Photo: RNZ / Tim Brown
By age 14, girls are dropping out of sport at twice the rate of boys, a new study has found.
The study found that in New Zealand, 95 percent of girls aged 11 to 17 aren't active enough, and by 17 they spend 28 percent less time being active than boys.
Sports psychologist Dom Vettise said many girls he has worked with with feel discouraged by failure. He said during puberty there are significant differences between boys and girls.
"Boys experience it as a time of strength whereas girls probably experience it more as a time of being self conscious and as a result try and increase perfectionism and internalise their stress and are really comparing themselves a lot more to others," Vettise told RNZ.
Vettise suggested parents and coaches should focus on effort over outcome, and normalise showing courage during difficult moments.
He said there were also still some societal pressures.
"Sport is still built up to be competitive, and at that age where girls are looking for a place to belong and safe it doesn't quite align, and as a result we see them drop out more than boys.
"It is essential that we see sport as a place to build that confidence, that resilience and that self belonging."
Vettise said girls shouldn't be thinking that it has to be entirely about competition and parents can play their part there also.
"What I've heard from a lot of girls, which is heartbreaking, is that 'my parents love me more when I do better at my sport'. With boys it might be about outcome, but with girls the focus needs to be more about effort over outcome, reinforcing the concept of courage."
He said supporters should also back up the idea that mistakes provide an opportunity to learn.
"Rather than talking about outcome, asking questions about who they enjoyed playing with and what did they learn."
Vettise said it was also important that New Zealand's top female athletes get their message out to girls.
"A lot of their messages are around variety and being confident in themselves and trying a lot of different things."
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