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I am a professor in sport management and sociology of sport at Victoria University. Many of my childhood memories involve sport in one way or another: from playing street football (the round ball) and tennis in the Netherlands, and watching Studio Sport on Sunday evenings, to attending my first Feyenoord-Ajax game with my grandfather and my father. I have been playing club football since I was six years old, and today I play futsal in a team made up predominantly of migrants like me. I also continue to enjoy coaching kids in football.
I am a lecturer and researcher in the sociology of sport at Victoria University. I am internationally recognised for my research on sport in contemporary Australian society. Through years of engagement with students I have developed a keen understanding of the experiences, the enormous positives, and some of the persistent negatives, that young women have in sporting contexts from the grass roots to the elite level.
I am a lecturer and researcher in physical education at Victoria University. I migrated to Australia recently and sport has always been a part of my life. I started to play when I was eight years old on the streets in Brazil. We used to play a small-sided soccer game called ‘gol caixote’. The posts were made with flip flops, and the uneven terrain, houses and people passing by made the game even more fun. I grew up playing football and flying kites with friends who lived in favelas (slums in Brazil). I met so many good friends while playing football. I also learned so many values including teamwork, collaboration, and trust.
I am a senior lecturer and researcher in sport and social change at Victoria University and I am a lead researcher on the Change Makers project. I am a kiwi and in my youth I played, coached and managed many sports. I spent countless hours swimming, running and whacking balls. I loved sport and physical activity so much that I undertook a physical education degree at the University of Otago, and my love of sport then coincided with a love of learning and research.
