Movember Ahead of The Game documentary airs on Sky Sports
Watch Movember’s gripping ‘Ahead of The Game’ documentary on Sky Demand.
It tells the story of how Movember is working some of rugby league’s biggest stars to deliver mental fitness workshops to thousands of young people across the north of England.
Suicide is the leading cause of death of men aged 15 to 49 and there is growing awareness of the risks young men can face, if they cannot talk openly about the challenges they are facing.
Half of all mental health problems start before the age of 14 and 75 per cent by the age of 24.
Movember’s ‘Ahead of The Game’ programme teaches teenage athletes about mental health in the familiar surroundings of their club changing rooms.
Over the next 12 months, workshops will be delivered to 8,000 young players and their parents and rugby club coaches in rugby league communities in the north of England through our delivery partner player welfare charity Rugby League Cares.
" The idea is that the boys learn to apply the resilience they build up on the pitch along with the mental fitness training they get in the changing rooms and apply it more widely in their lives, "
It is hoped that the programme will have a positive impact on the lives of young people in areas where poor mental health is prevalent and suicide rates are some of the highest in England.
Our squad of 13 ex-professional and current players, including former Great Britain and England International Keith Senior and New Zealand International and TV pundit Robbie Hunter-Paul – all of whom have spoken openly about their own struggles – are delivering the two hour-long workshops.
They teach the young players how to spot when a friend may be suffering and how they can support them.
“The idea is that the boys learn to apply the resilience they build up on the pitch along with the mental fitness training they get in the changing rooms and apply it more widely in their lives,” says Tracy Herd, mental health program director for Movember.
Ahead of The Game was devised by a team of sports psychologists at the University of Wollongong in Australia. It has been tested on 350 boys aged between 12-18, across three different sports including football, rugby league and swimming, over a season-long period.
Teenage boys who took part in the study - the biggest of its kind in the world - demonstrated a greater understanding of what mental health is, had greater intentions to help others who have a mental health problem and were more confident about seeking help themselves if they needed to.
Lead investigator Dr Stewart Vella says: “Giving young men the skills to cope with a mental health problem is really important as we know that half of all mental health problems have their onset before the age of 14. We really need to equip young men of that age to be able to deal with these challenges. Sport is a very engaging way of doing that.”