Tag: education

#DiabetesWeek 2019… See Diabetes Differently

Posted on by thediabetesfootballcommunity in diabetes, sport

As the motto for Diabetes Week 2019 is “See Diabetes Differently” it’s great to be able to share an interview that Chris conducted with DigiBete (www.digibete.org) which focusses upon mindset and the approach to sport/exercise that he takes in the hope it may help others living with Diabetes. It’s different to the usual articles/content on the physical management of the condition for sport but we hope it proves to be useful!

A huge thank you to DigiBete for asking Chris and putting the time into creating this amazing video. If you want to check out their resources for people with type 1 diabetes surrounding sport & exercise head to the below link:

https://www.digibete.org/resources/sportsandexercise/

We must also thank the University of Worcester who gave Chris & DigiBete permission to shoot on their campus. Thank you!

We hope you enjoy the video and we’d love to hear your feedback on it! Please share far and wide if you enjoyed it as you never know who it may reach!

Thanks,

TDFC Team

Mo’s Story with TDFC so far…

Posted on by thediabetesfootballcommunity in diabetes, Football, sport

Mo, is one of the newest members of the Diabetes Football community family having recently finding us! We wanted to get his initial thoughts on what it’s been like since he joined in with our Adult diabetes Futsal teams in Worcester and London. No more words from us over to Mo to tell us about the experience so far.

“I came across the diabetes football community by chance; having attended a type 1 diabetes technology event where Chris Bright presented.

Since that point in time it’s been brilliant, as you’ll see from reading on.

I was diagnosed age 2.5, some 27 years back. Throughout my school life I was always held back from sport as teachers wouldn’t risk me having a hypo. I felt left out many times, but it did spur on a desire to ask “why not?”. I always used to challenge restrictions brought on by society and more often than not was able to prove people wrong.

Through this, I played a lot of sport and it helped me during those early years keep good control of my diabetes and pick up a few hobbies. I also had an amazing paediatric team which inspired me to pursue a career in healthcare (hospital pharmacy).

However, back then diabetes communities were relatively scattered and so I did not know many other type 1’s. I managed the condition entirely on my own, taking on the burdens of life without having a community to share it with.

The diabetes football community totally changed this. The very first training session was brilliant! It was professionally organised, I met fellow type 1’s with respectfully unique stories and had tonnes of fun in a competitive environment. The best bit was having the knowledge that you had each other’s backs if anyone had a hypo (something I had never experienced before in my life).

The toughest thing for me to process as part of my diabetes is my job. I feel heartbroken on many days when I treat people with diabetes who have not been fortunate with their health outcomes. Many are in situations that cannot be reversed and a huge number suffer from mental health problems directly relating to the burden of managing diabetes. I often feel that many of these issues could have been prevented if people were in the right environment and had a drive to manage their condition well.

This is probably what I value most about this community. I feel that it provides an environment for people to enjoy sport, push themselves, feel supported and ultimately get better. It’s unique in this regard. I’m glad I’m part of this project as I feel it’s got a long way to go yet!

Furthermore, throughout my life I’ve always been the sportiest person with Diabetes I knew of. On the first training session, I was surrounded by stronger, faster, more skilful and fitter individuals. This has motivated me to up my game, and also to work hard to try out for the national team next year.

I’ve had the privilege to be part of the London Futsal team that started this year and have already learnt so much from the invaluable experience of other members. We’ve already made history by taking part in a league game against an all deaf team.

Can’t wait to see what the future brings!”

A great account from Muhammad on his initial thoughts on the magic of TDFC and the way we encourage, inspire and support our players with Diabetes to keep going no matter the challenges the condition puts in front of us!

Thanks Mo. 🙂

Our Journey with Type 1 and Football…

Posted on by thediabetesfootballcommunity in diabetes, Football, sport

Another amazing story to share with the community brought to you by Karen Brown, the mother of Ellen, a young type 1 who’s having a fantastic time with her Football/Futsal at the moment. Ellen & Karen have been big advocates and supporters of our work at TDFC from the very early days so it’s brilliant to be able to share their story! No more words needed from us, over to you Karen…

“Our daughter Ellen was diagnosed at age 8 with type 1 diabetes. As you all know it hits like a bomb and the early days are hard. Somewhere amongst the haze of diagnosis we made a decision that when we got Ellen home we would stabilise her doing all of the sport she usually did. So the day after discharge we took her to school for a few hours and the following Monday she started back swimming. I sat on the edge of the pool chewing my nails hoping she would be fine. Strangely enough the year she was diagnosed is the only year she hasn’t played football (played 1 year of netball and hated it!). Ellen prefers to manage her diabetes with a pump (Medtronic) and we use CGM periodically.

