New Football Club for Girls Panmure, Auckland
A new sports club for girls is turning heads in Panmure, Auckland.
Football coach Haley Gleeson said The Football Girls was entering its third week "and the reviews are just fantastic."
The Mt Wellington resident launched the program at Uni Bohemian Club for players aged 5 to 12 years old, some newcomers to the sport.
Helping to train the youngsters are a few 16-year-old girls whom she coached in the past.
"They are wanting to become New Zealand players one day so (it's) great to have them role modelling."
Gleeson said the New Zealand under 17 girls would be signing autographs and starting a mentorship program with the players once Auckland had dropped back to alert level 2.
Naturopath Annaliese Jones would speak to parents about supporting their children through nutrition and pre-puberty.
"A big emphasis on my program is around good mental health.... learning skills to self-regulate," said Gleeson.
Trish Du Temple, who has studied mindfulness in sport, will teach the girls about preparation and stress.
Gleeson said New Zealand was losing its children to suicide, Kiwis tried their best but had to stop being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.
"We need to help them earlier feel a part of something," she said.
"I hope this is the program that can save some lives and make kids feel less alone."
Gleeson said everyone developed in their own time and she wanted to validate and appreciate that in each individual.
"The pressure to compare is a lot and we take that away," she said.
"We want the girls to remember, 'be more you.' We teach girls to learn leadership, show up, ...when its tough, strong back - soft front. "
Natalie Lawerence, NZ Football Ferns Programme and NZ under 20s assistant, said New Zealand had a unique opportunity right now to inspire and retain females in the sport.
"... knowing they will be watching their favourite Football Ferns at a home world cup is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see their role models in action," she said.
"Programmes like The Football Girls are really important to help create a level of excitement for our girls who love playing football."
Go to: Hello@thefootballgirls.co.nz for more information.
LIVE Q&A: Financial well-being with Cat Rikihana
Today (Wednesday) we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with Cat Rikihana who is a financial mentor, educator and financial capability practitioner at Financial Freedom Trust in the Manawatū.
Cat Rikihana (Ngai Tahu) like many financial mentors around Aotearoa, works with individuals, groups and whānau to successfully navigate financial stress and hardship. Mentors work alongside whānau to increase confidence and skills in personal money management and advocate with and for clients. Cat enjoys delivering online and face-to-face workshops which provide opportunities to normalise money conversations and encourages people to make time to consider their financial well-being.
Cat is also an independent financial well-being coach, educator and indigenous life coach at Restore Wellness Network. She is a published writer and currently in the process of writing her first non-fiction book: 'A financial self-care guide for women in Aotearoa.'
She'd love to answer any questions you may have around your budgeting and spending habits, strategies for saving, retirement planning and debt. (Don't be shy, but be mindful about what you disclose!)
↓ Share your questions now and Cat will reply to your comment below ↓
Can you outsmart your neighbours with this riddle?
The more you take away from me, the larger I become. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
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Poll: Have you ever had a scary flight?
A plane flying from Christchurch to Wellington on Sunday had smoke billowing out of the engine and upon landing, passengers had to open the emergency exit and jump out. Have you had any scary flying experiences?
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57.3% Yes!
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42.7% No, it's always been smooth flying
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