As the new Mental Health Officer at Cardiff University one of my points on my manifesto was to look into Mental Health in Sport.
On the 9th of March I went to Ninian Park to watch Cardiff City v Ipswich Town. The Head of Communications invited me to do Work Experience in the press gantry and it truly was a day that I will never forget. Ipswich opened the scoring at 79 minutes when Wales International Kieffer Moore fired the ball in the back of the net. 8 minutes of added time were put on the board and Cardiff City took advantage of an Ipswich Town poor defensive back line. Ryan Wintle scored the equaliser in the 90+5 minute and Callum O’Dowda scored the second goal in the 90+10 minute. Ipswich fans complained that the whistle should have been blown sooner but nevertheless the goal stood and Cardiff City won the match 2-1. The bluebirds got the victory they deserved and the all important 3 points.
When speaking to Callum O’Dowda in the post-match press conference I asked him what pushed him to have a more positive mental health throughout his injury. He said that his “family and friends played a key part supporting the recovery process” he went on to say that the “tough days were really bad especially when accepting how long I’d be out for the season” As a football player he said it is important to be “open and honest and express your feelings and working with a life coach 24 hours a day really helped”.
Gymnast and Footballer Abby stated that she wanted to “inspire young girls, be a role model and do something she found fun as you can’t be good at something you don’t enjoy!” When I asked Abby what sport meant to her she said that it was a “stress release and escape” so it was “good for mental health and wellbeing but there is high intensity and pressure in sport” Abby went on to say that she did “60 hours of training a week alongside studying and was severely sleep deprived” As mental health officer I want to meet with sports societies wellbeing officers to discuss the importance of balancing playing matches and completing university work in order to maintain good mental health and reduce student stress. Abby said that in order to keep positive mental health in sport “you should not put too much pressure on yourself ”. As an athlete Abby had severe injuries and her “teammates and aspirations to win” helped her come back from injury.
She was motivated to prove she could come back from injury. To conclude Abby went on to say that “Athletes are human beings, they are not perfect and failure in sports impacts your mental health as athletes are perfectionists”.