Since then it has been buckets of football and within the last 4 years she has also played futsal in the off-season. It is amazing how different the two are to manage. Football often sends her low- particularly in the cold Canberra winters (we live in Australia) whereas futsal sends her high due to the adrenaline. As futsal isn’t as big in Canberra her futsal club (Boomerangs FS) travel to Sydney to play in a Sydney comp. So every Sydney game we travel between 2 ½ to 4 hours each way (depending on what side of Sydney the game is) to play. The weather in Canberra is quite dry whereas Sydney can be humid which can affect Ellen’s BGLs (sends her low) so at the half way stop en route to the game we reduce insulin if she has any carbs and put a reduced temp basal on. We find doing low carb on the morning prior to the Sydney trips much easier to manage. At least we are only fixing the humidity problem. Then during the games she heads high! Sydney games we nearly always use CGM to help keep an eye on things. If it’s a home game its breakfast as usual. After the game she eats what she wants.

Ellen Brown Picture 3

Whilst having diabetes can be tough when you are playing football and futsal, we run at it with the attitude that if we have a tough day diabetes wise we look at why and see if we can do something different. There are days when you just can’t explain why the numbers are what they are! All of her coaches and teams have been really supportive and the boys often try and guess her Blood Glucose Level – she plays in the Boys National Premier League. Ellen also chooses to celebrate her ‘diaversary’, so the team usually hangs out for the cupcakes she takes along to celebrate another year kicking the butt of diabetes.

Having diabetes hasn’t stopped Ellen from achieving in soccer and futsal. The last 12 months have been particularly rewarding!!! 12 months ago her girls futsal team won both the premiership and championship in the Sydney comp. For outdoor her BBFC U16’s team made the Grand Final and won in a penalty shootout. She then made the ACT team (regional team) to play futsal at Nationals in January – they were runners up in the Grand Final in a penalty shootout. And a couple of weeks ago at the presentation night for Boomerangs FS, Ellen was awarded female player of the year. We are pretty proud of her. Winning isn’t everything but it is great to get some wins and they have been a while coming!! Though I must say the victories are much sweeter after the effort you put in to get the diabetes right. (excuse the pun!)

Ellen Brown Picture 1

As much as it is a challenge, there have been lots of good things about having diabetes in our lives for the last 8 years. We have made a whole new bunch of friends we wouldn’t have otherwise met. Whilst it is so nice being able to converse with those who understand the challenges and learn new things from. Ellen has had the opportunity to speak at JDRF fundraisers and she was recently asked to take part in some research at ANU.

Being part of TDFC has been a huge help though. It was so nice to hear from others who play football and be able to read about their experiences. With Ellen being a girl it was so nice to read about Noel and what she has achieved. We got to meet Zac (UK DiaEuro Player) at one of Ellen’s games in Sydney and hope to see him again soon. Whilst it’s also great to see that Chris represented his country in Futsal, which gives Ellen so much hope she can achieve the same.

Ellen Brown Picture 4

To any young footballer out there, chase your dreams. Ellen’s favourite saying is “I don’t live with diabetes, diabetes lives with me”.”

 

A really great blog written by Karen Brown and a huge thank you from us for putting it together. If there’s anyone out there reading this who’d like to contribute in a similar way get in touch! We’re always on the look out for blogs and stories to share…

It’s much more than just Football or Futsal… Part 2 (Scott Burrell)

Posted on by thediabetesfootballcommunity in Uncategorized

In our second instalment of “It’s much more than just Football or Futsal” we look at the story of Scott Burrell. His journey with TDFC and type 1 Diabetes has been staggering and for those of you unaware of what Diabetes care was like without the technology that is available now, I’d urge you to read on… This is a fascinating account of how TDFC has effected and improved Scott’s life and another example of a social / community based project like ours supporting healthcare benefits and objectives for those living with the condition. No more talking from us lets hear from Scott in his own words:

“Being selected in the UK DiaEuro squad really changed my ‘diabetic life’ and that’s by no means an exaggeration! Firstly, and something a majority of the squad had said, was that they’d never met another T1 in ‘normal’ life so that was great. Like any football squad you tend to bond quite quickly with the other players but we bonded especially quickly as we all shared the condition. My knowledge of T1 has increased ten fold. It was great to share stories and bounce successes/failures off each other.

