{"id":164082,"date":"2025-06-20T04:00:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T18:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=164082"},"modified":"2025-06-19T22:53:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T12:53:38","slug":"hawkins-inspires-students-during-mens-health-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/hawkins-inspires-students-during-mens-health-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawkins inspires students during Men\u2019s Health Week"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ST IGNATIUS College students, staff and families had some powerful takeaways from Cats legend Tom Hawkins\u2019 keynote speech at the school\u2019s men\u2019s mental health evening earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p>The 36-year-old, who played 359 games for Geelong, focused on three themes: drought, doubt and grief.<\/p>\n<p>College deputy principal (students) Michael Timms said the speech and Q&amp;A made a considerable impact.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/MHW25_131_94641.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Geelong Cats great Tom Hawkins with St Ignatius College students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cTom spoke candidly about his own journey &#8211; both on and off the field &#8211; sharing valuable insights into how he managed pressure, setbacks, and the expectations of elite sport.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the evening\u2019s most powerful takeaways was Tom\u2019s message about rethinking nerves and anxiety &#8211; not as weaknesses, but as signs of growth and opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe encouraged students to lean into those moments, reminding them that discomfort often precedes progress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe also emphasised the importance of self-compassion, reinforcing that making mistakes is a natural part of learning and becoming stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hawkins, a key forward who kicked 796 goals across his 17-year-career that ended in 2024, spoke in front of a packed house at the MacKillop Senior Centre Theatre.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTom\u2019s honesty and humility created a safe space for reflection and connection, helping to break down stigma and inspire our young people to speak up, support one another, and prioritise their mental health,&#8221; Mr Timms said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was an evening that will be remembered not only for Tom\u2019s sporting legacy, but for his thoughtful and considered messages around men\u2019s health.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 601px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/MHW25_541_94589.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"601\" height=\"901\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Geelong Cats great Tom Hawkins speaks at St Ignatius College Geelong.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ST IGNATIUS College students, staff and families had some powerful takeaways from Cats legend Tom Hawkins\u2019 keynote speech at the school\u2019s men\u2019s mental health evening earlier this month. The 36-year-old, who played 359 games for Geelong, focused on three themes: drought, doubt and grief. College deputy principal (students) Michael Timms said the speech and Q&amp;A [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/hawkins-inspires-students-during-mens-health-week\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":164087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-164082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Hawkins inspires students during Men\u2019s Health Week - Surf Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tom Hawkins&#039; powerful speech at St Ignatius College&#039;s mental health night inspires students. 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