World Mental Health Day
9 October, 2018
World Mental Health Day - October 10 - is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy.
The day is an initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health to raise public awareness of mental health issues worldwide.
The mental health of its members is a priority for the ACA with wellbeing programs across the country helping to facilitate early assistance, or helping others to identify early signs and seek help on their behalf.
The program has been successful in reducing stigma within the playing groups, demonstrated by the number of players who have reached out to their PDM’s or directly to the ACA for support through the external referral network.
National Player Development Program
For many years, the ACA and Cricket Australia have invested in wellbeing, providing access to the referral network for current players. While all ACA members (past and present players) can access with confidential services through Relationships Australia.
For most players, performance is enhanced and refreshed if life activities outside cricket are also full and rewarding.
Professor John Sutton Macquarie University
Professor John Sutton and his team at Macquarie University has compiled a report on sustaining elite performance through emotional skills and the mental game in Australian cricket.
“It’s completely essential for an individual to find his or her own way through the difficult times of a professional sporting career,” Sutton said.
“In cricket in particular, there are so many bad days, there are so many bad periods, when things don’t go as you planned and players have learnt to use those experiences for the better.
“What players have told us has been really important to get out of a rut, to get out of a bad period, to recover from some poor form is to step back.
“To remember that there are things in life other than cricket, to find the connections to family, to some other occupation, to a business and get back into cricket with a fresh mind, to recover and switch on again when you need to.
“For most players, performance is enhanced and refreshed if life activities outside cricket are also full and rewarding.”
One of the recommendations from the report noted that cricketers should be; “Provided more time and support, with matching resources, for players to develop and implement self-generated activities outside cricket, since maintaining a balanced perspective on the game benefits performance.”