I was actually the only member on mixed insulin. I was taking Humulin M3 which was the same insulin I’d used since diagnosis in 1999! I’d been told for many years, probably close to 10, that a basal/bolus regime would be better for me, but me being a stubborn so and so I’d always thought I’d be better sticking with what I knew. Seeing all the other lads using the basal/bolus regime and many telling me how they had moved from mixed insulin and how much better it was really gave me the incentive to change.

A few months after we got back I eventually made the switch and now take Toujeo & Novo Rapid, I’m finding it much better and in hindsight wish I’d changed over many years ago. I’m certainly having less hypos which had always been a big problem for me before. As good as healthcare professionals are it was the kick from people living with the condition day in, day out which convinced me to finally change.

Finally I’m a lot more open about my Diabetes now… Growing up and even in my early 20s I’d try to hide it as much as possible, not talk about it and only tell people I was T1 if really needed. My mentality completely changed about that having been selected in the squad. I’ve now had newspaper articles written about me and appeared in a TDFC video filmed by BBC Hereford & Worcester which they shared on their social media platforms talking about the project and the condition. It actually made me feel ‘proud’ and gave me a desire to talk about diabetes for the first time…something I’d never experienced before in my time as a T1.”

Keep an eye out for more stories from some of the community and if you want to follow Scott on social media head to his twitter account @scottbufc to get in contact with him.

Announcement: TDFC London est. 2019

Posted on by thediabetesfootballcommunity in Uncategorized

Hello reader, Happy New Year!

It’s crazy to think that it was only 9 months ago that I heard about the TDFC project. Via the community, I’ve met some really top people and represented the UK at DiaEuro 2018.  An amazing journey so far, but what does the year ahead look like?

I’d already bought into the vision of TDFC before participating for the UK team at DiaEuro in Bratislava this summer. However, as a type 1 diabetic for 7 years now, I was stunned with how much more I learnt about the condition during the course of the tournament. I didn’t even have to try. Diabetes related chitchat would pop up naturally all the time. I gained loads of great insight on how to manage the condition whilst playing sport and life in general.  My control was the best it had been in years too, and that seemed the case for multiple players.

The whole experience got us thinking – the platform for diabetics with a passion for playing football to meet up and learn from each other really does need expanding. It could bring so much good for diabetics new and old. Our experience was proof of it!

On the final day of DiaEuro 2018, whilst watching Bosnia cruise to victory in the final, we found out something very interesting. We learnt that the Bosnian team compete on a weekly basis in the 2nd division of the Bosnian Futsal League. That’s mega impressive: an entire team of diabetics playing (and winning) against high level non-diabetic team’s week in week out. This didn’t just give them the edge to win DiaEuro, it’s allowed them to raise the profile of diabetes and help to break down any perceived barriers to participation, a key goal of TDFC.

Post DiaEuro, with a strong desire to help TDFC grow and see the UK team improve at the next DiaEuro tournament, we decided to develop a new project – to set up the first all diabetic futsal/football team to compete in the English futsal/football pyramid.

  • Where? London.
  • When? Now!
  • Futsal/Football? Futsal (to begin with)
  • Club name? TDFC London

Over the past few months, we’ve laid down the foundations to get the project underway. Some great conversations with the London Futsal League, in combination with an opening for new teams to join the new season in February 2019, means we’re only weeks away from launching!

If you are at all interested in joining TDFC London, whether it be as a player, coach, sponsor or supporter (the more fans the better), contact tdfclondon19@gmail.com to find out how to get involved.

Hopefully this is just the start of things to come. It would be amazing to one day see the platform expand to provide opportunities for men and women of all ages, all over the country.

