Universal Love Getting around Reece. [UPDATE: REECE RETIRES]

[captain cotch 9]

Hasn't he got an account on here?

 

[Ancient Tiger]

He didn't say he had anxiety disorder did he? Just that he suffers from anxiety, like many of us do. He has repeatedly said that he doesn't have a mental illness. Maybe he's in denial about it, I don't know. I think it's fair that since he has gone public in his criticism of the club and individuals within the club, that the club can come out and tell us exactly what the deal is with him.

We all get anxious when faced with adverse circumstances. This isn't Reece's problem. He has a full blown anxiety disorder which is also associated with depression. He was suicidal at 16. In his own words he was lucky not to also kill himself by the way we supposedly handled his problems while he was at Richmond.

Do you think that is what a well young man would do? No. He isn't "in a good place" at the moment and hasn't been for a while. Why do you think the club gave him plenty of time off while he was there? He has a mental illness. We hope he can get better quickly. Good luck Reece. We're thinking of you.

 

[mcuzzy]

Really happy he's re-signed, hope ue can have a run without injuries and improve his game.

 

[Sassafras]

Really happy he's re-signed, hope ue can have a run without injuries and improve his game.

WTF

 

[NaturalDisaster]

Really happy he's re-signed, hope ue can have a run without injuries and improve his game.

mcuzzy... read the thread..you got the wrong reece ya nut

 

[mcuzzy]

mcuzzy... read the thread..you got the wrong reece ya nut

Dear RFC,

We have too many Reeces on our list, please eliminate one.

Ps. I am not a crackpot.

 

[Sassafras]

Dear RFC,

We have too many Reeces on our list, please eliminate one.

Ps. I am not a crackpot.

Your neighbours hoses need replacing.

 

[Ancient Tiger]

Really happy he's re-signed, hope ue can have a run without injuries and improve his game.

That must be some good **** you're taking bro.

 

[theflea]

Balme said today the club spoke to his family and they are happy with their treatment from us and richo, and doesn't want to comment much further.

 

[TheDyerLegacy]

Clearly he has some deep issues.. mental health is a very difficult illness to understand as it isn't measurable eg. like a cold/flu. It built upon thoughts and emotions which our minds are in control of. Are brains are our most powerful tool which can be our best friend or our worst enemy depending on the perspective our brains paint in our minds.. once your mind is switch to one gear it is hard to snap out of it

 

[Marmik]

Whether or not he has personal issues I do not know. But if he does, the worst thing that can happen is the whole world talking about how he has issues. This thread does not help him what so ever.

 

[captain blood 17]

Do you think player support is an area that Richmond could improve?

It's interesting as how Reece has alleged we handled him to what we are doing with Yarren are poles apart. Bit hard to say. Maybe all clubs could improve in the area? Dunno.


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[Bojangles17]

more likely that clubs will amp up there screening to avoid kids that are plagued with personal issues that would conflict with a pro sports career, would appear RFC processes need reviewing ,,at least

 

[Lacustrus]

Balme said today the club spoke to his family and they are happy with their treatment from us and richo, and doesn't want to comment much further.

Great to hear this.
There's so much to like about how Balme goes about it . Best recruit in off season IMO.

 

[Charlie Pannam]

We all get anxious when faced with adverse circumstances. This isn't Reece's problem. He has a full blown anxiety disorder which is also associated with depression. He was suicidal at 16. In his own words he was lucky not to also kill himself by the way we supposedly handled his problems while he was at Richmond.

Do you think that is what a well young man would do? No. He isn't "in a good place" at the moment and hasn't been for a while. Why do you think the club gave him plenty of time off while he was there? He has a mental illness. We hope he can get better quickly. Good luck Reece. We're thinking of you.

well said. I suppose unless you've been in his shoe's no one can judge him on his actions/statements.

The HS should not have printed those facebook comments though. Not sure the kid needs the extra attention that sort of thing brings.

 

[Rance2Mewtwo]

more likely that clubs will amp up there screening to avoid kids that are plagued with personal issues that would conflict with a pro sports career, would appear RFC processes need reviewing ,,at least

...and the consequence of increased screening and avoidance of kids with mental health issues is 15/16yo kids doing all they can to hide it.

That's the worst possible (and most likely) outcome.

IMO, it's no difference in philosophy to the classic "high-risk, high-reward" gamble. Taylor Hunt, I believe, has publicly spoken about dealing with anxiety issues (not necessarily to Reece's extent). When you give him confidence he can be a solid player, when it drops away, like in his first game of 2016, he can't perform. With a talent like Reece McKenzie, if the gamble paid off then we'd have a 10-year superstar FF.

