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Maddy Lawrence

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Maddy Lawrence:

Maddy herself is a prime example of a girl whose mental health was helped by rugby. Maddy was a sporty child, she was fast and brave and participated in the sports offered at school but never felt a natural fit amongst the team. She was kind and loved fiercely, she was beautiful and bold, she was fun and full of joy but somehow struggled to find balanced friendships during her school days.  A struggle which affected Maddy’s mental health adding challenge to her teenage years. Never one to give up, on joining University as a fresher she did not shy away from new opportunities.  The UWE women’s rugby team were looking for new members and being open to trying, Maddy went for it.

Here, at last, she found her people. They welcomed Maddy for all of her, no edits required, no stereotyped expectation. 

She had a physical and mental outlet for her everyday stresses, her phone and with it all the pressures of social media and fractious friendships were dumped in a bag and literally left on the sidelines.  

Something clicked when Maddy joined the rugby club, she believed again that being her true self was not just enough, but it was all that mattered.  When bad days came along it was okay because it wouldn’t be long before a teammate would scoop her up and thrash it out, and nothing seemed so bad after 90 minutes of exercise and camaraderie. As an independent young woman away at university we could not fully understand the power of the rugby family she had made until we lost her. On the day of her memorial whole coaches were needed to bus in true friends; heartbroken alongside family, they filled a church, village hall and huge marquee with stories of a girl who had found her mojo.

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