Subj : Mental health and strength: Former Canterbury cricketer's comeback
To   : All
From : News Person
Date : Sat Mar 02 2024 01:21 pm

While many of us dream of professional sport, very few actually make it. And
for those who don't quite get there or are forced into early retirement, it
can be a brutal transition, writes Seven Sharp reporter Rachel Parkin.

For one former Canterbury cricketer that change nearly claimed his life, but
he's made one heck of a comeback - by changing gear.

It was one of those postcard-perfect Christchurch days. Bluebird sky. Norwest
arch. The surf at Taylors Mistake beach rolling in like butter.

As we pulled over on the Summit Rd, so did Tim Johnston with a grin appearing
from under his cap.

"What's the plan?" he asked.

"About three kilometres of cycling and one kilometre of running," camera
operator Jason Hull explained.

"Oh, sweet as. Easy."

And these days, for Johnston, it is. The former Canterbury Cricket spinner
has bounced back from rock bottom.

"We nearly lost you?" I asked softly, as we looked out over Lyttelton Harbour.

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy looking back at those dark times," said Johnston.

To understand his journey we need to rewind to June 2018.

Johnston, aged 27, was in the UK playing for the Sudbury Club, fresh from his
sixth season with Canterbury Cricket where he'd been named bowler of the year.

'Pretty brutal'
Then came the call to say he'd been dropped.

"It was pretty brutal to be honest with you," he told me. "I was just lucky I
had so many phone calls from friends and family pretty quickly after they
found out."

It wasn't personal, he just hadn't made the cut. But the road that followed
was ragged.

Unbeknownst to many, Johnston already suffered from depression and the
contract snub sent him spiralling.

"I think going from the age of 12 or 13, being in a team environment,
following my mates through the age groups and being lucky enough to play with
them for Canterbury for a long period of time and one day that just stops."

"It's quite hard saying this now cause there's probably only a handful of
people who know that side of things, how deep you can go and how dark it does
get," he said.

One of those people was his wife Kelly.

"Nobody knew what was happening behind the scenes because they could just see
this happy, jovial guy," she said. "Nobody could see how hard it was just to
get out of the bed in the morning."

Suddenly her husband was home a lot and although having more time with his
daughters was great, he really struggled.

"I truly believe without the support of his therapist I don't think he'd be
here today because he had such a hard time," she said. "But now he's in an
amazing place and it's due to the fact he's done so much work on himself."

And then came another shift. A change of gear that gave Johnston renewed
drive - training for the Anzco Foods Ironman in Taupo.

When Johnston's multisport-mad brother Nick suggested he'd be "too soft" to
compete, it was game on.

"Challenge accepted?" I laughed.

"Yeah, challenge accepted," Johnston replied with a grin.

And so it began.

Fourteen months of hard graft on the bike, in the water and pounding the
earth. Johnston is doing the mahi for himself, his family and charity I Am
Hope.

"I was always lucky enough that I got counselling and therapy provided by the
Cricket Players' Association, which is fantastic, and to hear that other
people don't get to access that. I didn't think that was right.

"So far being able to raise $8000, which is going to put a lot of young
people in therapy, is pretty cool."

'Being comfortable in the uncomfortable'
Now all that's left is the race. No biggie.

On Saturday Johnston will line up among 2000 other athletes - half, from
abroad - to tackle the gruelling event. That's a 3.8km swim in Lake Taupo,
180km on the bike and a marathon.

"What a comeback!" I laughed.

"Ha ha, yeah, it took a while, but I'm here and I'm proud of it," Johnston
grinned.

He's not the only one who's proud.

"I feel very humbled and inspired watching him and so proud, so amazingly
proud," Kelly said. "He's an almost Ironman! I'm going to be crying so many
times that day."

For Johnston, that transition out of sport had been huge, but now with new
direction and the knowledge it was okay to speak up, there was hope.

"It's just getting used to being comfortable in the uncomfortable," Johnston
told me. "And actually when you put your mind to something you can actually
be a lot better than you thought you could be.

"I think one thing I've learnt is exercise has been the best thing for me.
Better than medication, better than anything."

"And you've got your toolkit now?" I said.

"Yeah exactly and that's it, that's the coolest thing I Am Hope and Gumboot
Friday are doing is they're going into schools, to kids in primary schools
and they're teaching them the mental skills to cope.

"Going forward, hopefully, we can reduce the grim suicide rate and that sort
of thing," he said.

"I think the more we can get through that stigma and talk about mental
health. It's just like any injury, right? If you pull your calf you go to the
physio."

There was just one more question: Had Johnston the retired cricketer caught
the multi-sport bug?

"Ha, yeah, maybe," he said. "There are definitely things I look at now and
think, man, that would be a lot of fun."

Johnston has created a Givealittle page to raise funds for Gumboot Friday and
I Am Hope.

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