The year ahead looks good

Bryn

Project development manager

2018… Looking back to look forward

Posted on by thediabetesfootballcommunity in diabetes, Football, sport

Firstly I’d like to wish all of our followers, volunteers, players, coaches and anyone involved in the TDFC family a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

What a year it has been…. We’ve done some incredible things in 2018 and I really just wanted to summarise what’s happened, thank some of the amazing people who have helped us make it happen and look forward to what 2019 might bring for The Diabetes Football Community.  

So where do I start…

For me one of the most important projects to highlight and look back on was one of the first in 2018. The 24 hours in the life of a Diabetic Footballer ( #WalkInOurBoots) was an important awareness and education project which showcased the Andrewartha family and Mitch’s battles with type 1 as a young footballer. This video fills me with immense pride every time I watch it. For me it encapsulates everything about living with type 1 and wanting to play football during childhood. It showcases the immense physical and emotional strain it puts on the family, as well as the incredible amount of preparation and determination needed from Mitch and his parents to get him out there playing on a Saturday. Every time I watch it back I’m inspired, moved and so grateful to the community we’ve created for supporting our ideas and projects. We do it for you and we couldn’t do it without you!

IMG_2445
A massive thank you to Dave, Faye & Mitch for agreeing to do the documentary and their amazing performances! Also a huge thank you must go to Ferenc Nagy who filmed and edited the video. A great job buddy…. If you want to check out the documentary head over to the below link where you can find the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWjlrLbvWr4&t=39s

The #WalkInOurBoots campaign was just the start!!! We then focussed on creating the first ever all Diabetes team to represent the UK and compete at the European Futsal Championships for people with diabetes (DiaEuro, www.diaeuro.org )… We don’t like to do things by halves! From the outset I knew it would be ambitious and extremely challenging to not only recruit players living with diabetes, but also to recruit members of the “staff” team who were willing to give up their time for nothing other than the experience (thank you to Harley, Paul & Jahna)! But what about the money?!! It’s quite expensive to get 14 people on a plane with kit and a roof over their head for a week!! A massive thank you must go to our sponsors Dexcom, Gluco and Havas Lynx for supporting the project in 2018 as we couldn’t have done it without you! As I look back now… A year ago it was an idea in my head which I’d just started to share on social media….  A year later and we’ve played in our first tournament and are planning for our second…. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to check it’s all been real! It was an incredible journey and achievement to create the team, manage the project and play in the tournament. Being stood alongside my 10 fellow type 1’s to represent our country and our condition was something I’ll never ever forget. Scoring 2 goals in our first win just topped it all off for me…. It still feels like a dream to me. I’ve made lifelong friends through this project and I hope the community draws a huge amount of inspiration from what we were able to achieve! With everyone’s support I hope this is a project and team I hope we can continue for many years to come…

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf8n6LSLRRM

Whilst we were busy planning for DiaEuro we also joined forces with 1BloodyDrop and the University of Worcester to deliver the first Type 1 Diabetes and Sports conference in the UK led by people with Diabetes for people with Diabetes ( #SporT1Day ). An idea conjured up by myself and Paul Coker, we wanted to bring people together to further the knowledge of sport and exercise management for those living with type 1 diabetes. We tried our best to bring in speakers which demonstrated a variety of sports, approaches and experiences to offer a rounded view of type 1 management in sport and exercise. The line up included type 1 professional athletes, university lecturers, a psychologist and sporty individuals keen to share their experience of managing the condition.  It really was a special event which I loved hosting and presenting at. I hope that everyone attended continues to utilise the strategies shared on the day and due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback we received it’s something myself, Paul and the University are looking at re-creating in 2019 so keep your eyes peeled for that. A huge thank you to those who attended and to 1BloodyDrop and the University of Worcester for co-creating this amazing event! If you want to read up on the 2018 conference check out the below blog post:

(https://thediabetesfootballcommunity.com/2018/05/28/the-first-sport1day-conference-organisers-perspective-chris-bright/ )

 

I feel that whilst we try to support people with the condition through advice, education and support through the community’s projects and members, I’ve always felt we need to try and drive change in a mainstream environment to counteract the stigma and stereotypes myself and many others have experienced. To do this I felt it was important to bring stakeholders in the Diabetes and Football world together to strive for change. In July 2018, we had the first Diabetes Steering group meeting led by the Worcestershire FA to do just that. We’ve invited the local university, the local NHS, members and volunteers involved in The Diabetes Football Community as well as parents of a child living with type 1 to join us within the group. Our remit is very much about trying to improve the knowledge and awareness of Diabetes within Football to improve the inclusivity of those living with the condition within the game. So far we’ve had 2 very positive meetings with some brilliant ideas coming up which we hope to develop forward into 2019. It’s a hugely positive step in the right direction which I’m sure will see tangible results for the whole community in the not too distant future!!

