As Children’s Mental Health Week takes shape at Bromley FC, Community Manager Matt Hall runs us through the Club’s day to day activities.

Monday 1st February:

So, Children’s Mental Health week is finally here for 2021. At Bromley FC, Mental Health is something we take very seriously.

We are encouraging all of our young people to ‘Wear a smile’ this week. Some ideas on how they could do this are listed below.

• create a smile and wear it – this could be as simple as a scarf, beads or even a balloon attached to a hat or clothing in the shape of a Smile
• a drawing, painting or collage with the Smile logo included (bit like the NHS rainbow idea)
• bake cookies in the shape of a Smile
• make a Smile out of lego
• arrange objects i.e. footballs, Bromley shirts, teddies, other toys in the shape of a smile

As a Club with our Community at heart, we wanted to make sure we raised awareness of this week, as well as ensuring we are able to support young people in our own community.

A quote for the day:

Today, it’s all about courage. How can we take on the week ahead and be courageous? What about challenges along the way?

Mental Health Champion: As you may have seen by now, we have partnered up with the Kent FA, appointing our own Mental Health Champion. Sue Whittaker, Club Welfare Officer, has taken up the role. You can read more about this by clicking here.

Welfare: We have launched an all new welfare section on the Community Website. Click here to take a look.

First Team: Our First Team Players and Management will be heavily involved this week, discussing Mental Health topics and sending messages of positivity to those who are struggling. Jack Holland, Joe Kizzi and Byron Webster spoke about how important it is to talk about our feelings, as well as the importance of a healthy mind. Watch the video below!

Tuesday 2nd February:

Day two of Children’s Mental Health is here, and our message for today is self belief and the importance of asking for help when we need it.

A quote for the day:

Today, it’s all about knowing when to ask for help, and understanding how this can help us navigate challenges in our lives. Remember to believe in yourself!

First Team: We caught up with Frankie Raymond, Billy Bingham and Courtney Duffus on the importance of asking for help when we need it. Watch today’s edition below!

Warm up with us: We’re inviting all of our young people to join in with the First team, even though our match was eventually called off! See the video below.

Youth: Kieran, who plays as a goalkeeper for our Youth Academy, got involved with the #WearASmile campaign by baking this happy cake!

Wednesday 3rd February:

Today, our theme is all about reflection and how we must try and take the positives from difficult situations.

A quote for the day:

First Team: We caught up with manager Neil Smith and First Team Coach Alan Dunne for their thoughts on the importance of self-reflection and to coin a phrase, ‘looking on the bright side’!

Thursday 4th February: Today, it’s all about being kind to others and how this can make us feel better too! Stay tuned for some messages from the first team!

A quote for the day: The importance of taking things one step at a time…

First Team: Our very own Mark Cousins, James Alabi and Chris Bush spoke about the importance of being kind to others.

Friday 5th February: Today is all about how we can prepare our minds and remain calm ahead of challenges, like a match for the first team.

Quote for the day: Here’s our quote for today. Have a wonderful Friday!

First Team: Today, we’ll be hearing from Jack Bridge, Kory Roberts and Liam Trotter. You can watch the video below!

Youth section: Our first team players have recorded messages from all of our youth teams (and Youth Academy) from U7s to U18s! Teams received these today.

Individual messages: We were contacted by a number of parents to ask for individual messages for their children, who may have been struggling or in need of a pick up. We sent these out earlier today and have had some heartwarming responses from parents, with plenty of smiles from the recipients!

Saturday 6th February: Today is about talking about our feelings, being a team player and working with others, just like the players do!

Quote for the day: Remember to talk about your feelings!

First Team: Our very own Taylor Maloney, Luke Coulson and Michael Cheek spoke about the importance of working as a team. View the full video below!

Warm up with us: With the game going ahead this time, we again invited our young fans and players to warm up with the first team. Watch the full video with drills from Coach Craig and Coach Ali below!

Soccer School: We’ve had a number of emails from parents telling us just how much their children are missing Saturday Morning Soccer School. Coaches Craig and Ali had a little message for all of our wonderful participants and families. View it below!

Sunday 7th February: As Children’s Mental Health Week comes to an end, our final theme was about self belief, remembering it’s okay to make mistakes, and not to get ahead of ourselves when things are going well.

A quote for the day: Remember that it’s okay to make mistakes… it’s how we learn!

First Team: We spoke to Harry Forster, Ben Williamson and Charlie Wakefield about today’s themes!

Thank you: We were delighted to receive a thank you message from our U11 Rooks. They’ve loved all our efforts during Children’s Mental Health Week. Watch the clip below!

A reminder: Remember, we have partnered up with the Kent FA, appointing our own Mental Health Champion. Sue Whittaker, Club Welfare Officer, has taken up the role and is here to help. You can read more about this by clicking here.

Our partners: We’d like to thank Macks Properties, Macron London and South East and Bristol Street Motors Bromley for their support of our community work. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible.