Sportlight: Football.
Photo credit: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
Billie wants to shine the ‘sportlight’ on the incredible sportswomen - of all levels and disciplines - that we have around Aotearoa.
We hope that by sharing the love these amazing wahine have for their sports, you might be able to discover a love for them yourself.
This week we chat to 17 year-old Football Fern, Milly Clegg.
How did you get involved in football?
My brothers played and we had a goal In our front yard where we spent heaps of time shooting goals so I just followed my older brother into football.
How many years have you been involved?
I started playing when I was 5, so 12 years - that sounds like a real long time.
What made you want to keep pursuing it?
I played heaps of sports growing up like surf lifesaving, netball, touch, athletics. But I loved football out of all the other sports that I played as it was so fun.
How accessible is football in New Zealand?
Football’s so good, you can play it anywhere, In a park or beach, all you need is a ball.
What kind of costs are involved in taking part?
If you’re at school, It’s usually a registration fee and some boots, but there are often boots on Trade Me. It’s a bit more expensive to join a club but some clubs give you the uniform to borrow for the season so that’s great.
What kind of equipment is needed to take part?
Just a ball, boots and shin pads.
What’s the most enjoyable part for you?
I love being part of a team as you make good friends on the team and I love scoring goals.
What is the community like in football?
It’s awesome, really welcoming and fun. I’ve made loads of friends through football.
What kind of skills do you learn (i.e ball handling, flexibility)?
Ball skills and coordination and fitness.
What’s the hardest part?
It’s really rough when you get Injuries as you just want to be out playing. I hate not being able to play, so managing niggles and injuries is hard but is really important. Waiting for selection on teams also really hard or being on the bench.
What has been your greatest achievement?
Probably scoring goals at both the Under 20 and Under 17 World Cups last year. The Under20s was In Costa Rica In August then I went to the Under 17s In October In India so It was pretty amazing and pretty crazy.
How do you think football helps you gain important life skills?
I’ve had to learn to be really organised to get my school work done while doing all my football. Last year I had to move from my home town In Auckland to Wellington to play for the Phoenix Football Team, and that was a week before NCEA exams. So I had to sit them at different schools In Wellington. I’ve learnt heaps more about being part of a team and there are lots of tough times which has helped me with resilience and patience.
How would you like to see your sport evolve?
I would love to see heaps and heaps of girls playing football. And it would be great to see heaps more coverage and recognition of the women’s game. That’s why having the World Cup here in New Zealand and Australia is going to be so awesome for all of New Zealand. The football Is going to be amazing and the best players In the world will be here who are so skilful and incredible.
Who is your biggest inspiration in your sport?
Sam Kerr who Is the Australian striker. She scores such great goals and seems to be really humble. Sam is the Australian LEGO Play Unstoppable ambassador, and I’m one of the New Zealand ambassadors for their new campaign, so being alongside her for an epic campaign like Play Unstoppable feels like a dream come true!
What goals do you have for your next sporting season?
Keep getting better, score lots of goals and help my team win games.
Why should young girls get involved in football?
It’s fun, you make lots of friends and there are lots of cool opportunities. And It’s really easy to play when you are little, all you have to do Is kick a ball In the right direction!!! I have recently teamed up on a really cool campaign with LEGO NZ called Play Unstoppable which encourages girls to play without boundaries and challenge gender stereotypes, which is amazing to see!
If someone was interested in trying football, how should they go about it?
Try and join a fun team at school where you can just learn the basics while playing with your friends or otherwise look up your local club and most clubs have girls teams and are always wanting more girls to come and play. Club football Is a great way to meet new friends from outside of school.
Describe your sport in three words.
Skilful, fast and competitive.
