Sports Central will again partner with the Tackle Your Feelings program to make mental health training available to football netball clubs in 2023.
Tackle Your Feelings is a free mental health training program for community coaches, committee members and club support staff.
The program is delivered by a local psychologist and aims to help participants gain the tools to understand, recognise and respond to signs of mental ill-health in their players.
In 2022, the program was delivered to 2,579 community coaches and officials from 205 clubs across every Australian state and territory, including those associated with Sports Central. Congratulations to Avoca Football Netball Club, Ballarat Bulldogs Football Netball Club, Beaufort Football Netball Club, Melton South Football Netball Club and Waubra Football Netball Club. They join Daylesford Football Netball Club, Gordon Football Netball Club, North Ballarat Football Netball Club, Redan Football Netball Club and Skipton Football Netball Club who successfully completed the program in 2021.
More about the program
The program was inspired by mental health education developed for AFL professional coaches and players, consisting of a face-to-face presentation from a local psychologist and additional online learning.
Tackle Your Feelings ambassadors Leon Cameron, Nathan Buckley, Neville Jetta, Kara Antonio and Dylan Buckley also feature throughout the video content within the program.
The program was formed by the AFL Coaches Association, AFL Players’ Association and Zurich Insurance in 2018, after the tragic death of Adelaide coach Phil Walsh three years earlier.
The program was evaluated by Monash University in 2021.
How your club can get involved
Sports Central will facilitate Tackle Your Feelings sessions with football netball clubs throughout the Central Highlands during the 2023 season.
Once participants complete the training (workshop and online modules) they will have access to resources including blogs, podcasts and videos to assist with their ongoing learning. Participating clubs are eligible for the Tackle Your Feelings rewards program, which includes footballs, equipment and access to program ambassadors.
To register your club’s interest please contact Andrew Milligan on 0419 590 674 or andrewm@sportscentral.org.au.