Roughrider foundation launches youth mental wellness ‘playbook’

The Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation launched a new initiative Thursday, aiming to give young people more resources to tackle issues with mental health and wellness.

At Sacred Heart School, the team, the Foundation and the provincial government announced the “Game Changers Playbook,” a collection of user-friendly mental health resources intended to further the goal of “empowering and equipping youth to look after their mental wellness.” The foundation is also sending player ambassadors to classrooms to deliver the “Win with Wellness” presentation series that accompanies the playbook.

“It means that we’re going to change the youth and allow them to know it’s OK to not feel yourself, it’s OK to be able to open up your emotions and talk about how you’re feeling,” said Riders’ centre Dan Clark.

“We want to be able to equip youth with tools to know that they aren’t feeling right.”

The Riders Foundation is working with several youth mental wellness organizations to provide the resources to all schools in the province for no cost.

Clark, who is the longest-tenured member of the Riders, said he was never given this type of support when he was in school.

“Programs like this were not even on the radar,” Clark said. “It was something that was not normal to talk about. As we climb year by year, we’re finding different things that we are finding that it is OK to talk about.”

Clark was joined by slotback Brayden Lenius, kicker Brett Lauther, long-snapper Jorgen Hus and wide receiver Mitch Picton at the school to deliver a talk to kids about the playbook. Those five, along with linebacker Derrick Moncrief, will also work with schools in the off-season to promote the discussion of mental wellness for youth through the “Win for Wellness” presentations. Teachers will be given an opportunity to book those engagements in the coming months.

Dustin Duncan, Saskatchewan’s education minister, said the playbook will help put more tools into the hands of both students and educators.

“We are proud to collaborate with the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation on the Game Changers Playbook, a resource which will connect mental wellness resources with the educators and staff who work daily with youth in our schools,” Duncan said in a statement.

The Game Changers Playbook can be accessed online.

The ability to get out into the community this season has been a welcome return to normality for the Riders, after COVID forced a pause to community engagements.

“When you’re not able to do that, you lose a little bit of connectivity with the players and our fans, especially with the youth of our province.” Riders’ president and CEO Craig Reynolds said. “We’re really excited to get back out there and do these presentations again.”

And with COVID affecting so many lives, Clark said he feels this program comes at the perfect time.

“Our children are the most resilient out of the whole COVID situation,” he said. “Being in school, out of school, on Zoom, out of Zoom, back in school. The resiliency that children have is unbelievable, and to be able to equip them with tools to understand what is going on in their life, it is unbelievable.”