News

Zac Ward on Playing His Part

Olympian and current Ulster Rugby player Zac Ward explains why he has linked up with Tackle Your Feelings

Zac, can you tell us about a pivotal moment in your life when you became aware of the importance of mental health.

I think the first thing that probably comes to mind is off the back of the Olympics. We were made aware of what they call the ‘Olympic Blues’, a low period that follows the Games. To be honest, I didn’t pay much heed to it until I had a moment to myself a few weeks after Paris and I began to ask myself: ‘well, what do I do now’? You’re struck by the reality that you’re unlikely to scale those heights again. Thanks to the warnings we’d been given I managed to notice how I was feeling, and I realised it was something I needed to address.

Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

What drew you to the Tackle Your Feelings (TYF) campaign?

I first came across Tackle Your Feelings when I joined the Irish 7s programme. There was a TYF lounge at the High-Performance Centre where players are encouraged to chill out and switch out of rugby mode. I remember asking the lads what TYF was all about and Billy Dardis took the time to explain it in great detail – as only Billy can!

From there I began to read into the campaign a little bit more. While TYF was targeted at young students, I actually found a lot of the tools being used were either very beneficial for me, or I was using them already. In some ways TYF helped to give me a bit of a language that I felt comfortable using and through that I was better able to combat the negative feelings that popped into my head. It made sense of what can go on in there from time to time. Once I got a better handle on it, I felt I had a part to play in getting the TYF message out there.

What does it mean to now be part of the Tackle Your Feelings community as an ambassador?  

I take great pride in the fact that I’m able to be an ambassador for the Tackle Your Feelings programme. I think the work that is being done is vital. The awareness that TYF has created is massive but there is still a stigma associated with mental health. Lots done, plenty more to do.

I think helping young people – whether they are in school or not – and giving them ways to manage their mental wellbeing is really important. They’re the kind of tools that will stand to them in all walks of life as they grow older.

Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Where do you see rugby sit within that wellbeing framework?

It wasn’t very long ago that talking about mental health would have been taboo in the rugby world. I think it’s definitely improved, and that is in no small part because of what Tackle Your Feelings and similar campaigns have done in terms of awareness and giving players literacy around their mental health.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s always room to improve and things we can be doing to get better. But having said that, I think in the teams that I’ve been part of with Ireland or Ulster, we’re being encouraged to talk things out. There’s been a growing appreciation that if you can get on top of things off the pitch, it can benefit your on-field performance.

On top of that, we’re very lucky as athletes to have access to sports psychologists, while through Rugby Players Ireland’s Mental Wellbeing Service we can avail of counselling support, for which there is no threshold. It’s a bit of a cliché but a problem shared is a problem halved.

Do you remember any time in your life when you turned to someone for help?

I remember it well. I was in my first year at Hartpury University. We were approaching our first set of exams and for some reason I began to get really, really in on myself. I was anxious and nervous and even though I knew I’d put the work in, I couldn’t convince my mind that I had.

At University it’s easy to feel like a small fish in a big pond. You can feel a bit anonymous. I wasn’t aware of anyone I could speak to, and I closed off any other opportunities to get it off my chest. I really went in on myself and tried to go it alone until I opened up to my family about how I was feeling.

If I was back in those shoes again, I’d tell myself to go speak to someone. Anyone. It doesn’t have to be a psychologist. Speak to friends. Speak to family. The very act of saying it out loud can often help you to make better sense of the way you’re feeling. It can help to give you the clarity to sort it out, or it can be the first step in doing so. Often that person will be able to reassure you and you’ll come away thinking, “all right, I’m okay. I know how to fix this now.” Whatever you might be experiencing, you can be sure that other people have been through it too.

Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart

Do you have any tips or techniques that you use to make sure that you stay on top of things?

I would. From a mental side perspective, I do a few things. I do a bit of journaling and was delighted to receive a Reflection Journal from Rugby Players Ireland last year which I use every day.

