The Old Xaverians Football Club was established in 1923 by Melbourne’s Xavier College alumni and has been affiliated with the Victorian Amateur Football Association since its inception. The Old Xavs has become an essential pillar for alumni to continue connecting with the school community and build lifelong friendships. As an Amateur football club, the Old Xavs have been known for their success both on and off the field and have built a proud culture of supporting every member who enters the community. Introducing the wellbeing game plan has demonstrated their efforts in supporting and shaping players.
THE CHALLENGE
The Old Xavs launched a Wellbeing Game Plan in 2020 to create a safe and inclusive environment that enables players, coaches, and support staff to optimise their contribution to others and to achieve their personal goals.
The Wellbeing Game Plan consisted of Club and VAFA Policies and a wellbeing directory with a suite of resources and support services via an Employee Assistance Plan (EAP). The club had invested in resources with good intentions though faced engagement challenges due to the directory’s accessibility. In addition, Old Xavs wanted their Wellbeing Coordinator role to take a proactive approach to player wellbeing and create opportunities to help them reach positive outcomes.
THE SOLUTION
The team at Liminal began working with the club on reviewing the Wellbeing Game Plan and developed a more integrated structure that would optimise existing services through a single application. By centralising each component of the Wellbeing Game Plan; Counselling Support, Well Being Resources, Information Exchange and Career Support, players could quickly and easily find resources according to their needs via their mobile phone. By gaining daily insights and monitoring trends over a period of time, the Wellbeing Coordinator could respond to common support types and gain quantitative data to inform and enhance the directory’s offerings.
THE RESULTS
Since launching the Liminal program, the percentile of players accessing the available wellbeing directory has been significant. Over 60% of players have accessed the platform and over 500 resources and activities have been viewed.
The Liminal technology has identified and responded to 50 notifications and support requests. Achieving the club’s desire to respond to player needs proactively and non-invasively.
The impact of implementing Liminal has been incredible for the club culture, creating an open dialogue around wellbeing and connecting the different hierachies of the club. Survey results suggested that 70% of players feel comfortable sending a support request to the club’s wellbeing coordinator, and 96% said they feel they can be honest with their responses when completing the wellbeing check-in.
While the club’s success has been evident, it is also essential to address the individual outcomes of players in response to the Liminal program. 73% of players said the daily check-in makes them feel self-aware, and 27% said they feel supported. The wellbeing check-in was widely agreed to be a favourite function, helping players self-reflect to attend to their wellbeing needs.
After a successful first year of integrating the Liminal platform, the team are now expanding the services to include a weekly Game Review survey. This ensures coaches and training staff are included in the club-wide wellbeing approach.
