Dr Lara Andrews—Physical literacy for the next generation

Receiving a scholarship to study and play softball in the United States was the catalyst for a career bringing physical activity and academia together for Dr Lara Andrews, a lecturer in Physical Activity and Wellbeing at Te Hau Kori.

22 August 2023

Lara says that as a bilingual young person who excelled in physical activity, she initially found academic pursuits confusing.

“I didn’t value it [the academic side of school as a young person], I valued being outside where I felt confident and comfortable—so I tried to do as much sport as possible… netball, rugby, touch, basketball, tennis, cross-country, and of course, softball,” Lara says.

As she was finishing high school in Lower Hutt, she received an athletic scholarship from Itawamba Community College in Mississippi that would change her mindset.

When she arrived in the United States on the scholarship Lara made it her mission to be the best softballer she could be, but her coaches told her that in order to play she would also have to do well in school.

“The normal mindset is that if you want to be the best sportsperson you need to train your body, no one had ever told me that you also have to train your brain.

“My ability to do well in the academic space when it became a priority surprised me, and from that I became a better athlete and a better captain.”

Lara went on to gain her Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree and a PhD in Human Development and Family Science at the University of Delaware, while playing Division 1 softball. The focus of her PhD was the associations between parent volunteering in sport and young people’s physical literacy—their enjoyment, motivation, competency, knowledge, and confidence when it comes to being active.

“We need to start sharing with our young people that sport is not a one-dimensional journey, we need to make sure that we're looking after our holistic development along with physical.”

While completing her studies and playing professional in the U.S. National Professional Fastpitch League (NPF), Lara became captain of the national women’s softball team, the NZ White Sox, and joined Te Herenga Waka’s University Recreation Team as the Clubs Manager.

That’s when the University’s newest centre, Te Hau Kori––Centre for Physical Activity and Wellbeing, came to fruition, and provided an ideal avenue to pursue her goals.

“The best part about this mahi is that we have a blank page. This is our chance to engage young people in the workforce for physical activity, we want this to be a pathway for future generations,” she says.

Te Hau Kori is a partnership between Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa and Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. The centre was launched in August 2022, and aims to lead in teaching, research, and policy in physical activity in Aotearoa New Zealand, including workforce capability and development.

Lara has just returned from the Women’s Softball World Cup qualifying round and is now preparing to teach on the University’s new Master of Physical Activity and Hauora in 2024. She says that Te Hau Kori is unique in its offer which combines physical activity and academic pathways.

"It also excites me because there is bicultural learning in this model. We know there’s real value in utilising Mātauranga and Tikanga within our teaching approaches."

Lara is excited to share her love for sport, and the broad opportunities and life experiences it can offer, with students.

“Sport taught me who I am. It taught me what I value, what it takes to work hard, and how to support my teammates along the way. It’s helped build my confidence, self-esteem, resilience. My ability to deal with pressure. Basically, everything that I know about life I’ve learned through sport.”

She is also particularly passionate about seeing more women in sport-related professions, whether they be commentators, referees, or in roles at all levels within sports organisations.

“[The centre is going to give us] an opportunity to deliver and teach things in a different way, drawing from multiple perspectives. And that to me is just gold, because it’s going to allow our next generation of young people, whether they be Māori, or Pasifika, or women and girls in sport, an awesome space for them to be able to learn and contribute to how we build this programme in the future and support the future workforce in the physical activity and sport sector.”