Around the time of our first meeting I also went over to Ireland on a scouting mission… Myself and Zak Brown (Our UK DiaEuro Manager’s Player of the Tournament), had spotted online about a junior small sided football tournament taking place in Dublin for children with diabetes and with the nature of what TDFC does it was something we couldn’t afford to miss… Ever since I started TDFC up the support of parents and children coping with type 1 diabetes has been incredible and this was an opportunity for us to do some fact finding for the future… I want us to deliver a project which really gives back to this group of people and I promise that we’re planning something for 2019, I just need to get my masters out of the way first!!! Diabetes Ireland did an amazing job at delivering their tournament and celebrating the successes of the children who took part. I was just so glad we were able to attend on the day and thank you for your hospitality… If you’d like to read up more on this check out the below blog post:

https://thediabetesfootballcommunity.com/2018/09/10/diabetes-junior-cup-2018/

 

I think one of our last projects is perfect for this time of year! If you need any inspiration around this festive period or you’re finding things tough I urge you to watch our World Diabetes Day video below… The kids did an amazing job at sharing their thoughts and they get me every time! It’s very special seeing the way the community has come together to support what was an idea floating around in my head. This is all about you, the people who interact with us, and as long as we continue to hit the mark by educating, supporting and inspiring you, I’ll be delighted! Thank you to everyone who contributed to this video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C353oCtYH2U

A year I will never forget and one that has shaped the future for TDFC. We’ve become an official registered community interest organisation which has furthered the ambition and potential reach for the future, we’ve received recognition on local BBC radio stations and social media, we’ve exhibited up and down the country at conferences in the Diabetes world and continued to grow our social media presence throughout 2018. None of this is possible without the continued support of people in the Diabetes community so all I’d ask is if you like what we do, please keep sharing, raising awareness and getting in contact with us. We will always need support and funding to make our goals happen so whether you like, share and retweet our posts or you’re able to help us with sponsorship or donating to the cause everything is valuable and we appreciate it so much.

 

But let me give you a sneak peak at what we’re thinking for 2019…

There will be more of the same but hopefully with some exciting new developments alongside projects we already have in place.

The UK DiaEuro Adult team will be continuing with an emphasis on the DiaEuro tournament in 2019 whilst also creating opportunities to play against our near neighbours in Ireland who are creating their own team. I’m seeing an exciting future for our local rivalry!!! Another exciting participation opportunity for the adult type 1’s in the London area is the creation of TDFC London,  project managed by our man Bryn White to take part in the London Futsal League (https://www.facebook.com/LondonFutsalLeague/) as an all diabetes team for the very first time. They will be kicking off for their first competitive game in February 2019, so keep an eye out for the developments on our social media and if you’d like to help support them, get involved with the project, play in the team or sponsor please do get in touch!

As I mentioned we hope to re-create the #SporT1Day conference in 2019 that takes on the feedback from last year to offer a bigger and better event! I’ll be working with Paul and the university to see when and how we go about doing this over the coming months… As always any ideas you may have make sure you get in touch.

As I alluded to within the Ireland trip I mentioned earlier it’s definitely time we tried to put a participation opportunity together for our type 1 kids and their parents out there. I’d like us to work towards delivering a day/tournament in 2019 but this will as always rely on support from the community, sponsors and volunteers to make it happen but it’s something I’m really passionate about creating, so let’s give it a shot!

Lastly, I’d suggest that our emphasis around education will be pushed further as we continue to develop the Diabetes Steering group and partnerships with other organisations to champion education on diabetes throughout different walks of life. We’re really keen to ensure we develop resources and tools to drive further understanding and awareness within mainstream environments/sport whether that is with the FA, schools or clubs. If you have any ideas about how we might do this we’re all ears.

