In 2019, Kris Marano brought together the leaders of Fremantle City FC’s women’s program around a small boardroom table.
Key points:
- Fremantle City women’s team kicked off Gaining Ground program
- Its goal is to build relationships and bonds between senior and junior players.
- The program was sparked by concerns about the mental health of the players.
They were there to talk about the mental health crisis affecting their players.
“There were significant mental health problems, on the spectrum from anorexia to suicide attempts,” he said.
“That conversation was good to bring it out into the open, acknowledging that we have to do something.”
The group concluded that they needed to develop a way to deal with problems before they became overwhelming.
“What was decided was that we’re not mental health professionals, so we can’t necessarily address those things,” Marano said.
“But we can start to put a program in place to allow people to feel like they have an outlet to say, ‘Oh, this is something I’m dealing with.'”
Role models needed
One of the initial goals of the program was to provide players with role models within the club.
“If we have some kind of sustained female presence in the lives of some of these young women who may be experiencing some of these things, maybe that can become a way for them to talk about some of these things and not hold them back.” Marano said.
The mentorship program, called Gaining Ground, paired veteran players with younger teams in training. They not only helped with the session, but also counseled the younger girls on issues in their lives that they did not feel comfortable discussing with the coaches, who were often the parents of other players.
“The senior girl was like, ‘Okay, here’s a way you can deal with it,'” Marano explained.
“The results we’re seeing is that just by having some of the older girls [around]they are [the younger girls] see them as role models.
building relationships
What started as a mentoring program turned into a wellness initiative.
“We had different sessions where people came in and talked about the menstrual cycle, sports psychology, all that kind of stuff,” said Mikayla Lyons, a mentor and player for Fremantle’s NPL women’s team.
“It’s like a free show where we can go and gain knowledge and interact with girls from all the other teams within the club, and build that relationship and that community.”
Lyons is involved in the sport at an elite level, working as a strength and conditioning coach for the Fremantle Dockers AFLW team and as a sports scientist for the Junior Matildas.
She is also completing a PhD assessing the women’s soccer talent pathway in Western Australia.
She believes the mentoring program will not only help retain girls in soccer throughout their teen years, but also open the door for veteran players looking for a different role within the sport.
“We’ve had some people that have left and really realized that they might want to be coaches in the future, or they might want to be referees in the future,” Lyons said.
“I also saw a need, especially within the youth space, to have that for younger girls, who can come to us and ask us questions and even trust us a little bit, where they normally wouldn’t be able to.” Do that.
“We know that girls drop out for different reasons and at different times than boys. Girls drop out between the ages of 9 and 10 because it’s not okay to play sports anymore.”
“So in terms of retention, I think it’s really important to have that sense of community to have that support around you and that mentoring program where the younger girls can see the older girls within that space.”
First obvious benefits
In building the program, Marano was based on the principles proposed by the American researcher and author Brene Brown, who worked with the Richmond Football Club after their disappointing 2016 season.
She said the authors’ views on vulnerability guided her construction of the program.
“His principles are about building joy, connection and belonging. When we build those principles, that’s what can create real change in our communities,” Marano said.
Preliminary evidence suggests that the program is already having a positive impact on the club.
Surveys completed before and after the 2021 season revealed an overall improvement in overall player well-being, across both the Under-18 and Under-23 teams.
For Jarrah Smith-Taylor, it has also provided an opportunity for mentors to develop. She helps out with the under 14 side in Fremantle.
“I feel like Gaining Ground has given me a real vehicle to progress and be a part of something worthwhile,” he said.
“I feel like we talk a lot about mental wellness and we talk a lot about fighting for equality for women in sport, but we don’t really do anything.
“Gaining Ground gave me the opportunity to learn how to connect with like-minded women to form a group and a movement… that we could really make a difference.”
“I’ve had players that I’ve talked to because I could have gotten to training a little earlier, and I’m like, ‘How have you been? How are things at school, how are things outside of football?’
“They can talk to me about those things and I can listen and give the best advice and mentorship that I can.”
Part of that change is taking advantage of the attention the 2023 Women’s World Cup will bring when it kicks off in November next year.
expansion plans
Marano hopes the program will expand in WA and eventually across the country and into more sports codes.
“The next step is to start partnering with state and local governments, universities, local organizations and experts to grow the program leading up to the Women’s World Cup,” she said.
“We have to get the job done now. When we look at local government strategies around creating healthier communities and connections and elevating women in sports and mental health treatment, this program does all of these things.” “.
Gaining Ground has applied to become a charity and is working to expand.
“We want it to grow as far away as possible. That’s why we want it to grow in Western Australia. And we want to see it grow in Australia as well,” Marano said.
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