Testimonials – Our Impact

Adrian kept the session flowing and gave us an insight into his work and background which I found helpful with his experience and ability to understand our work. The session went really quick I felt as some other courses seem to last a long time but the practical activities and discussions kept the day running.

This season we have been working with Adrian through Little Blackbird to deliver Mental Wellness sessions to a range of our members.
Adrian has been working with our:
*U13’s squad focusing on confidence, and managing emotions.
*Coaching group for minis and juniors, looking at the need for mental wellness and positive coaching abilities and also manging your own mental wellness.
*Coaching groups county wide, working on a introductory level of what mental wellness is and how it can be incorporated.
*Discussions with Parents about identifying mental wellness decline and ways to support.
Adrian worked along side us at the club to identify key areas of focus, then designed targeted workshops and seminars to achieve our aims, the detailed communication and collaboration with Adrian was great, he made sure we were kept part of the planning process. The approach from Adrian was really refreshing, where we have had previous coaching session delivered it was mechanical and pre-written, Adrian made sure the session were engaging, and allowed for openness and discussion points throughout. The coaches and parents really enjoyed the session, and learned a lot, what was evident is that the sessions were very well received, they motivated and encouraged coaches to re-evaluate their approach. As a mini and junior section we have noticed a shift in the sessions structure, and coaches actively include some “check in” routines as part of the session.
The U13’s session was inspired. The boys worked on small drills and using the pitch as a classroom, they did some kinetic learning and without realising started to talk and share worries and concerns, from their sharing, the team started to identify areas of concerns that were common and started to see that what they felt were shared by others. Adrian used rugby skills to highlight areas of positive mental wellness to the players too- again this really opened up thought processes and ideas for the players and also the coaches. We have seen positive benefits within the age group through the interaction with Adrian, and also the coaches had kept the skills and ideas going since- which has really added to our team dynamic.
The whole process of working with Little Blackbird has been brilliant, it was a natural feeling and one that was beneficial to all aspects of the club. Adrian’s approachability, friendly nature, honest feedback about how to achieve what we wanted was reassuring and made the whole process flow calmly. We can’t recommend Little BlackBird enough, and we are really excited to embark on another positive season with them next year.

Adrian delivered a Toxic Masculinity project to a group of our Year 9 students at school. He delivered this through an interactive process with the students who were all engaged from the start. Adrian delivered this through a range of interactive sessions and games to work on problem solving, working together as a team and trusting others. The boys involved became trusting of each other and with Adrian as they built an excellent rapport throughout the sessions where they were open to sharing and discussing difficult topics. To quote some of the students involved, one said “It was good to do it with other boys I got on with and I learnt a lot about toxic masculinity”. Another commented that “I began to realise that it was ok to speak up and I found it good to share stuff about me with Ade and the other boys and have an open conversation”. Thinking about how the students have taken what they learnt going forward from the project, a third commented “doing the project made me understand and see stuff from another point of view”. Overall the boys have really enjoyed working with Adrian. His positive approach and enthusiasm working with the students really worked well with their approach to the sessions enabling them to have the safe space to discuss challenging topics and support each other. Adrian’s interactive sessions were perfect for our students as it was broken into discussion areas and time to be involved with interactive games built around the topic.

Adey ran an innovative and inspiring course for a selected group of young men. Initially called ‘toxic masculinity’ group which evolved to ‘positive masculinity’, the groups worked intensively in two schools seeking to understand what positive masculinity looks and feels like in 2022. Adey was passionate, informed and crucially engaged all the lads with his work. The sessions culminated in activities as one group with a film crew, talking about the programme and the young men’s journey. The lads were universally positive about the programme, the experience and the leaning they had taken as a result of expert coaching and mentoring. Finally, we showed the film to students and parents. In the sneak preview at home beforehand my 13 year old lad was spellbound and my wife, ex-Army and not prone to emotion had a tear in her eye! I cannot recommend Adey enough in terms of his positive impact on our young men as they reach the point of going out into the world. 

