County Board Youth Officer Cathal Martyn and our Games Manager LiamOg Gormley, his team, Coaching Officer Peadar Niland and our Health & Wellbeing Officer Trevor Coen have been working on this project.
They are concerned that there may be teenagers who were sent home from school on March 12th and have not engaged with the outside world since.
Last week they conducted a survey of those in the 15 to 20 year old bracket.
The immediate response was huge and illustrated the willingness of respondents to participate in any activity.
The results show that 60% openly admit to finding life difficult to deal with at the moment.
85% miss team sport and the social element surrounding same.
6% are enjoying the break.
As a course of action this has lead to have a Health and Wellbeing Connect week. This will take place from June 10th to 17th.
Our aim is to contact every individual . We will be depending on Coach's via parents to achieve this.
We will be promoting peer support from where we intend to create our main communication tool.
We will be promoting five health & wellbeing focus points. (attached).
We will be promoting our upcoming events which will be aimed at maintaining competitive mindset and preparation for return to training.
The aims are as follows
(1)Be Active. Find a outdoor spaces for physical activity in nature if possible. Get out for a run or walk. See the SligoGAA utube coaching channel for home training options which will help you stick with your preparation for return to pitch based training. Take part in the competitions which are being posted. Its not the real thing but it will help to maintain those rivalries you are missing at the moment.
(2)Take Notice. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Create a self care playlist to listen to when you need some me-time. Use apps like Headspace or CALM to help you to stay mindful.
(3)Connect with friends and teammates. Share home-based training progress with a group of friends to help motivate each other and stay in touch. Call a friend when on your daily walk. Invest effort into keeping the connections you have alive, and make new ones. Reach out for help if needed.
(4)Keep learning. Try new training methods and nutrition in your home based training. Write an achievable to-do list in your diary. Pass on any questions your coach can help you answer about return to play. Keep an eye out for the upcoming seminars which are being organised by Our Coaching and games Team.
(5)Give. Do something nice for a friend. Even the smallest act can count, whether it’s a smile, a thank you, or a kind word. Peer support is really important. Is there anyone you haven’t heard from in a while, give them a call and encourage them to join you in looking after each others Health and Wellbeing.
Thanks for being curious about your wellbeing. Take Care!