CHAMPION
Duncan, a 50 year old male from Hertfordshire, suffering with anxiety and depression and Type II Diabetes.
SUMMARY
Duncan joined the Get Set to Go partnership football session between Stevenage FC Foundation and Mind in Mid Herts back in January 2020.
Despite initial nerves linked to his anxiety, Duncan joined the sessions from week 1 and found that as the weeks went on, not only did his physical health improve, stating weight loss and better control of his blood sugar levels, but his mental health also significantly improved.
Although the football sessions had to be suspended during the lockdown period, Duncan continued to stay active by joining in with virtual fitness sessions lead by the Foundation and Mind in Mid Herts. He managed to improve his fitness levels even further through these sessions and found that the weekly group engagement was key in maintaining his social contact.
Duncan has now returned to the football sessions which have recently restarted and is thriving by being able to engage with like-minded people who are in a similar position to him and continue to play a sport that he loves.
BACKGROUND
The Get Set to Go football sessions take place once a week and last for one hour, with 30 minutes focusing on warming up and football drills and 30 minutes for a match. The first few weeks the pace of the football was slowed down to ‘walking football’ but it was soon apparent that as the group’s fitness improved, they wanted to speed things up so regular paced football was soon introduced.
7 weeks into the sessions, the lockdown was brought in meaning that the football sessions had to be suspended. Keen to keep engaged with the participants and help them to maintain their new-found fitness levels, a virtual fitness session was offered free of charge to all on the programme, led by the Foundation’s Health and Wellbeing Manager, Hannah Marsh.
These sessions took place weekly and helped maintain a sense of community for the participants and kept them engaged in being active. There was even ‘guest visits’ from the Stevenage FC First Team Manager, Alex Revell, along with other members of the Mind in Mid Herts team. The outdoor football sessions have now returned with the previous participants ready and raring to get back into playing football together.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
