Sport

Early specialisation: Former Silver Fern Marg Foster on having to choose

21:17 pm on 22 March 2020

Two former Silver Ferns, who are both products of playing multiple sports, share their thoughts on the move away from early specialisation.

Dame Noeline Taurua brought Marg Foster in as a specialist coach in 2019 as the Silver Ferns built towards the Netball World Cup. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Sport New Zealand wants a shake-up of youth sport - which turns the focus away from winning at all costs to increased emphasis on fun and development.

It believes young people should be encouraged to play multiple sports, rather than pressured towards early specialisation.

Former Silver Fern Marg Foster played everything she could when she was younger.

And in 1991 Joan Hodson won a World Championship in Touch Rugby, the same year she played in a Netball World Cup final.

Hodson is a dean and PE teacher at Sacred Heart Girls College New Plymouth, while Foster runs sports programmes for young people.

Hodson told RNZ sports reporter Bridget Tunnicliffe that she's all for young people playing lots of different sports.

Interview with Joan Hodson and Marg Foster

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