This year, Goulburn Valley League's Shepparton Swans joined the growing list of clubs and decided to allocate resources to give their footballers and netballers, senior and junior, education on balancing their mental health.
The senior football and A-grade netball sides are in contention for finals this year, but the Swans will be hoping on-field success is not the only thing they can achieve.
George Gilby has been made welfare and wellbeing officer at the Swans — a new position at the club — and said he and those in charge at Princess Park were excited to get involved in the mental health space.
“The club wants to not only develop footballers and netballers, but we want to develop good people as well,” Gilby said.
“It is just in its infancy; we have spoken to the group and let them know about the role that I will fill as player welfare and wellbeing (officer).
“I am pretty sure from their response that it was well received.
“We are looking forward to rolling the program out to senior and junior bodies of the club.”
The junior boys and youth girls faction at Swans has also been accepted into the AFL’s Ahead of the Game program.
Based on Movember-funded research, the Ahead of the Game program looks to educate players, umpires, coaches, parents and volunteers on mental health through interactive workshops during training times.
Gilby said the club realised how important it is to teach its footballers and netballers about how to look after their mental health given the sanctuary nature of sporting clubs.
“The football-netball club is their sporting family,” he said.
“They spend a lot of time here over nine months of the year really.
“I am really pleased that the club feels that it’s important that we get involved in that area and try to assist our people.”
In an added boost to the Swans' focus on their players’ wellbeing, the club has announced it will also have The Unbreakable Farmer joining its ranks for 2025.
Warren Davies (The Unbreakable Farmer) is one of Australia’s leading mental health speakers and will run four or five sessions with the Swans throughout the season.
Davies said his sessions would be varied and involve stories and experiences from his own life to engage the participants.
“In my program, I will touch on drugs and alcohol, how to be a good leader and stuff like that as well, how to be that leader in a community environment,” Davies said.
“My program is also interactive, so they aren’t left to sit there and twiddle their thumbs.
“It is all about engagement ... and so anyone that is listening to the message can relate to it in some way, shape or form.”
Having travelled around Australia for the past nine-and-a-half years sharing his stories with regional and rural communities, the former dairy farmer said a family connection drew him to Princess Park.
“I come from Kyabram, my son plays footy here and it is really important, I think, to focus on those rural communities because sometimes we don’t have the support we need,” he said.
“It’s a great initiative by the Shepp Swans to put their players, whether that is football or netball, at that level that we can look after them.
“Particularly in rural communities (sporting clubs) are the backbone of the community.
“Nurturing young people through programs, I think it is really important to start conversations, normalise conversations around mental illness, suicide and that in our community."
Davies is hoping more clubs in the Goulburn Valley will follow suit and start to work on their own mental health and wellbeing programs for their players.
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