A Silver Fern and a Football Fern switch sports, inspire next generation of female athletes

Who wins in a football playoff between a Silver Fern and a Football Fern?

Footballer Kate Taylor​, obviously, but not without a fight from netballer Grace Nweke​, who has remarkable command over the ball despite being a professional in a sport where the ball is thrown, not kicked.

It’s an unlikely pairing, but they are united in their belief that young girls should have female role models in the sporting world.

On Saturday, Taylor, 19, and Nweke, 21, with youth empowerment agency Youthtown, held a Nutri-Grain coaching clinic at Avondale Intermediate School, where they hoped to inspire the next generation of women’s sports stars.

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Nweke, who lead the Northern Mystics to a 74-56 win against the Northern Stars in the ANZ Premiership final earlier in June, said the secret to succeeding in pro sports was to chase what you enjoy.

“It’s about that enjoyment, so just playing because you enjoy it, playing for the lessons and experiences with friends.

“If you work hard and you’re good enough, you will get these opportunities.”

For Taylor, who captained the Junior Football Ferns at the 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, it was her inquisitive nature and experience in a wide range of sports that helped her go pro.

“Always be inquisitive and try to learn as much as possible.”

While Nweke had netball shooting legend Irene van Dyk to look up to, Taylor said she wasn’t exposed to many female athletes when young.

“Early days I didn’t really look up to many women in sport, which I think looking back is quite sad … But I definitely looked up to the likes of Dan Carter and Richie McCaw.”

But things are changing, and women’s sport is starting to get more recognition.

“Women are definitely going up the ranks a lot and I think that’s really awesome to see, regardless of what sport it is,” Taylor said.

It’s a funny feeling being for other girls what van Dyk was for her, Nweke said.

“It’s hard to believe. I still feel like … little old me who’s just burst onto the scene, but it’s really cool to be able to inspire other people in this way.”

But she said more work was needed to support the growth of women’s sport, financially but also on a grassroots level, with volunteers to “build the game from the ground up”.

“You’ve got to start somewhere to bring that next generation through.”

Nweke shared her shooting technique – “Hands up, knees drop, bunny ears hop” – with Taylor and the Avondale schoolgirls.

Despite some “hairy” shots to begin with, Nweke was ultimately impressed by Taylor’s shooting skills.

“She got some swishes.”

After a football lesson from Taylor on dribbling, toe tapping and stealing the ball, Nweke and the students – most of whom play netball – quickly became more confident in controlling the ball with their feet.

By the end of the session, the schoolgirls – aged 11 and 12 – said it was good to see a career in sports was possible for women.

“We should have more of this,” Celine Kaimo said.