Right… I’ve talked far too much on this blog but I felt it was important to demonstrate the amazing work we’ve achieved in 2018, our amazing community and the ambition we have for the future. The wave is coming and growing in size. Patient led initiatives like ours are beginning to help shape the way people are supported with chronic medical conditions and I couldn’t be prouder to be the founder of this one…

A favourite saying of mine at the moment is dream big, then dream bigger. If we can achieve all of this in one year, myself and TDFC need to set our sights on doing it bigger and better in 2019! Which is exactly what we intend to do.

Lastly to anyone out there who might be reading this, in any part of the globe, if you like what we’re doing or want to get involved please get in touch! We know that our work isn’t confined to the UK where we’re based and the ideas we generate are mostly what we come up with! If you’d like to help in any way or work with us, you know where we are.

As always a huge thank you to the directors and volunteers who give up their time to support our cause, we couldn’t do it without you! Let’s make 2019 bigger and better than what has gone before.

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Chris

DiaEuro 2018… The Story by Video

Posted on by thediabetesfootballcommunity in Uncategorized

Check out this short video of the UK DiaEuro Journey in 2018… A huge thank you to our main sponsor Dexcom who’s support was vital in getting us there and to everyone else who played their part. We couldn’t have done it without your contributions!

We want to continue this journey into 2019 so if you want to get involved in sponsoring, fundraising, playing, organising or supporting in any way please get in touch!

Enjoy the video and give it a share if you can!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf8n6LSLRRM

 

 

Diabetes Junior Cup 2018

Posted on by thediabetesfootballcommunity in diabetes, sport

It’s been a while since I got myself 5 or 10 minutes to write something for the blog but I felt my recent trip to the Diabetes Junior Cup was well worth finding it…

I thought to convey the trip I’d pose myself a few questions which helped me tell the story and purpose behind why I felt TDFC should reach out and connect with this event.

Where did you go?

So myself and Zak (One of the UK players from the DiaEuro team) flew to Dublin, Ireland to visit the Diabetes Junior Cup at the National sports centre in Blanchardstown. What a great facility that is by the way! So many sports located in one central location to support Ireland’s athletes and their international ambitions. It was a pleasure to visit…

 

When was it?

We were in Ireland from Thursday to Saturday over the UK bank holiday weekend at the end of August 2018.

Who did you meet?

Across the 48 hours we met a number of people involved in various different projects supporting people with Diabetes in the country. Firstly we met with Cathal, whom after seeing TDFC’s work with the UK all diabetes Futsal team that went to DiaEuro, is keen to replicate it and create a team for Ireland ready for the 2019 tournament. It was brilliant to see his enthusiasm for the idea and the inspiration that the UK team provided him. I really hope they can pull it off over there as it would be an amazing “friendly” rivalry to have between the UK & Ireland!

Secondly we met up with a Kate Gajewska and a group of type 1’s in downtown Dublin to chat about all things diabetes over some food and drinks. Sharing experiences with the condition are a form of therapy I find and if you can laugh about it whilst completely understanding what others are going through it diminishes the negativity of what Diabetes can do. It was really nice to catch up with Kate whom I know through the work of the League of DiAthletes (www.leagueofdiathletes.com) and it’s always great to hear new perspectives on the condition from a different, albeit similar, country and culture.

Lastly we had the Diabetes Junior Cup event day where we met some senior members of the Diabetes Ireland team whom gave up their Saturday to support this worthwhile cause. We had a brilliant opportunity to discuss the event, their plans for the future, our work and how people with Diabetes are supported in Ireland.

I have to say a massive thank you to everyone we met on the trip. We were made to feel very welcome! A special thank you to Kate who managed to give us more than our fair share of lifts around Dublin.

52ebeca0-9a76-466b-b735-50afb38aaa5e

Why did you go?

The key reason we went was for the Junior Cup event which was designed to bring children with type 1 diabetes together to give them the opportunity to share their experience and make friends. Having lived with Type 1 for 19 years and not really shared what it was like for 17 of those years, I really wish I had sooner. This event was another perfect example of how we can provide peer support in the diabetes community.

