Basketball New South Wales is pleased to partner with leading Mental Health advocate Nick Bracks in a landmark program to align physical health with mental wellbeing across the basketball community.
Mental health is characterised by emotional wellbeing and resilience to stress. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
We all know the benefits of keeping physically fit, but what about our mental fitness?
Having good mental health, or being mentally healthy, is more than just the absence of illness, rather it’s a state of overall well being which is influenced by our culture and our enjoyment of life.
Evidence suggests that elite and developing athletes, because of their relationship with sport participation, may experience high levels of mental or emotional stress. High-Performance athletes are also exposed to greater stress because they devote considerable time, physical energy, and emotional investment in their sporting commitment. At any given time, 1 in 3 athletes* suffer from depression and anxiety compared to 1 in 5 Australians who have a mental illness.
With the assistance and guidance of Nick Bracks, BNSW will coordinate a specialised mental health training course for our High-Performance athletes along with various sectors of the organisation including officials, coaches, managers and Dream Hoops recipients.
In the course our participants will learn:
- Key learning’s from industry leaders in mindfulness, meditation, memory, mental health, psychology, and performance
- How to manage anxiety and stress
- Why we need to speak up and take preventative action and form healthier habits
- The power of storytelling and how you can use it to shape your mindset for success
- Why we should have more conversations about mental health, and how to do it
- How we can ALL make small changes today that lead to huge leaps forward tomorrow
- Why exercise, and it’s mental health benefits, are essential ingredients for a thriving mind
- How we can easily make changes to our routines by doing only a little practice each day
- How to put the PERMA model into practice to improve your happiness and performance
- Detailed nutritional information
- Goal-setting strategies that guide you to your personal best
- Habit formation techniques that will change your life, permanently
Nick has a long list of organisations that he has worked with ranging from some of Australia’s largest companies to schools across the nation. He has advocated alongside some of Australia’s largest mental health-focused organisations by candidly recounting the mental health issues he has struggled with since age 11, including a particularly difficult period when injury forced an early end to his initial career as a competitive athlete. He has spoken to audiences of 1000+ at schools and corporate events around the world as well as presenting two TED Talk’s, one covering how creative and entrepreneurial drive can help combat depression and a second on the growing suicide epidemic.
Nick Bracks added that he is thrilled to join forces with BNSW to assist in delivering the educational program.
“I am beyond excited to work with Basketball NSW through the Mental Health Masterclass program. Being a former athlete myself, I understand the pressures that can come with competing at an elite level,” Bracks said.
“Our aim is to provide each and every athlete with the education and tools to create a mindset for success both on and off the court. Traditionally, we have not been educated on mental wellness, and how to have healthy relationships, how to understand and be kind to ourselves, and ultimately create a happy future. We want to make this information available to every athlete, and ultimately create change.”
Basketball NSW, CEO, Maria Nordstrom stressed the importance of some huge benefits that team sport can have on your mental health along with the increasing pressure placed on not only young athletes but across every generation in Australia.
“Today’s society is complex and the pressures relentless at every stage of growing up and becoming an adult and throughout our lives,” Nordstrom said.
“It takes a village to raise a child and while in some cases the families, tribes and villages are strong, in many cases those ties are unfortunately severed and broken. We understand our role as a sport and know we can make a difference and be the compass that keeps a child believing in a better future. Sometimes with a lot of support – sometimes with a nudge.”
“A child who believes can make his or her future. It is a duty to provide guidance on that Journey to hopefully make it the best it can be.”
“Mental health does not discriminate and many traditional services are not equipped to address the unique barriers that people especially adolescents face to accessing mental health support with 54% of people with a mental illness do not access any treatment or support. We know that our partnership with Nick Bracks is just a starting point in the hopes we can continue to build on it in years to come.”
For more information on Nick and his mental health programs please head to his website linked below. https://courses.nickbracks.com/
There are a host of organisations who can provide assistance to those who are struggling and need someone to talk to. Beyond Blue, for example, does wonderful work and can be contacted at any time on 1300 224 636.
Additional resources:
https://nickbracks.com/my-story/
https://www.yourhealthinmind.org/get-help/mental-health-support-services/australia
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/the-mental-health-benefits-of-exercise.htm