Girls soccer league on cards
Taupo’s football club are considering running a new summer soccer league for girls following the great interest in a recent skills night.
At the Girls Football Festival on Tuesday evening, 28 girls between the ages of 5 and 12 years showed off their fancy footwork in drills, challenges and small games.
Kelly Taylor, the female convenor at Taupo AFC, said the evening generated a lot of interest in the winter sport,.
‘‘Plenty came up and asked how they could play soccer in summer, instead of waiting next year,’’ she said.
‘‘So, we want to offer a summer league just for girls.’’
This year then, pending interest, the club will run a league for girls aged 7-9 years old and a league for girls aged 10-12 years old.
The leagues will run in parallel to any mixed leagues that are run for junior players.
‘‘It’ll keep up the skills of the players strong, so they’ll be set for a good winter season,’’ Taylor said.
Having girls-only soccer leagues is important because girls play differently when the boys are gone, the football coach said.
‘‘They’re far more confident. They feel like they have more opportunities and they don’t shy away from trying new techniques. This opens up learning pathways for players, so they can improve their skills and develop faster as players.’’
Because of the interest in socshown cer by girls aged 4-7 years, the club was also looking at holding targeted skills sessions for younger girls.
‘‘We’d like to offer a Skills Active session, which is similar to the First Kicks programme, with fun activities and games,’’ Taylor said.
The Girls Football Festival on Tuesday was part of ‘‘Live Your Goals’’, which is a week that celebrates females of all ages playing football.
The week was organised by the WaiBOP Football Federation, with local activities coordinated by the Taupo Associated Football Club.
* Whether your child attended the Girls Football Festival or not, please register your child’s interest in a girls summer football league by emailing taupojuniorfootball@gmail.com.