Personally, at Pick 70+, I am generally happy to take a gamble on a high-risk, high-reward type of player, whether the risk involved is mental health, injury, or attitude... you only need to nail 1 every 10 years. The alternative is to pick VFL-types late in the draft and hope they can play a supporting role.

I guess it depends on who is available, but I wouldn't rule out drafting another Reece McKenzie in the future, as you can't paint a brush over everyone who has a history of mental health issues.

 

[Tiger71]

...and the consequence of increased screening and avoidance of kids with mental health issues is 15/16yo kids doing all they can to hide it.

That's the worst possible (and most likely) outcome.

IMO, it's no difference in philosophy to the classic "high-risk, high-reward" gamble. Taylor Hunt, I believe, has publicly spoken about dealing with anxiety issues (not necessarily to Reece's extent). When you give him confidence he can be a solid player, when it drops away, like in his first game of 2016, he can't perform. With a talent like Reece McKenzie, if the gamble paid off then we'd have a 10-year superstar FF.

Personally, at Pick 70+, I am generally happy to take a gamble on a high-risk, high-reward type of player, whether the risk involved is mental health, injury, or attitude... you only need to nail 1 every 10 years. The alternative is to pick VFL-types late in the draft and hope they can play a supporting role.

I guess it depends on who is available, but I wouldn't rule out drafting another Reece McKenzie in the future, as you can't paint a brush over everyone who has a history of mental health issues.

Great post

 

[Ancient Tiger]

...and the consequence of increased screening and avoidance of kids with mental health issues is 15/16yo kids doing all they can to hide it.

That's the worst possible (and most likely) outcome.

IMO, it's no difference in philosophy to the classic "high-risk, high-reward" gamble. Taylor Hunt, I believe, has publicly spoken about dealing with anxiety issues (not necessarily to Reece's extent). When you give him confidence he can be a solid player, when it drops away, like in his first game of 2016, he can't perform. With a talent like Reece McKenzie, if the gamble paid off then we'd have a 10-year superstar FF.

Personally, at Pick 70+, I am generally happy to take a gamble on a high-risk, high-reward type of player, whether the risk involved is mental health, injury, or attitude... you only need to nail 1 every 10 years. The alternative is to pick VFL-types late in the draft and hope they can play a supporting role.

I guess it depends on who is available, but I wouldn't rule out drafting another Reece McKenzie in the future, as you can't paint a brush over everyone who has a history of mental health issues.

Tend to agree. I'm not sure the club does now. The amount of resources spent by the club trying to get these types of problems under control may be seen to be prohibitive. Our club has now more experience than most in this area so they are in a good position to judge.

 

[THE_GUN]

Drafting Reece wa the correct decision but didnt work out, Carlton who should have given him a shot didnt and decided he was in the too hard basket - We didnt and we took on the challenge to see if we could turn his life around and if it paid of it would have been a steal. It didnt and not a massive loss at #70+

Carlton selected foster who has now been delisted , Reece does have issue's and is probably in a bad place at the moment and hope and wish him well. You cant hold this sort of things against him and i hope he gets better and remains friends with some of the boys

Good Luck Reece and hope you are well

 

[deliberate!!]

When I first saw Reece pre-drafted I admired his sure hands and they way he presented directly at the ball. I thought the kid could have been anything. Sadly, I knew nothing of Reece's condition. When Reece left the club I was sad we never got to see his best or the fact that he never cemented a permanent spot. I believe from what Reece has said on FB that he had serious mental health issues BEFORE being drafted.

If ANYONE believes that playing football at any level, or even playing AFL Football will wash away any underlying mental struggles they may be having, then they are seriously misguided. That misconception in itself borders on a deluded mental issue. If anything, I suggest, the constant struggles with form, fitness, your perception of yourself and others perception of your current form and fitness, winning, losing and just plain competing in a highly competitive sport must only intensify, detrimentally, any internal mental struggles you may have or are having.

If anybody teed off on their past club because they didn't make the grade and I knew this person was mentally stable, I would normally just say STFU, harden up and move on.
In this case, and Reece's FB Post, I really don't know if that post is Reece's fragile mental state talking, or just the short term ramblings of a jilted ex-sporting professional. Many sportsmen around the world in the past have gone ballistic when they believe they have lost what they hold dear to them, their Top Level Sporting Career...some have sunk into a black hole of depression, some have gambled their lives away, some have hit the bottle hard, some have immersed themselves in a mind-numbing drug haze and some have looked for that risky adrenaline rush by taking up 'edge of your seat' hobbies. Other sportsmen have redirected their lives and had successful financial and/or emotional lives after their first grade playing career is over.

