for me to check up on my friends and even talk about my own problems if I ever have them” Male player, Waterford club

“Just touching base further to last nights and last week’s sessions. To be honest, I’m blown away!

“I was there last night and cannot say enough in praise for the facilitators. They were hugely engaged from the outset and having passed the room once in the hour session with the boys, there certainly appeared to be reciprocal engagement from the boys.

“Then the parents’ session – the facilitators were able to adapt to the changing audience with huge ease. Their openness in sharing their personal experiences was what held both audiences and should not be understated.

“I received messages from parents afterwards and all felt the session was very worthwhile with lots of learnings.

“We spoke to my son afterwards and he was really impressed with the evening and went so far as to say he felt it should be rolled out again and people should really buy into it as there was a lot to learn. Trust me, from a 15-year-old boy, this is high praise indeed!! We chatted about some of the things discussed and it was clear that he had learned a lot and had really taken it on board.

“As a parent, I feel quite reassured that messages on difficult life and teenage issues have been heard in a very relatable way.” Female coordinator and parent, Dublin club.