Footballer hopes showing vulnerability helps others

A footballer driven by grief and personal loss says he hopes others can draw strength from seeing him speak with vulnerability.

Oxford United midfielder and former Wales international Will Vaulks won the Fifpro Players Voice award for his work for mental health awareness last year.

The 32-year-old previously lost both of his grandfathers to suicide within the space of a year.

Vaulks is now leading community mental health workshops in schools across Oxford, with a special session taking place on 17 March at the Kassam Stadium as part of the club's Can We Talk? campaign.

"I have some funding that was available to me from the Fifpro Award that I won and I wanted that to go back into the Oxfordshire community," Vaulks said.

"We wanted to affect the local area and support the supporters.

"This work, and I don't say this lightly, but I genuinely believe it will save lives."

His own grief and the loss of U's legend Joey Beauchamp and young fan Jack Badger to suicide in recent years prompted Vaulks to lead the club's Can We Talk? campaign.

Launched to challenge the stigma around mental health issues, the club has organised workshops in schools around Oxfordshire and for supporters.

Vaulks said: "Through what I've been through in my career as a sports person, you can relate so much of that to life and about how to go about building resilience."

"You may think from the outside everything's great and my life's just been really easy - and it hasn't, there's challenges we all have to face and young people need to understand that there's support out there.

"If I can speak in front of them and be vulnerable about my life and my career then hopefully they can have conversations with their friends or their teachers that are open and honest and then if they need support that they can reach out for it."

As part of Oxford United's campaign, Vaulks will lead next month's free community session at the Kassam.

"We can be the voices and speak up about it, and I can be a man talking openly about mental health and about suicide," Vaulks said.

"I just really hope that those fans in the stand that are your typical blokes, that come and watch the footy and don't want to talk about feelings, they might just think 'you know what I'll ask my mate how he is'."

"That's the conversation that saves lives and no one understands that until you delve a bit deeper - that simple conversation can really get people out of crisis."

Vaulks also explained that he was trying to get other clubs to follow in Oxford's footsteps and sign up to suicide prevention charity Baton of Hope's workplace pledge.

"The players need support, the staff need support, it's a high pressure environment - we love football and it's fun to play but it can be a big thing as well."

Next month's workshop is free to anyone over the age of 16, but tickets must be booked in advance.

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