Footy meets mental health: Jack's focus is on more than just the game

In partnership with Toyota.

He boasts a CV worthy of legend status in the hardened country footy circles of south-west Victoria.

As the former president of three clubs in the district - Terang-Mortlake, Kolora-Noorat and Panmure - Jack Kenna has poured his heart into administering the sport for the past four decades.

But it's the intangible contributions the recently retired dairy farmer has made to the game and his clubmates that ultimately define him.

Kenna has been a long-time champion for those struggling with mental health, and believes football clubs play a crucial role in underpinning the wellbeing of country communities.

"You could be milking cows, they could have mastitis, they could be getting lame, you could go to training on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a lot of your mates are in the same boat so you cope with it pretty well because you knew you weren't the only one," Kenna said.

"I've done a lot in that space because I've had trouble with bipolar disorder, which is one of the many mental health disorders.

"We try to help because you know what it's like going through it yourself. It's not as if you're talking blindly to somebody, you're actually talking from experience from what it's like.

"Mental illness is not the end of the world because it can't be. You've got to find a way through it."

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays became foundational pillars Kenna could structure his life around.

"It [football] has helped enormously because it's put me in contact with a lot of people who are vulnerable, and they've been able to help me and I've been able to help them," Kenna said.

"You realise how other people around you are so upset. You've got to put your mind on different assignments and you've got to get your mind thinking about other people than yourselves.

"You think you're never going to recover but you just need that somebody to tap you on the shoulder and say you'll be all right. You've got to outlive a lot of these illnesses."

Kenna didn't play his first game of football until age 14, but had an active childhood as one of 10 children growing up on the family farm.

He took over the farm in 1989 around the time he hung up his footy boots in favour of administration, cutting his teeth behind the scenes as chairman of selectors for Kolora before ultimately taking on more significant committee roles across the region.

Last year he sold the family farm and Kenna no longer sits on a committee, which has allowed the 66-year-old to enjoy football now solely as a spectator.

"It gets to a time where it's good for younger people to take over," Kenna said.

"Every club has their tragedies and triumphs, and you just meet so many good people. And when things really go pear-shaped, all the opposition people, they're there for you too.

"That's the big value in football is what happens when the rain sets in and things get pretty ordinary."

To find out more, head to Toyota's Good for Footy webpage.