Not only was it good for the kids to come together they got to have a lot of fun too! But I’m sure it was also beneficial for parents to discuss with others the stresses of supporting a child with the condition. Having this kind of event is a wonderful representation of how the community comes together to help each other.

With such a close link to what we do at The Diabetes Football Community I felt it was really important we were there to learn, network and support such a fantastic football event for people with Diabetes. The learning and friends we made whilst there will hopefully lead to promising future collaborations and events for the benefit of children, parents and adults living with Diabetes who share our passion for Football!

It was also great to be able to give our Irish friends an idea of what it took to get the UK diabetes Futsal team off the ground during the time we were there, in the hope that they can replicate that for next year! Fingers crossed we will be competing against each other in the near future!

If you want to check out myself and Zak’s story on the day head over to the below link:

https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17955933319120338/

What does the future look like as a result of your trip…?

The hope is that through developing links with this event and Diabetes Ireland (www.diabetes.ie ), TDFC may in future be in a position to put on this kind of event in the UK for children with type 1 Diabetes. As always it takes a great deal of organisation and support to get something like this off the ground but we’re hoping that the community will support us in trying to make a football participation camp/tournament for children with diabetes happen.

If anyone in the community would like to support us in trying to make this happen in 2019 please do get in touch via our email address:

thediabetesfootballcommunity@gmail.com

Food Series Part 1 – Healthy Eating: Getting the balance right

Posted on by thediabetesfootballcommunity in Uncategorized

My name is Jo Hanna and I am one of the Diabetes Dietitians working at Poole Hospital but also a huge exercise enthusiast! I’ve been a Dietitian for 8 years now and working in diabetes for 5. Secretly I always wanted to be a Sports Dietitian working for Manchester United! I grew up playing football and most of my childhood was spent as the token girl in the team, even playing for Dorset under 12s. Football was my true passion but sadly for me at the time football was still considered a ‘boys sport’ and once I reached the age of 12 I was told by my school I could no longer play football with the boys. I was devastated by this at the time and although I got back into football at University it was too late for me so I ended up running instead. I have pushed myself in this area, winning 6 of the Dorset Road League races last year in addition to my greatest achievement, a sub 3 hour London marathon.

Exercise for me, as I’m sure it is for many of you is my stress release and plays a huge part in my self-esteem and social life. It therefore really saddens me that 36% of people living with type 1 diabetes view exercising to be a challenge. To be honest I’m surprised it’s not higher! I decided along with our consultant Mike Masding that it was worth trying to target this group in a specific exercise clinic to allow tailored advice around nutrition and insulin adjustment, to enable those struggling to enjoy their exercise and de-stress rather than the opposite. Training as I well know is challenging enough without throwing diabetes into the mix! I’m keen to ‘even the playing field’ in any way I can.

I decided I wanted to write for the TDFC to see if I can help advise the wider sporting community and given my passion for football in particular I thought this would be the perfect place. It’s inspiring to see the UK’s first all Diabetic Futsal team (Click for Players’ Blog) competing this summer as well as the results they achieved. I work with children and teenagers with diabetes too and feel these players are a great role model.

My aim is to write a different blog every few weeks with a few tips and hints to help you get your fueling right both pre, during and after. Often we tend to base our advice around timing and quantity of carbohydrates but as I have come to understand the quality of the carbohydrates and protein and fluid intake are also key components I would like to cover. I’m keen to help and advise in any way I can so please if you have any particular topics you would like covered just let me know.

Firstly today let’s consider your overall daily intake as it’s always best to review this whether you have diabetes or not if you’re serious about your sport. Often I’m finding overall carbohydrate intakes are inadequate as the focus tends to be around the actual activity itself. Football is a classic example of a sport that can actually result in quite stable readings at the time due to the fact there is a mixture of slower jogging and sprints. The bigger risk here is hypos after the game or training due to depleted glycogen and increased metabolism, this is a really important aspect to consider when avoiding the dreaded nocturnal hypos. To help avoid this ideally if you’re training regularly you need 50% of your intake to come from carbohydrates (including fruit).Protein should contribute approximately 25% of your diet (timing is key with this) and the other 25% should come from your vegetables and salad. Fat is likely to come alongside your carbs and protein intake but can also be a useful tool in helping to alter the timing of peak absorption of glucose from any carbohydrate. Don’t forget your fluid either as even if you have your glucose levels perfect if you’re dehydrated, even by 2% this will impair your performance.