The Richmond Football Club, a sporting club in Australia's premier football league and is as much to blame for Reece McKenzie's current or past mental state as the West Coast Eagles and Richmond are liable for Ben Cousins past or present drug abuse. Some things I hear and read from Reece, while highlighting anxiety and anger, also scream of someone not deeply aligned with reality. To blame Richmond for your current life is ridiculous. Sooner or later, and hopefully someone tells Reece that not everyone sees the world as he sees it, and that the only person that can make your life, smooth, happy and free of misguided thoughts, is yourself. Hoping for external forces to make your life happy and complete is dangerous and always ends in stress and tears.

Reece needs to move on peacefully like a man now, and stop using Social Media to blame others for his problems. The Richmond Football Club brought no external problems to Reece that he would need to deal with when he was drafted, but by the sound of Reece now and in the past, Reece bought a swag of issues no sporting club should have to deal with.

Good luck, and we all move on.

 

[Bojangles17]

...and the consequence of increased screening and avoidance of kids with mental health issues is 15/16yo kids doing all they can to hide it.

That's the worst possible (and most likely) outcome.

IMO, it's no difference in philosophy to the classic "high-risk, high-reward" gamble. Taylor Hunt, I believe, has publicly spoken about dealing with anxiety issues (not necessarily to Reece's extent). When you give him confidence he can be a solid player, when it drops away, like in his first game of 2016, he can't perform. With a talent like Reece McKenzie, if the gamble paid off then we'd have a 10-year superstar FF.

Personally, at Pick 70+, I am generally happy to take a gamble on a high-risk, high-reward type of player, whether the risk involved is mental health, injury, or attitude... you only need to nail 1 every 10 years. The alternative is to pick VFL-types late in the draft and hope they can play a supporting role.

I guess it depends on who is available, but I wouldn't rule out drafting another Reece McKenzie in the future, as you can't paint a brush over everyone who has a history of mental health issues.

When you look at the triggers of anxiety (intolerable reportedly in this case) relative to the demands of professional sport, I think the answers speak for itself

 

[Bojangles17]

When I first saw Reece pre-drafted I admired his sure hands and they way he presented directly at the ball. I thought the kid could have been anything. Sadly, I knew nothing of Reece's condition. When Reece left the club I was sad we never got to see his best or the fact that he never cemented a permanent spot. I believe from what Reece has said on FB that he had serious mental health issues BEFORE being drafted.

If ANYONE believes that playing football at any level, or even playing AFL Football will wash away any underlying mental struggles they may be having, then they are seriously misguided. That misconception in itself borders on a deluded mental issue. If anything, I suggest, the constant struggles with form, fitness, your perception of yourself and others perception of your current form and fitness, winning, losing and just plain competing in a highly competitive sport must only intensify, detrimentally, any internal mental struggles you may have or are having.

If anybody teed off on their past club because they didn't make the grade and I knew this person was mentally stable, I would normally just say STFU, harden up and move on.
In this case, and Reece's FB Post, I really don't know if that post is Reece's fragile mental state talking, or just the short term ramblings of a jilted ex-sporting professional. Many sportsmen around the world in the past have gone ballistic when they believe they have lost what they hold dear to them, their Top Level Sporting Career...some have sunk into a black hole of depression, some have gambled their lives away, some have hit the bottle hard, some have immersed themselves in a mind-numbing drug haze and some have looked for that risky adrenaline rush by taking up 'edge of your seat' hobbies. Other sportsmen have redirected their lives and had successful financial and/or emotional lives after their first grade playing career is over.

The Richmond Football Club, a sporting club in Australia's premier football league and is as much to blame for Reece McKenzie's current or past mental state as the West Coast Eagles and Richmond are liable for Ben Cousins past or present drug abuse. Some things I hear and read from Reece, while highlighting anxiety and anger, also scream of someone not deeply aligned with reality. To blame Richmond for your current life is ridiculous. Sooner or later, and hopefully someone tells Reece that not everyone sees the world as he sees it, and that the only person that can make your life, smooth, happy and free of misguided thoughts, is yourself. Hoping for external forces to make your life happy and complete is dangerous and always ends in stress and tears.

Reece needs to move on peacefully like a man now, and stop using Social Media to blame others for his problems. The Richmond Football Club brought no external problems to Reece that he would need to deal with when he was drafted, but by the sound of Reece now and in the past, Reece bought a swag of issues no sporting club should have to deal with.

Good luck, and we all move on.

Well said delib, most sense you've ever made