Can you tell us a little bit about Footy Pups? What can we expect to see in the series?
Footy Pups is a football show aimed at 3-6 year old children. The series is all about getting children active and teaching different skills, which are transferable to all sports.
The Footy Pups are a team of animated dogs, you’ll meet Rozzie, Benny, Geraldine, Rex and Pickles – who will not only make your little ones laugh but also teach them some invaluable lessons.
As a professional player yourself, why did you particularly want to get involved with training children and introducing them to football and healthy living?
I think it’s really important that children get involved in sports from a young age – there are loads of life skills you can learn from sport. For example, in the Footy Pups series, we’ve talked about topics like being honest, concentrating, warming up safely, and following instructions, to name just a few. I think it’s safe to say all these lessons can be applied both on and off the pitch.
Why do you think it’s so important for little ones to do sports and physical activities while they’re very young?
Whilst it’s fantastic for people to get involved with sports at any age, it can really make a difference to someone’s life if they start learning to do things like work as a team, listen carefully and play by the rules from an early age. It also helps children to generally have a positive attitude towards exercise as they grow up.
Were you yourself involved with sport from an early age?
Yes, definitely! I used to play with my older brother and his friends at our local park. I actually ed a boys’ football team when I was 8 – I was old enough to be in a team but I wasn’t allowed to because I was a girl. I was so ionate about the game that I cut my hair off, called myself Ray and dressed as a boy. The team manager knew, of course, and would cover for me, but one day we played a team which had a boy from my school in it, and he recognised me and blew my cover!
Was playing sport something you shared with your family, or were you the only athlete in the house? How did your family your career when you were little?
My mum was very ive taking me to games and training; she would take me on the bus or train to get there. My brother was also into sport – we both used to run for the Highgate Harriers.
What can parents and carers do to encourage their pre-schoolers to get active?
Encourage children to make up their own games and try lots of different types of sports; for instance as a child I loved jogging and swimming as well as football. From there, the child can decide for themselves which one they want to pursue – they shouldn’t be pushed as it’ll only put them off!
I understand that it’s sometimes difficult to know where to start playing sport with your little one (especially if you’re not sporty yourself) but all you really need is a ball and somewhere to kick it around. We’ve designed some fact sheets which will be able from the CBeebies website during the series and are packed with ideas for fun, sporty activities you can do together.
What do you hope children themselves will get from watching Footy Pups?
That they’ll be inspired to try out the different skills, and that it’ll help them to lead a sporty life. Hopefully they’ll also fall in love with the Footy Pups characters and get an insight into the different messages we are trying to get across.
What do your teammates think about you making a CBeebies series?
They think it’s a good idea. We all know how important it is to try and inspire children to have a go at something sporty.
Find out more about Footy Pups
Get active as a family with BBC Get Inspired
