Spits encouraging youth Talk Today

Puck drop looked a bit different this week. The Windsor Spitfires hosted Talk Today, an event organized by the Canadian Mental Health Association.

The event featured children’s games and information tables, which led to the official puck drop with the Windsor-Essex County branch of CMHA dropping the puck to start off the game. The Talk Today program started as a partnership between the CMHA and the Ontario Hockey League since 2014. Each year since, CMHA reaches out to youth hockey teams across the country teaching players the importance of mental health. They are also taught suicide alertness skills through SafeTALK, a mental health workshop, according to Ewelina Horochowik, a team member who speaks for the CMHA.

 “The aim of OHL Talk Today is to promote the mental health of young athletes and to spread awareness about the benefits of positive mental health throughout communities across the country,” said Horochowik.

The event also featured a photo booth where guests could take photos to be posted to social media with the hashtag #TalkToday to help end the stigma surrounding mental health. 

After a tough 3-1 loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs, Spitfires Assistant Coach, Jerrod Smith, talked about the importance of the Talk Today program as well as the SafeTALK course. 

 “I think the most important thing is building relationships with the players and once that’s established you get a feel for them and their demeanors,” said Smith. “If something that we see changes it’s always a conversation, those little conversations we’re having every day, and it’s not only about hockey, it’s about life. We take pride in having players feel comfortable coming to us with anything and that’s a big part of the job.”

Talk Today has been working to reach youth hockey players and educate young people about mental health. The program has provided minor league hockey teams with mental health coaches as well as a local mental health champion . These coaches and champions act as support for players and supply resources, in an effort to make mental health a priority for them.  

“Many young men find it very difficult to be open about their feelings, most young men tend to push the emotions away instead of facing them. There is a stigma towards men being emotional, although a lot of the patients I have are young men seeking help,” said mental health professional Diana Semaan.

She also expressed the importance of having a support system in place, talking to others and reaching out when and where help is needed. Through Talk Today and SafeTALK, the CMHA has been working to end the stigma and to make the OHL an organization that is more conscious of athletes mental health. Visit the CMHA website at www.windsoressex.cmha.ca for more information about these and other programs.