Confidence is key
One of the main reasons girls say they drop out of sport is ‘lack of confidence’. This includes confidence in their sporting ability and feeling they are not good enough to participate. Being unable to access sport from a young age means some girls fail to fully develop ‘fundamental movement skills’, which include balancing, running and jumping. These are gross motor skills important for daily activities, but also form the building blocks to become skilled in sports.
If boys get a head start by being given more opportunities than girls to develop these skills, it reinforces the narrative that ‘boys are better than girls’ at sport. “Girls confuse this skills gap with a lack of natural ability and develop the mindset that they are not, and never will be, good enough to take part,” the WiS report states.
Tahlia agrees this was a factor in her not enjoying sport in her youth: “One of the barriers for me was my own anxiety around my brother being much better than me at the sports we did play together, which discouraged me from continuing.” Since leaving school and starting university, Tahlia has discovered a love of running by following the Couch to 5K plan. She has learnt you don’t need to be the best as enjoyment is what matters and she…
