Game Changers project

Investigators: Dr Sharynne Hamilton, Amy Finlay-Jones and Claire Scrine 

External collaborators:

• Dr Deeta Kimber
• Garnduwa
• Derby Aboriginal Health Service
• WACHS Kimberley Mental Health & Drug Service

The Game Changers project was about using the Kimberley passion and enthusiasm for sport to engage Kimberley kids who were in a disrupted environment, with negative impacts on behaviour and attendance at school, leaving them vulnerable and at-risk in the community. 

Telethon Kids, led by Aboriginal researcher Dr Sharynne Hamilton, evaluated the pilot football camp program. The program incorporated Tracking Better at Footy ^TM , a sports pscyhology, mental health and resilience system developed by child psychiatrist Dr Deeta Kimba over several years through work with Aboriginal youth and their families in the Kimberley.  The four-day football training camp engaged at-risk young people, and integrated tools to develop positive coping skills, reduce negative coping strategies, better manage stress and increase resilience.  Funding for the camp was provided by the Department of Sports & Recreation, held by Garnduwa, with the participation and collaboration of a number of local services.

The first idea was to turn feuding girls into a team and teach them footy and psychological sports performance skills. The psychological sports performance skills was the second idea -mental health by stealth, to help teach stress and feeling regulation skills, body awareness and confidence for the girls to use outside of sport as well.  The third idea was to involve the whole community, especially agencies that would be in contact with the girls if they were not coping. Dr Deeta Kimba

The girls did really well during and after the camp with school behaviour and attendance improving.  This was a pilot where we all learned a lot about what works and how to do things better next time. 

Background: Many young people living in the Kimberley communities have experienced multiple and complex layers of disadvantage and trauma which can result in high levels of mental health problems, school disengagement, poor prospects for the future, and in some cases, suicide. 

Objectives: To address this a school based sports performance and skill development program was offered to teach football skills including stress recognition, physiological calming techniques, sensory and movement calming, guided imagery goal setting techniques and general psychoeducation about the science of stress. Series of matches were organized to put these new skills to work to reinforce learning.

Methods: 18 young women from the age of 11-17 participated in a core 4 day sports performance program with additional 30 young women from surrounding communities who participated in several components throughout the week.

Findings:  The program offered young people an opportunity to participate in an activity which gave them insight into themselves, develop skills to recognise and manage their thoughts and feelings, and increase coping strategies. It engaged the girls in a fun way, which assisted them to develop self-regulation skills, strategies to support themselves and each other during times of stress, and skills for working together as a team. The school noted increased school attendance and reduced critical incidents involving aggression for the rest of the year.

Conclusions: It is recommended that the pilot be expanded to several trial sites in remote, regional and urban communities, integrating specific recommendations outlined in the evaluation report by Telethon Kids and developed to suit the unique needs as defined by individual communities.

Contact: Please direct all enquiries to Kristen White