Fremantle Dockers captain Alex Pearce opens up about mental health challenges and urges people to ask for help

Fremantle captain Alex Pearce is urging youngsters around WA to follow the lead of his teammates when struggling with their mental health, saying he couldn’t have got through the death of close friend Cam McCarthy during the season without the support of other people. Pearce is the ambassador for Youth Focus and launched “Ahead of the Game” at Roleystone Junior Football Club this week — a free program to help players, parents, coaches, umpires, and volunteers to understand their mental health. The star Docker said everyone needed to realise that support is available if they’re struggling. “With Cam’s passing, it was a really challenging time for myself and a lot of people within the footy club and within the Fremantle community,” he said. “I certainly wouldn’t have been able to get through it as well as I did without the support of my teammates and my coaches, my friends, my family. “At the footy club, we’ve had these type of sessions around how to look after your mates, the signs to look out for when your mates are struggling, what you can do to help them, and what resources are available. “If your mate’s struggling, you want to be able to help out in any small way that you can. And that’s why programs like these are so important because it gives us those skills to be able to help out our mates and also help out ourselves.” Youth Focus Regional Manager of the Peel South West Mark Barrett-Lennard, said about 40 per cent of young people have experienced a mental health challenge in the last 12 months. Pearce has played 122 AFL games since being drafted to the Dockers at the end of 2013. But serious leg injuries stopped him from playing any matches in 2017 and 2020. The 29-year-old said those injuries had provided him with some of the biggest mental challenges of his life. He hopes speaking about his experienced will help other people. “I’ve clearly had some long-term injury issues throughout my career, and during those months and years when I wasn’t playing I had some depressive episodes where I really struggled with my mental health and my sense of belonging and purpose,” Pearce explained. “There is still a stigma around speaking about your own mental health and going through challenges and dealing with depression, anxiety and all of these things that so many of us face. “I think we’ve come a long way in society and our ability to talk about these things, but we’ve got a long way to go. You might see me play on TV and be this big, tough footballer, but I’ve struggled. I’ve been through my ups and downs and my challenges. “I’ve needed support from people, and reaching out and saying ‘I’m not OK’ has really helped me navigate these challenges. It’s a skill that we all should learn and be able to do.” Ahead Of The Game was launched in other States last year and the AFL’s Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing Dr Kate Hall it was important to now have it available for clubs in Western Australia. “It not only coincides with the program’s one-year anniversary, but also signifies the final stage of the national rollout, which is a big milestone we’ve been working towards,” Hall said. “Local clubs across Western Australia can now nominate to have an Ahead of the Game session delivered at their home ground, which will positively impact everyone at the club by giving them the tools to recognise mental health challenges, identify when and where to get help, and build resilience to deal with challenges in sport and life.”