Lifeline Mates in Mind: Mental Health in Local Sport

Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury Sydney’s Mates in Mind program is helping sporting clubs recognise when someone may be struggling, and giving communities the confidence to know what to do next.

Community sport is built around looking out for your teammates. But knowing when someone is struggling off the field, and what to say when they are, can be much harder.

Mates in Mind, a free mental health and peer support program run through Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury Sydney, is working within sporting clubs to make those conversations part of everyday club life rather than something that begins only when someone reaches crisis point.

Mental health challenges are far from uncommon. Around one in five Australians aged 16 to 85 experienced a mental disorder in a 12-month period, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

For Mates in Mind founder Peter Quinn, the motivation behind the program is deeply personal.

Quinn lost his brother Michael to suicide more than a decade ago, an experience that made him acutely aware of the importance of having people around who are willing to simply be present and listen.

With more than 20 years of involvement in community sport, Quinn saw sporting clubs as an opportune start.

“Sporting clubs are places where people build friendships, trust and a real sense of belonging, so I felt they were a natural environment to start having more open conversations about mental health,” Quinn said.

Yet, sporting culture can present something of a paradox. The same clubs that foster close friendships and a strong sense of belonging can also carry expectations to “tough it out” when things aren’t going well.

Quinn said another barrier is the belief that someone needs to be seriously struggling before they should speak up. Or sometimes people simply do not know how to begin a conversation with someone they are concerned about.

Mates in Mind is trying to use the strength of those existing sporting relationships to make that first conversation easier.

Rather than turning teammates or coaches into counsellors, the program works with coaches, managers, players, volunteers and club leaders to help them recognise when someone may be struggling, start an open and safe conversation and know where to direct them for further support.

“It’s about making mental health conversations a normal part of club life, not just something discussed when there is a crisis,” Quinn said.

For Quinn, success can be found in seemingly small interactions.

At a recent Mental Health Round at Drummoyne Oval, he said the program not only raised awareness but prompted genuine one-on-one conversations about mental health.

“That’s what Mates in Mind is really about,” he said.

The program now has an opportunity to broaden its reach after receiving $7,500 through the recent Community Pitch event at Magpies Waitara.

Quinn said the funding will help strengthen Mates in Mind and expand into netball, rugby league and Australian rules, while also supporting plans for a regional pilot across North Coast NSW and Southern Queensland.

“Every dollar helps us get the program into more clubs and communities,” he said.

But supporting someone does not require having the perfect words or knowing how to solve their problems.

“You don’t need to have all the answers,” Quinn said.

“Simply noticing someone isn’t themselves, letting them know that you are there for them and genuinely listening can make a huge difference.”

That might mean recognising a change in someone’s usual behaviour, making space for a conversation, listening rather than trying to fix the situation, and helping them connect with further support when needed.

“You don’t have to fix someone’s problems, sometimes just being there and helping them connect with the right support is enough,” Quinn said.

“At the heart of Mates in Mind is a simple message: you don’t have to go through things on your own.”

It is a message shaped by Quinn’s own loss, and one he hopes will help ensure others have a mate beside them when they need one most.