Sam’s Stroll for Mental Health

About the stroll

My family and I moved to Australia in November 2024. In between settling the kids in school, finding a place to live, finding work and bemoaning how hot it is, I’ve been looking for positive ways to keep myself out of trouble.

The Newcastle Jets “20 for 20” walk celebrates 20 years in the A-League with a 20km walk through Newcastle (the city I’m now lucky enough to call home) to raise awareness and funds for mental health.

This is more than just a walk - it’s a chance to spark important conversations, show support for mental health, and be part of a movement that makes a real impact.

Mulling over mental health

Mental health is a cause extremely close to my heart. It's an issue that should be close to all of our hearts, because ultimately, life’s hard, right? We all do our best to make it look easy but for many, despite our best efforts, sometimes things are a little too noisy, a little too heavy, and a little too dark.

One man’s nightmare is another man’s dream - the issue of mental health doesn’t discriminate. It comes in all shapes and sizes, manifesting in a vast spectrum of symptoms, impacting people from all walks of life.

I consider myself to be in an extremely privileged position. I have a wonderfully supportive family, a great life and have been afforded the opportunity to move to a spectacularly beautiful part of the world. Whilst our journey has been fantastic for many reasons, none of which I take for granted, it has come with its fair share of challenges. I have felt lonely, isolated, stressed, anxious, overwhelmed, scared by the uncertainty and home sick.

The experience has been a reminder that, sometimes every silver lining has a cloud.

Why the “20 for 20” walk?

I’ve always believed in the link between sport and mental health. I swear by a walk and some fresh air to start the day. Beyond that, it's important to me personally for a few reasons:

• Sport brings people together and it helps generate conversation. ‘Did you see the game at the weekend?’ can open the door to ‘how was your weekend?’ which can open the door to ‘actually not so good'. Talking is so very important, and I have always come away from a deep and meaningful conversation feeling lighter. But diving in feet first talking about ‘feelings’ can be is nerve-racking, uncomfortable and awkward. 

• Since moving to Newcastle, The Jets games have given us some wonderful family time, created core memories, helped build new friendships AND has given me that go to ‘did you see the game at the weekend?’ opener.

• Lastly, and for me most importantly, football (sorry, soccer for the Australian contingent) is a HUGE part of my son’s life. Like most 7-year-olds, he lives, breathes, eats and sleeps football. The sport gives us so much time together, be that coaching his teams, games at the McDonald Jones Stadium, kickabouts in the garden or first thing in the morning Premier League score checks. I’ve had 40 years of a ‘stiff upper lip’ and the ‘boys don’t cry’ mentality (like for most men growing up in the UK in the 80’s and 90’s, that’s just 'how it was'). Breaking lifetime habits are hard but it's not a lost cause. I try to be mindful of how I’m feeling and acknowledge the times when I’m not at my best. But for him, I want that to be second nature. I never want him to have that struggle of feeling like he should internalise, dismiss or 'shake-off' his emotions AND, if I can use the sport that he loves to show him that looking after his mental health is every bit as important as looking after his physical health, then why wouldn’t I?