Sport Sister Podcast

Inspiring girls to play sport: Vicky Molyneux and Natascia Bernardi

Vicky Molyneux has played Rugby League for 25 years and is the Current Captain of Wigan Warriors women. She made her England debut in 2007 and was the first woman to be inducted into the Wigan Warriors Hall of Fame. Natascia Bernardi has been coaching girls football since 2017. She is the Head Coach of QPR U12 Girls and is in a coaching placement at QPR Women's First Team as part of the FA WNL Coaching Programme. Vicky and Natascia join Natalie Doyle to discuss how they were inspired to play sport and how they try to inspire the next generation of girls to do the same. They talk about the importance of positive role models, the impact of social media, and how they utilise their core values when coaching girls. Visit the Sport Sister website to see more about how we support clubs and organisations to increase women's and girls' participation in sport, and to find transcripts of all podcast episodes.   https://sportsister.co.uk/ [https://sportsister.co.uk/] https://www.instagram.com/sportsister_/ [https://www.instagram.com/sportsister_/] https://www.linkedin.com/company/sport-sister/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sport-sister/] https://www.facebook.com/sportsisterltd [https://www.facebook.com/sportsisterltd] https://twitter.com/sportsister_ [https://twitter.com/sportsister_]

Changing perceptions of women in sport: Suzy Wrack and Denise Richmond

Suzy Wrack is a football writer for The Guardian, author of the book A Woman’s Game and the 2023 winner of the best Women’s Sport Journalist award. Denise Richmond is the Chair of Kent FA and the of Southern Counties East Football league.  She is also an FA Club Consultant and a Direct Marketing Director. Suzy and Denise join Natalie Doyle to discuss the progress that has been made in changing perceptions of women in sport, and where work still needs to be done.  They talk about the pros and cons of social media, the importance of improved coverage of women's sport, and the various ways to get involved in working in sport. Visit the Sport Sister website to see more about how we support clubs and organisations to increase women's and girls' participation in sport, and to find transcripts of all podcast episodes.   https://sportsister.co.uk/ [https://sportsister.co.uk/] https://www.instagram.com/sportsister_/ [https://www.instagram.com/sportsister_/] https://www.linkedin.com/company/sport-sister/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sport-sister/] https://www.facebook.com/sportsisterltd [https://www.facebook.com/sportsisterltd] https://twitter.com/sportsister_ [https://twitter.com/sportsister_]

Women on sports boards: Kelly Simmons and Josie McNamara

Kelly Simmons is a world leader in football with over 30 years experience.  Kelly was formerly the Director of the Women’s Professional Game for the FA, where she led the transformation of the women’s professional game in England into one the world’s leading domestic systems.  She is now a consultant and a Non-Exectuvie Director of Women in Football.   Josie McNamara is the General Manager of Northern Powerhouse Boxing Academy, which is run by an all-female board of Directors.  With a background in snowsports, Josie now works hard to provide a welcoming space for women and girls to pursue boxing for well-being, not just competition.   Kelly and Josie join Natalie Doyle to discuss the importance of having women on sports boards.  They discuss their own experiences on boards and working with boards, changes that have been made so far and where there is still work to do.  They talk about the importance of a good Chair, of mentors and shadowing programmes, and of creating an environment where women feel comfortable coming into Non-Executive Director positions. Visit the Sport Sister website to see more about how we support clubs and organisations to increase women's and girls' participation in sport, and to find transcripts of all podcast episodes.   https://sportsister.co.uk/ [https://sportsister.co.uk/] https://www.instagram.com/sportsister_/ [https://www.instagram.com/sportsister_/] https://www.linkedin.com/company/sport-sister/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sport-sister/] https://www.facebook.com/sportsisterltd [https://www.facebook.com/sportsisterltd] https://twitter.com/sportsister_ [https://twitter.com/sportsister_]

Developing life skills through sport: Donna Fraser and Sarah Browning

Donna Fraser is a 4x Olympian and former 400m sprinter for Great Britain, with a successful athletics career which spanned over 20 years and has a host of European, Commonwealth and World medals. She now works as an international speaker, strategist, and charity ambassador, dedicating much of her time to working in Business, Sport, and the charity sector to inspire and embed inclusive and diverse cultures. Sarah Browning founded the Time for Kindness programme to encourage people to ‘see kind’ and teach them to make noticing it a habit. She also works as a communications consultant for organisations with visions of a kind world, and is  mum to a 16-year-old daughter who has been playing football for more than a decade.   Donna and Sarah join Natalie Doyle to discuss the many life skills that can be developed through sport.  They talk about how this has impacted their lives and the lives of people around them, why these skills are so important for women and girls, and give advice on how to support the development of these skills in young people. In the episode we discussed the work that some clubs do around encouraging young people into volunteering.  Here's a link to a great example: https://www.essexfa.com/news/2021/dec/14/tigers-jfc-london-sport-award  [https://www.essexfa.com/news/2021/dec/14/tigers-jfc-london-sport-award] Visit the Sport Sister website to see more about how we support clubs and organisations to increase women's and girls' participation in sport, and to find transcripts of all podcast episodes.   https://sportsister.co.uk/ [https://sportsister.co.uk/] https://www.instagram.com/sportsister_/ [https://www.instagram.com/sportsister_/] https://www.linkedin.com/company/sport-sister/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sport-sister/] https://www.facebook.com/sportsisterltd [https://www.facebook.com/sportsisterltd] https://twitter.com/sportsister_ [https://twitter.com/sportsister_]

Young people in sport: Natalie Curtis and Lydia Shale

Lydia Shale is a final year Sports Science and Physiology student at the University of Leeds.  She is also a football coach for the university women’s teams, a local grassroots women’s team, and Leeds United Foundation. She has also previously spent two seasons on the FA National Youth Council.  Natalie Curtis is Head of Academy at Women’s Championship side, London City Lionesses.  She has also previously held roles at Sports Connect and Kent FA. Lydia and Natalie join Natalie Doyle to discuss young people in sport - how to capture feedback from the young people you're working with and how to involve them in decision making.  They also discuss the differences between coaching boys and girls, how to show young people the opportunities for careers in sport, and some great tips to implement in both grassroots and elite environments. Here are some links to some of the resources discussed in the episode: * The Female Body Bible from Well HQ - https://amzn.eu/d/2pavcnZ [https://amzn.eu/d/2pavcnZ] * The FA National Youth Council - https://www.instagram.com/thefa_nyc and https://x.com/TheFA_NYC [https://x.com/TheFA_NYC?s=20] * How to make your facilities welcoming for women and girls - https://sportsister.co.uk/how-to-make-your-facilities-welcoming-for-women-and-girls [https://sportsister.co.uk/how-to-make-your-facilities-welcoming-for-women-and-girls]   Visit the Sport Sister website to see more about how we support clubs and organisations to increase women's and girls' participation in sport, and to find transcripts of all podcast episodes.   https://sportsister.co.uk/ [https://sportsister.co.uk/] https://www.instagram.com/sportsister_/ [https://www.instagram.com/sportsister_/] https://www.linkedin.com/company/sport-sister/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sport-sister/] https://www.facebook.com/sportsisterltd [https://www.facebook.com/sportsisterltd] https://twitter.com/sportsister_ [https://twitter.com/sportsister_]