I’ve also got into the habit of doing some mindfulness. It’s been getting more attention recently thanks to Johnny Sexton who spoke about it in an interview. He said that while he was very sceptical at first, ultimately he found it very beneficial and believes that it contributed to the longevity of his career at the highest level.

For many athletes, these practices have become part of their routines but without things like Tackle Your Feelings and the interest it has generally created, nobody would get those insights.

Like Johnny, I’ve found mindfulness to be a really, really great technique to centre yourself. It helps me to take a step back, to relax and to look at things through a different lens.

Why was it important that someone like Johnny Sexton came out and said all that?

Johnny is someone who was at the top of his game for many, many years. There are loads of people out there, including Johnny’s fellow rugby players, who would love to tap into his mindset. Whether you’re an elite athlete or the CEO of a company, there’ll be an interest in how he was able to sustain himself at the highest level for such a long period of time.

So, when Johnny spoke and gave a bit of an insight into the things he does, everyone was bound to sit up and take notice. Whether you’re a rugby person or not, his advice is relevant to anyone who wants to get the best out of themselves. If one of the best in the world swears by mindfulness and demonstrates its effectiveness, it’s certainly a practice worth considering for anyone striving to fulfil their potential.

How have your family or friends felt about your recent work with TYF?

My brother Bryn has been especially interested in it. He’s in the Ulster academy and when he heard I was getting involved, he wanted to learn more about what TYF does. We had a good chat about it and I think he was really impressed by how layered the campaign is. He just couldn’t understand why more schools aren’t doing the programme. I explained that that’s where we as players come into it.

Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Crombie

Would you have benefitted from TYF in school?

100% – on and off the field. As a young lad I used to get really hung up on my mistakes in a game. They would sit with me for a couple of days. I couldn’t let them go. I thought it was a normal way of dealing with and so I never tried to make sense of it or anything.

I think if I had access to a programme like TYF, I think I would have dealt with those thoughts better. I definitely would have been better at letting things go and in turn I think I would have been able to make better progress because I would have wasted less energy worrying over things that had been and gone.

It was the same with exams. As I mentioned, I could get nervous and would often second guess my ability. With TYF, I think I would have been able to park those concerns. I might have been able to better direct my thoughts towards the things I did know, rather than the stuff I didn’t.

Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

At TYF we’ve been very lucky to have several male ambassadors, yet it can be difficult to convince them to get involved. Why did you choose to do so?  

While it has decreased, there’s no getting away from the fact that there’s still a stigma associated with mental health, especially for men. Talking about their feelings or whatever is going on in their head, isn’t generally the done thing. In my own experience, it’s something I definitely struggled with. Rugby people are supposed to be mentally and physically strong without any weaknesses.

That’s where TYF comes in. I knew plenty of players who supported the campaign, and I read into their reasons why. Most didn’t have a ‘story’ and I related to that. They understood that as role models they could have a positive influence on the people TYF was trying to get to.

After a while in the Irish 7s programme, TYF was something I kept coming back to. I thought that it would be great to help someone, a 15-year-old Zac Ward for example. A lot of things happen at school. There are pressures that come from different directions, and it can be difficult to cope with everything that’s coming at you. You add sport on top of that, and you’re also dealing with a different kind of pressure.

I’m very appreciative of the position I’m in. It’s been a bit of a journey and it hasn’t always been easy. Everyone has their bumps in the road. I think it’s a privilege to represent TYF and help the next guy or the next girl coming through. You never know what might resonate with someone.

I often think of Paddy Pimblett, the UFC fighter who spoke up about mental health after losing a close friend shortly before a fight in 2022. I think his clip transcended his sport, and a lot of people realised that mental health is something we need to address. You could literally feel the impact it had.

I think having someone you look up to talk about this stuff is so, so important. You realise that these people who you can think are superhuman, are not so different at all.