Body issues a crucial factor in girls dropping out of sport

She was a tad surprised I was still playing hockey. At your age, she said. Thanks mum. But agreed there was really no reason to give up as long as my knees were holding out. Which they are. Mostly.

My first memories of hockey involve my mother. She'd drag my sister and I out to her games and we'd join the other kids on the sideline and cheer our mothers on inbetween the mischief we'd occasionally get up to.

Mum was a flyer, the kind of high forward that I still aspire to be, fast and crafty in front of goal. I may have inherited some of my competitiveness from her.

Never in my life has it occurred to me to stop playing sport. It's such an integral part of my life. Sure it's not so much about winning now (oh yes it is), but more about catching up with teammates who've become lifelong friends. Carving out a couple of hours every week where nothing else matters but running around and having a bit of fun.

It makes me sad when I see research about girls dropping out of sport. According to a new survey from Visa and Year 13, the peak age for girls dropping out is 15. Factors such as a perceived lack of role models, body confidence and a conflict with time for study all contribute to their decisions.

Almost a third of girls said they dropped out of sport due to body insecurities. I just wish they all realised how wonderful their 15-year-old bodies are. How fluid and flexible, how strong, how capable they are. I want to tell them they'll reach a point where their bodies won't quite do what they want them to do and that can be really frustrating. Nothing gives you more appreciation of your body than getting through another late night game with a good result.

That's one thing I love about the sport I play. Sure at the top level it's full of exceptional athletes but down the grades there are people of all shapes and sizes and ages. Look at us all go.

READ MORE: KAREN HARDY

It was good to see most of them believed sport could teach them teamwork, resilience, collaboration, discipline and leadership. But only a quarter of them believed sport could help develop skills for the workplace.

I have lost count of the number of times I've told my own children that life is like that when they complain about a teammate. There'll always be that one person in a group assignment, or an office, or at their own child's school, who doesn't pull their weight, who might not even be capable of pulling their weight. Suck it up and work as a team. Sport can teach you so many things.

Sad too that 63 per cent of Australian girls say their family rarely or never watches women's sport. For 70 per cent, neither parent played sport.

In response to the findings, Year13 and Visa have launched an online platform called PlayOn, which will highlight the benefits of playing sport and make role models such as Team Visa athletes Ellie Carpenter from the Australian soccer team, Claudia Bunge from the New Zealand soccer team and Olympic shot putter Dame Valerie Adams more visible and accessible to encourage young girls to stay in sport. There are some great posts about the mental health benefits of sport as well as the physical benefits, about participating on a budget, about how to get back into sport and more.

I was saddened this week to learn of the passing of former Canberran hockey player Marie Larsen. In 2014, The Guiness Book of Records declared Marie the oldest female hockey player in the world. She passed away aged 89. I remember playing against her on several occasions. She was still nimble, dependable, not afraid to go in for tackles nor to occasionally give a bit of chat.

Role models are around if you look for them. If you're a soccer player for example, it might seem impossible to look up to Sam Kerr, maybe check out a local competition instead, where there's a 40-something mother of five still managing to juggle all the balls as well as kick one into the back of the net.

Role models are much easier to find if we look a little closer to home.

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