Dave Flitcroft, the former Barnsley, Swindon and Mansfield manager, will host the grassroots ‘coachathon’ later this month designed to raise awareness for the funding of mental health and suicide prevention. The subject is personal for him.
In 2008, his father John took his own life. “It affects you incredibly,” he tells Sky Sports. “I was in a real dark place. I fell apart. The way it was put to me was that this bomb had gone off in my head and I was now dealing with the chaos after it.”
Flitcroft’s playing career was coming to an end at the time. A young coach at Rochdale, it was tough. “My purpose had gone, my sense of belonging had gone. Everything in my life had just flatlined. I could not do anything. I was floored.
“My mum came to live with us for two years. She used to say to me every morning, ‘I am putting the war paint on again.’ Her makeup. That was what she had to do just to get out there to work and somehow just survive. You are in survival mode day by day.
“We watched her fight, so we had to fight.”
Football and family saved him. “One million per cent. Coaching, with Rochdale’s support, got me through it. Keith Hill was a rock for me.
“I would get home from Rochdale at 5pm then from 5pm to 8pm go out and coach. Having amassed 100 kids, I founded a grassroots club FC Strikerz. I just got busy. If we are getting busy, we are getting better.”
The recent deaths of Ricky Hatton and Matt Beard have brought the subject of mental health in sport to the fore. “I know first hand what those families are going through now. Pure devastation. We need to be more proactive in helping people.”
It has inspired Flitcroft to change things.
Sam Allardyce, the former England manager, will be there in support the 24 grassroots teams involved. “Nobody has said no yet,” says Flitcroft. “I have been overwhelmed by the response from some of the best in the game. Top coaches want to give back. I am going to coach for the full 12 hours.”
He is passionate about grassroots football. “Everyone starts there.” But recognises that it is not in a good place. “We can’t get referees to referee games now because they do not feel safe. I am at the rock face and it needs support.” Because it can be powerful.
“Together we can improve it,” he adds.
“The grassroots community is one that is not tapped into enough to help support each other. I have started to do this more, with coaches and parents as well as players. Just go for a walk around the pitch with people. It sounds simple but ask if they are okay.
“You will be surprised how often people open up and say they have had a tough week. Check if they have the support they need. Get people talking and sharing, get men talking. A grassroots club can be like a supportive family, making sure people are okay.
“We are there supporting our kids but are we supporting each other? That is what our grassroots community has to do. Coaches struggle, parents struggle. We are scheduling a campaign where the kids clap the parents for a month, then the coaches, then the referees. It is about everyone.”
But much of the focus is on young people. “It is supporting boys and girls and keeping them safe. Anything that is not right – see it, report it, stop it. The Safety Net will pathway you to award-winning services.
“The latest one is vaping. Getting that messaging down in a child-friendly way to 12 to 16 years olds because the government won’t do it. You have got to make sure that you are in front of it, that there is something to support our kids, someone to talk to.
“If it is good enough for the Premier League, why not the grassroots community? This is a pyramid and sometimes we forget where it starts. I don’t think that’s right with all the money that is swirling around. With support from local businesses we can change that.
“I have brought it into my grassroots club and people have since said to me that they did not realise they had an addiction but they identified the red flags through Safety Net (founded by Lee and Nick Richardson) so it is providing that support for parents and coaches as well. It is helping to change lives.”
There is a vision to scale the project, a dream of a national day where coaches give back to the game, but for now this remains personal for Flitcroft. The grassroots team that he founded has a badge with the initials JF on it. “The spirit of John Flitcroft,” he explains.
It was a terrible trauma to endure. But 17 years on, the legacy can be a positive one. “Every time I coach a kid, I think about my dad and him coaching me, our Gaz and my younger brother Steve.
“It brings back the best memories, not the later ones that can haunt you. The coachathon has given me my why, my purpose.”
To find out more and support the grassroots coachathon visit Pathway To Pro
If you are affected by these issues or want to talk, please contact the Samaritans on the free helpline 116 123, or visit the website www.samaritans.org
