To support the development of its young athletes, West Ham United Academy hosted a half-term day of enrichment and education activities at Chadwell Heath training ground.
Players from the U9s to U14s age groups engaged in school holiday off-pitch development sessions, gaining a better understanding of how to manage their nutrition, their mental health and how to use their platforms as future footballers for good.
As part of the Premier League’s Life Skills and Personal Development programme for academies, the If U Care Share Foundation delivered workshops on how to manage mental health.
Created in memory of his brother Daniel, Matthew Smith’s If U Share Care Foundation provides essential services focused on three main goals - prevention, intervention, and support for those bereaved by suicide. What began with selling wristbands before matches at Sunderland and Newcastle’s grounds has grown into one of the country's leading providers of mental health and suicide prevention workshops.
Speaking on the importance of broaching the subject with young footballers, Sport Lead Thomas Young, who delivered the workshops, said: “When people think about mental health, we often think about anxiety and depression, but it’s so much more than that.
“Mental health is a good thing, and it’s important for us to convey that they look after it, like they would do their physical health, because in an academy environment, of course, you're going to look after yourself more physically than you do mentally.
“In an environment like this one, they're going to have to put up with a fair share of failure, defeats and mistakes. Those things are going to be heightened so much because of all the pressure that they put on themselves and they get from other people.
“The main message is how important it is to communicate and look after your mental health. Some people who don't quite do that, that don't communicate, have gone on to take their own lives.
“Mental health and communication are so important. It’s about pointing them in the right direction. We just want them to make sure that they're aware that if something were to happen, then they're able to go through the right channels.”
In partnership with the Premier League, Football For Future also made an appearance at the Education department’s Holistic Hammers day. A passionate football fan and climate advocate, Elliot Worsop founded Football For Future to help football organisations reach net zero through strategy development and climate action projects. As part of their mission, Worsop personally delivers workshops in academies and schools to engage young people in the climate conversation.
Worsop said: “I can't think of a more exciting vehicle to drive social change than football. It unites people across socioeconomic divides, races, ages, genders, nationalities, religions. At a time when the world feels quite divided, football bridges that gap. Players and brands associated to football often have more engagement than a lot of mainstream media organisations do today.
“Once you understand that, then you can understand your position in being able to create change. Hopefully a lot of the players that I’ve spoken to today will go on to have amazing careers in football on and off the pitch. And as climate change rises up the agenda, politically, economically and socially, it's becoming more important for everybody in the world to have an understanding of it, how it impacts the world in which we live and how we can also drive change.”
In addition to the children’s activities, Academy parents also got involved in the half-term activities. In partnership with Chasing the Stigma, the Academy hosted a mental health workshop for parents on how to spot the signs when someone is struggling and where to turn for help, before finishing off with a six-a-side match.
