Grief is our normal and natural response to loss. Given the mammoth amount of loss in the sport sector, leaders need to understand and better relate to the deep sorrow that they may experience or to better accompany those that are suffering.
Why is becoming grief and loss literate so important for sport leaders, coaches and athletes? Our current culture is grief-phobic and loss-denying. We do not encourage people to recognize, honour, and express their grief. Too often, athletes, coaches and leaders are encouraged, nay rewarded, for staying stay strong, being stoic, and focusing on the future. This can leave people feeling disenfranchised and needlessly isolated which in turn can lead to unnecessary anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and burn-out. We must do better.
Have a listen to Players’ Own Voice Anastasia Bucsis and Sport Law Partner Dina Bell-Laroche as they explore unexpressed grief and how losses accumulate over their career, creating unnecessary burden and pain.
To better support the sport sector, Dina has been offering this workshop since 2021 with a view of equipping sport leaders with grief and loss essentials. Previous participants have walked away feeling inspired, motivated to address some of the many ways we are denying our pain, and put in place measures to proactively address systemic inequities that contribute to unnecessary suffering.
Workshop Objectives:
- Understanding grief and loss and important thanatological theories
- Understanding the impact of grief and the many ways people cope
- Exploring myths
- Honing your capacity to better support people through loss
- Inspiring change – creating more loss literacy in sport
What’s Included:
- A welcoming learning environment from Dina Bell-Laroche, a Professional International Coaching Federation coach who has extensive training in grief and loss
- A workbook and a list of resources to support your ongoing loss literacy efforts
- Connecting with others who want to learn about grief and loss
- A certificate of completion
The workshop will run from 9AM-5PM EST on ZOOM, on Tuesday, February 28.
Please note the registration fee for this event is $495 + HST.
To register, click here.
For more information on the workshop, please contact 
Dina Bell-Laroche at DBLaroche@sportlaw.ca