The Euros have changed our view of women’s football – quite possibly for ever. Local clubs have seen an 83% increase in requests for tryouts and taster days for girls. So, should we all be thinking about girls and football and if so, how do we go about it?
Let’s start with the reason’s for football for girls.
- Football players are famous for their physical fitness. It’s a sport that improves cardiovascular health, balance and coordination, and mental strength.
- Teamwork matters in football. Children are never too young to learn to socialise, work with their peers and teach collaboration and mutual support. As every Elite Nanny knows, a large part of a nanny’s job is to ensure their charges have varied, stimulating and rewarding social interactions like playdates, and football is a natural way to encourage social skills.
- Learning to learn is key. Children who play football have to work with other children, and learn to listen and respond to coaches; this encourages emotional maturity, give and take, and leadership skills.
- Better academic performance. Playing sport helps children improve in school – and there’s a lot of research to prove it. Both boys and girls find team sports are great way to relieve stress, that they feel more supported in learning if they’re part of a team and that there are transferable skills that they can use academically.
How to help your daughter play football
According to the Football Association just a third of the girls aged five to 18 play football every week, despite it being the most popular team sport in England. Why?
- First, because until recently role models haven’t been that much in evidence, although the Lionesses will be on many a little girl’s bedroom wall now. Parents – and nanny – can help by setting a good example. It doesn’t have to be a team sport but initiatives like #thisgirlcan exist to help every woman find a sport or activity that works for her, and by doing so, giving girls the belief that exercise is for everyone and women’s sports are as important as men’s.
- Second, because football hasn’t been as obviously available for women and girls as it has for men and boys. Football England is setting up new schemes daily to capitalise on the sudden interest in women’s football, and if there isn’t something near you, don’t despair, there’s a lot you can do at home.
Kicking a ball isn’t gender specific. There’s been a tendency for men to play football with kids, rather than women, but that can be changed by just buying a ball and a pair of trainers. You don’t have to be great at football to have a kick-around in the back garden or a park, and if there are a couple of nannies who regularly have play dates together, you can set up a couple of simple games. Soccer drills like dribbling and shooting for goal can be done individually or as a team, while learning to shadow each other and turning on the ball can be done as teams of two or more.
In short, football for girls is good for them and might be a boost to your own health and wellbeing – we can’t all be Lionesses, but we can all kick a ball!
Photo credit: Kampus Production