The Coventry Jets helped support Anti-Bullying Week 2010 as they visited several Coventry schools to host workgroups and hold talks with students.
The annual event is organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance and has been held in the UK every November since 2004. Sabrina Palmer, Anti-Bullying co-ordinator at Barr's Hill School and Community College, was one of the first to invite the Jets to share their experiences.
"On the day, we asked the pupil's for their understanding of types of bullying and what they had experienced within their school" said Jets' Academy Manager and Welfare Officer Dave Cowen "We spoke about raising awareness and changing the culture within the school and explained that they, the pupils, could have a direct effect on people's health and even possibly save lives. I work in mental health and can relate bullying to psychological problems that some young people carry into adulthood."
Barr's Hill is currently working towards a Charter Mark for the school and with the year 11 pupils putting together a news letter about bullying, the visit from the Jets could prove very beneficial. Coventry Jets legend Mark Cohen was able to speak about his personal experiences with being bullied. "I was picked on up to my last year at school and it was not a nice experience." Stated the former London Monarchs wide receiver, "I told the young adults this at the meeting and explained that bullies are normally people who have been bullied and it becomes a vicious cycle."
"Someone is bullied, they take their frustrations out on someone weaker than themselves and so on, which is why it's important to stop it outright. Bullying is not always physical, it can be mental too. Something as small as name calling or totally ignoring someone everyday at school or work is bullying. However, as young adults they don't have to put up with it. There are several communication channels for those who have been bullied to seek help and guidance."
"The detrimental effects on a person's life that these experiences can have might lead to low self esteem, lack of commitment to do anything and even suicide." The pupils in attendance were given anti-bullying badges to help encourage their fellow students to approach them if they're victims of bullies. The school itself is paying for the printing of the anti-bullying newsletter and running a competition to come up with a name for it.
If you are being bullied, tell a friend, tell a teacher and tell your parents. It won't stop unless you do. It can be hard to do this so if you don't feel you can do it in person it might be easier to write a note to your parents explaining how you feel, or perhaps confide in someone outside the immediate family, like a grandparent, aunt, uncle or cousin and ask them to help you tell your parents what's going on. For more details on the Coventry Jets and to find out how you can be part of their 2011 campaign, please visit their website www.covjets.com or follow them on Twitter www.twitter.com/CoventryJets.