High profile athletes appear to have everything going for them. They are talented and well paid. But so many of them seem to keep going off the rails.
Behind the scenes at most football clubs there is a growing army of helpers. Sports chaplains. They're men of faith but they're not there to preach. They act as pseudo councillors. A friend to talk to or a shoulder to cry on.
Many will tell you that as pressure builds on an athlete sometimes it only takes a short chat with someone they trust to relieve the tension. They're not always the right person to help but in many cases they are the first port of call.
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The chaplain for the NSW Waratahs rugby team, Gary Speckman, says people are beginning to realise that athletes need to be administered to in a holistic sense.
“His head his heart and his hands need to integrate," Speckman says.
"A lot of times on the field the coach takes care of the hands and for that matter the head but a lot of time the issues of the heart which are really the foundation of a person's life are not really addressed. A chaplain can help to address heart issues.”
Around the country this army of chaplains is growing constantly. There are currently more than 320 across Australia who work with athletes in a range of sports - rugby league, AFL, surf lifesaving and extreme sports. There's even one associated with a clay pigeon shooting team.
Speckman tells us his army is growing almost daily.
“Nowdays there's chaplains in almost every code on every level. We're working toward that.”
He says the national body, Sports Chaplaincy Australia, is struggling to meet demand with hundreds of teams or sporting organisations keen to welcome a chaplain into their midst.
