1393 days ago

New Football Club for Girls Panmure, Auckland

Caryn Wilkinson Reporter from Community News

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.

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More messages from your neighbours
1 day ago

Worst Xmas ever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.

Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...

Share your Christmas mishaps below!

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13 days ago

⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️

The Team from SPCA New Zealand

It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:

👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️

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5 days ago

Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.

If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?

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Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
  • 61.8% Summer
    61.8% Complete
  • 36.6% Winter
    36.6% Complete
  • 1.6% Other - I'll share below
    1.6% Complete
1344 votes