‘It just shows…’ - Sheffield Wednesday star opens up in mental health chat with Owls supporters

The 29-year-old was in good form over the weekend as he helped the Owls to a battling 1-0 victory over Accrington Stanley, another strong showing as he continues to show his worth to the Owls in their promotion push this season.

But it’s not just on the pitch that the former Rotherham United man is contributing, with the club’s Community Programme benefitting from his presence at their Talk Club on Monday evening.

The evenings in Hillsborough ‘invite men to discuss their feelings in a comfortable and supportive environment’, and Vaulks actively participated this week, not just attending but opening up on his own experiences and sticking around for the entire session.

“It was really good, a nice chat and that’s what it’s all about,” Vaulks told the club’s official website.

“Everyone was talking about their own scenarios and challenges going on in their lives. The big thing was improving your score from start to finish. We all gave a score out of 10 at the start of the session, talk for an hour and a half, then give a score afterwards and we’d all improved, so it just shows you the help that talking can do.

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“I took part in the session as if I was a regular part of the group. I thought ‘if I’m going to go, I want to go properly and not just sit there.’

“So, I participated in every way and it helped me as well, because we all go through challenges and tough spells with mental health and I came out of there feeling better.”

He went on to say, “I didn’t want to be there as Will the footballer, I was just there as a normal person. I enjoyed it and got a lot out of the session.

“It’s really important, men don’t talk enough about mental health and suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 35, so talking about it is the first prevention to stop it getting to that point.”

All men are welcome to attend the Talk Club, which takes place every Monday from 6pm to 8pm.

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