Movember partners with the GAA and the GPA to launch the ‘Movember Ahead of the Game’ campaign at Croke Park in Dublin. In attendance are Ahead of the Game facilitators, from left, Iggy Clarke, Saoirse McCarthy and Mary Kate Lynch. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
For the past 12 months Cork camogie star, Saoirse McCarthy, has been a facilitator for the Movember ‘Ahead the Game’ mental health literacy program.
In that time she has hosted workshops with male and female U14/15 players and their parents and coaches in 24 GAA clubs in Munster and Leinster.
The workshops highlight the importance of building mental fitness to deal with the challenges life and sport can throw at anyone, and include content on how to recognise mental health disorders and get help for them.
“We talk to the underage players first,” says McCarthy. “You talk to one specific team and the players' presentation is called 'Help out a Mate'. That's for an hour.
“Then you talk to the parents and coaches for an hour after that and that's called 'The Number One Supporter'. That adult session is always a really cool, open forum.
“The big takeaway for me is that everyone is going through the same stuff. It's just a matter of encouraging them to talk about it.
“I think that's why it works well to have Gaelic games players as faciltators. The young players look up to the likes of us and talk to us a little bit more openly. The first thing we say is that we're not teachers, we're players just like ye. You're just trying to normalise the conversation.
“We introduce ourselves, give a little bit about why we're there. I think if you show vulnerability yourself then they'll find it easier themselves to open up.
“It's a bit of craic too. We have them up and running around and playing games. It's not just all sitting around and listening to us talking.”
Cork camogie player, Saoirse McCarthy.
Since the Movember ‘Ahead of the Game’ Programme started it has engaged over 5,000 participants across the 32 counties of Ireland. 176 clubs participated in Phase 1, with another 310 registered for Phase 2 which is currently being rolled out.
What’s the key message that the facilitators impart in their workshops with the parents and coaches?
“Listening without judgement is one of the biggest things that I always want to get across in the parent/coach sessions,” says McCarthy.
“We all often try to find a quick solution or put blame back on the teenager rather than just listen without judgement.
“Sit on your hands if you have to, but just listen. Don't talk, don't try to butt in, don't try to look for a quick solution.
“One of the things the parents often say back to me is that it’s something they do have to work on, that ability to just sit there and listen and realise that can be enough to help someone. You don’t have to have all the answers.”
When McCarthy reflects on her own playing career it’s the coaches who saw her as a human being as well as an athlete who always made the most positive impression on her.
Movember partners with the GAA and the GPA to launch the ‘Movember Ahead of the Game’ campaign at Croke Park in Dublin. In attendance are Ahead of the Game facilitators, from left, Iggy Clarke, Saoirse McCarthy, Domhnall Nugent, and Mary Kate Lynch. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.
She believes coaches can be a powerful force for good in the lives of players off the pitch as well as on it if they take the time to make the effort.
“It's about being there and showing an interest and noticing the signs of anxiety and depression,” she says. “If you don't know the signs you can't notice them.
“I know coaches who noticed things in me, even the tiniest little things. If I was a little bit quiet or wasn't playing like I normally would.
“I'd get a text or call afterwards and you'd be surprised that they'd noticed something in you and cared enough to reach out.
“That then gives you the confidence to talk about what might be on your mind. That experience of being able to talk to a coach helped me so much as a player and a person and probably a coach myself as well.
“If I'm coaching a team now myself I'm way more in tune to my players' emotions as well as how they're actually playing.
“Communication is massive. Especially in the older and adult players, if you can sit down with them and have a conversation about what's going on and if you know that they have something going on in their life, then you're not going to get frustrated when they're not giving 100 per cent in training because you know what's going on.
“I think it's about creating that safe space to have a conversation and knowing when and where to ask them if they're alright, not in front of a group. Those are the sorts of things we talk about in our Ahead of the Game sessions.”
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Saoirse McCarthy and Domhnall Nugent will be facilitating a Movember ‘Ahead the Game’ workshop at the Gaelic Games Coaching Conference on November 23. Tickets are available HERE.
GAA clubs interested in participating in the Movember 'Ahead of the Game' mental health literacy program should go HERE.