Over my next blogs we can look at;

  • Carbohydrates-type and quantity pre, during and post (this might be a few blogs).
  • Protein -why it’s important and timing of this.
  • Fruit and vegetables-why these are important too
  • Fluid-getting this right

Feel free to contact me at Joanna.hanna@poole.nhs.uk

The Adventure Awaits… DiaEuro 2018

Posted on by thediabetesfootballcommunity in Uncategorized

Well here we are!!! It’s 3 days until we play our first match and after months of talking about this momentous project, it’s happening this weekend. The UK will be represented at the European Futsal Championships for people with Diabetes, for the very first time ( DiaEuro 2018 , www.diaeuro.org ).

I wake up every day feeling privileged to have started The Diabetes Football Community and to be leading projects like this…. They make all the difference to the people who interact with us and seek us out for support. I hope that our endeavours continue to provide comfort, inspiration and a smile for all those who share in the challenges of Diabetes on a daily basis… We want to prove that this condition holds no boundaries for those living with it as long as we achieve good management. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but it’s important we attempt to provide positive news stories for those with the condition when much negativity, ignorance and stereotyping is still evident throughout the media and society in the United Kingdom.

With so much going on I’ve found it very challenging to write anything on the blog for a while so it’s nice to find just an hour to share some thoughts ahead of DiaEuro and talk about our camp on the 14th of July.

The day was all about bringing the squad together to get to know each other, enhance their tactical and technical understanding of Futsal and ultimately play their first ever game as a squad. For me, all of those things were achieved and more. The team really did surpass all of our expectations as a management team and with expectations for us at DiaEuro low, I’ll be encouraging the boys to just go and give a good account of ourselves, with a smile on our faces. The tournament isn’t all about winning (try telling our squad that!), because it’s also about raising awareness of type 1 diabetes, its challenges and trying to develop greater levels of support across Europe for those living with it. As a collective we can’t wait to participate in this wonderful event and win, lose or draw it’s an incredible opportunity for all of us to represent our condition firstly and our nation secondly at this tournament.

We’d set out a jam packed day where the guys needed to arrive at the university of Worcester at 8:45am (Sorry lads!) as we wanted to spend the morning developing their tactical knowledge before implementing it in our friendly in the afternoon. Myself and Paul had come up with a plan on Friday for delivery and having seen how the team performed in the friendly we were absolutely chuffed that they’d taken on the knowledge we’d shared with them as that’s all you want from a coach’s perspective!

Alongside the hectic morning of coaching, Harley and Jahna were also busy planning their sessions for our lunch time break. Harley wanted to deliver a session specifically aimed at team cohesion and bringing the squad closer together ahead of the European championships, whilst Jahna wanted to capture some more in depth information from a medical perspective about the squad. This gave the lads an opportunity to catch a break!! They also got the chance to come and collect their matchday kit and tracksuits from me!! I think this was one of the parts they were most excited about having had a preview over social media… I think the kit looks great and thank you to www.movingforwardsports.co.uk for supplying us with it. 

IMG_0757(1)

After all that we were lucky enough to get into our first match, which was a resounding success and we came away with such positivity! A massive thank you to our opponents, Duncan our referee and the university of Worcester for hosting this momentous occasion for us…

Now we move onto Saturday the 21st of July 2018… The day it all begins. The journey and the tournament await and we’re soooo excited.

My hope is that this team inspires people across the UK whom may be newly diagnosed or finding life with type 1 diabetes tough to think it is possible, the condition doesn’t have to stand in your way and that no matter what barrier it puts in front of us we can overcome it!

11 men all living with Type 1 Diabetes, pulling on a shirt to represent a condition and a country……. To know we’ve set about bringing that to life fills me with so much pride I find it hard to explain.   

A huge thank you to our wonderful supporters and sponsors Dexcom, Gluco, Havas Lynx and the University of Worcester in allowing us to get us there because without you this wouldn’t have been possible!  

Sunday the 22nd of July 2018, history will be made.

Thank you as always for your support,

Chris

DSC00373