The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Dundee club hopes to slam dunk mental health stigma
Dundee Madsons Basketball Club is hoping to slam dunk mental health stigma after appointing two wellbeing ambassadors.
The city club, which has existed in some form since 1964 and now boasts around 150 members, recently brought Rachael Anderson and Scott Brunton on board as mental health champions.
Working with players of all ages, the pair, who have children of their own in the boys U16 team, will undergo training in partnership with Basketball Scotland and SAMH (the Scottish Association for Mental Health).
After six to eight months, they will be fully qualified to tend to the needs of club members and will be ably assisted by “young wellbeing champions” within the teams.
Club chairman Robin Paterson said: “It’s something that Basketball Scotland offered and we’ve had a couple of situations in the past where there have been players who have struggled with mental health problems.
“In the past we didn’t know how to deal with things, we tried our best but we were just stumbling along blindly.
“We thought it was about time we actually knew what we were doing and had some sort of structure, so this project is the ideal thing.
“We’re a totally inclusive club and we felt that having this expertise would be a big help.”
Amid the coronavirus pandemic and with all the club’s teams unable to train, Mr Paterson believes the ambassador roles are even more crucial.
He added: “We had a small window in the autumn for the U12s when the kids went back to school.
“The U18s have been able to train but not compete against each other. It’s just been basic skill work.
“Since the lockdown in December there’s been absolutely nothing. The guys are chomping at the bit and desperate to get back.
“That doesn’t help the mental health side of it.
“We’ve players suffering quite badly because they’re missing a big time in their careers.”
Mr Paterson is grateful to have extra hands to the pump in these tough times and hopes the support of Anderson and Brunton can help the club mould stronger people as well as athletes.
“It helps builds a bit more of a stronger committee,” he said.
“To have a couple of parents willing to step up and take this on helps.
“A lot of players in the club will recognise them and know who they are.
“We have the young wellbeing champions as well to help out the younger members, which gives kids somebody their own age as an initial starting point.”