In February 2023 through my work with LooseHeadz the mental health charity, I attended a well-being workshop for all of the coaches throughout the age groups and the senior open age teams, both ladies and men’s sections at Chester RUFC. This was a 90 minute session to about 75 people in total and was run by Adrian Dakers. Adrian captured a few vital messages that landed well with the volunteer- based audience, which is not an easy accomplishment. Adrian appealed directly to the very core of the needs of the audience and set some very simple, easy-to-follow guidelines for the session. This allows easy participation and Adrian’s light-touch and audience -participative flavour facilitated many attendees to offer their opinions and thoughts. Adrian was not afraid to challenge some opinions and seek clarification, allowing contributions to flow and learning to happen.
The outcomes of the session were identified at the start and reiterated throughout making maximum use of the time available while capturing the mood of the room, which was attentive and contributory. Adrian’s resources were well-thought through and served to promote and encourage simple take aways. I’ve been involved in rugby all my life; furthermore, I have through my work I have been a member of Vistage, a peer-to peer learning group. I have to say that Adrian’s session was outstanding. He very quickly grabbed attention and involved everyone. His easy style, peppered with appropriate humour allowed everyone a voice. For the volunteer coaches who were the audience, this was a much needed and repeatable session that should be broadcast across the rugby club network as in so doing it will aid the young people in these coaches’ charge.
Adrian was first class.

I recently attended a wellbeing workshop for the U13’s at Chester run by Adrian as part of the club’s wider commitment to developing a mentally fit organisation from the top down. 
Given the limited time available for the session due to time constraints, I was immediately impressed by Adrian’s ability to grab the attention of a group of 13-year-old boys (which we all know is no easy task), and not only keep them engaged, but ensure they actively participated in the session and left with a number of key takeaways. 
His enthusiasm for the subject area was clearly infectious to both groups I witnessed who all left looking much more energetic than when they started. The biggest positive from the session was that Adrian managed to make a topic that can be quite daunting for even the most seasoned rugby player, and make it incredibly accessible to an age group notorious for bottling things up by weaving in live action rugby drills, relevant cultural references and cues appropriate to the group and by ensuring the key message was driven home in a shorter, energetic manner to maintain interest.
I was so impressed with the session that I have since been working with Adrian on a number of projects to roll out LooseHeadz and Little BlackBird sessions to a number of our partner clubs, including with our local professional team Sale Sharks.

Adrian’s session on managing well-being and the impact of toxic masculinity was engaging, insightful and had an impact on everyone in the room. He has a fantastic ability to create an open and transparent environment where people are willing to share and engage around some tricky conversations to navigate with young people. Information was delivered in an interactive and thoughtful manner with expert questioning to provoke thought and discussion amongst both the group and staff. We look forward to welcoming Adrian back to the club to continue his work with our young players.

I thought your session on ‘Toxic Masculinity’ really emphasised the difference between young footballers not acting upon their emotions and feelings and the importance of seeking support when they need it. You then linked this to how the players themselves and also how outsiders view young footballers (that they should be masculine) but then showed them how this can become toxic. You allowed this to come out via an excellent delivery style that allowed the players to voice their opinions by asking an abundance of questions and as they session grew, the players felt very relaxed and integrated into the session to keep on vocalising their opinions and thoughts, including at the end of the session with 1 on 1 conversations. Your manner with the players was brilliant, again, they felt at ease to talk to you and the interactive games also helped with this. You placed a big importance on this topic and it was excellent the way you linked the academy welfare pathways into your session.

Suicide is the main cause of death in young people under the age of 35 in the UK and males continue to account for three-quarters of deaths. Consequently, we need to be educating and equipping our Players with the knowledge and skills they need to support positive mental health. Our Players, are not only attempting to manage the potential pressures associated with elite football, they are also navigating the transition into adulthood (possibility within the media/certainly on social media). Therefore, “Little Blackbird” is a valuable resource to empower our young men to reach out and reduce the stigma connected to accessing support. Adrian created a trusting environment to enable the players to share their thoughts honestly and safely. The content challenged masculine norms and discussed the impact of “toxic masculinity” in relation to mental ill-health. The session promoted emotional intelligence and provided the players with coping strategies to better manage their well-being. Adrian linked the session into our own resources and support network. The delivery was relevant and Adrian used examples the players could connect with. They were engaged throughout the session and positive feedback was received.