Local Life - Wigan - April 2019

14
Soccer Therapy
When Peter Hill lost four of his friends
to suicide within four years, it would
have been easy for him to hold his
hands up and shut the world out.
Instead, following the death of his
best friend in 2014 and three more
close friends in subsequent years,
Peter turned his grief into something
productive and set out on a bike ride
from Wigan to Paris in their memory.
An unconventional venture, sure. But
the ten-day cycle in 2017 attracted
a huge buzz online and helped raise
awareness of suicide prevention –
letting people know that whatever
their circumstances, taking your own life doesn’t
have to be the answer. The cycle took Peter past
landmark stadiums of Europe, including the DW
Stadium in Wigan, Stoke City’s ground, the iconic
Wembley and Stade de France in Saint-Denis – and
that gave Peter an idea.
‘Passing all those stadiums, it hit me that football is
a great way to get men talking to each other while
building confidence,’ Peter said. Sports grounds
are often seen as places where toxic masculinity
is rife, and competition can often turn ugly on the
pitch – but he wanted to change that. ‘It’s definitely
about building men back up and discussing mental
health, which can be a challenging topic to open up
about.’
Pete’s Pedal 2 Paris thus transformed into Place
2 Place FC, with over 35 lads across four teams
meeting up to play at Wigan’s Soccerdome every
Thursday.
In May, Peter wants the project to be bigger than
ever before – so Place 2 Place have hired out the DW
Stadium for a massive charity football match.
‘We’re going to be playing a full 90-minute game on
a real pitch!’ he shared. ‘Our players will be using the
Wigan dressing rooms and heading out in full kit to
a cheering crowd, which is really exciting.’
Along with the match, there’s plenty of family fun
to be had on the day too. There’ll be music played
over the speakers, fantastic prizes to be won in
a raffle, and charity buckets collecting for Talk
First: Place 2 Place’s new sponsor. The Ince-based
charity specialises in family mediation to resolve
conflict and influence positive change, focusing on
improving family life and relationships.
The Place 2 Place Cup match against Geo Athletic
takes place on Sunday, May 12. No tickets are
needed for the event – just turn up on the day and
donate what you can.
For more information about the club, as well as how
to get involved, head to their Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/Place2PlaceFC or call Peter on
07939 346875.