The study published on Wednesday on behalf of the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation confirmed what most of us have known since puberty, that school PE puts many girls off sport, for life!

I also wasn’t a fan of school sports. I could never see the ball in rounders due to long-sightedness. My shot would inevitably end the rally in tennis. My highest netball ranking was playing wing defense for the B team in primary school. My finest javelin throw was about six metres.  But I do remember always trying hard and once getting an A for effort on my school report.

I now run, lift weights, play golf and am getting better at tennis.  When I won a prize for longest drive at my first golf day I cried. When I miss a shot in tennis in spite of tremendous effort I laugh. Hard!

But what I’ve learned coming back to sports as a grown up is that I just need a little more coaching than some.  I can actually sprint pretty well but was never taught anything than just running fast at school.  In fact when hubby got me sprinting for the first time I felt like a gazelle, ‘so that’s what these solid legs are for,’ I thought.

I can’t throw, so it’s taken me forever to get to an acceptable (for me) golfing standard and my tennis serve is pretty special to behold but the key to all of this is that I love it!  I love being outside and I love playing sports, even though I’m not great at it.  I do it for fun and this, for me is something which was fundamentally lacking in my school sports experience.

I now encourage women to get active for a living.  I write about health and fitness, I teach fitness, predominantly Pilates and I married a fit husband. My motivation for doing this is not about massive fat loss, it’s about getting more people active and above all encouraging anyone that contacts me or steps through the class room door.

So forget about P.E.  No one is going to make you step outside in gym knickers and an under-sized T-shirt.  Try something new … you might just like it.