I have such strong memories of my time playing sport at school. Sport was everything for me as a child as it was the only thing I felt I was good at. 

As a reflect now, I still picture myself in a classroom looking out on the hockey pitches, the netball courts and the tennis courts wishing I could get out there and run around.

What I found back then was that I was unusual in having that attitude to sport. When it came to getting our kit on, some of the girls were very disinterested in getting involved in sport and they didn't think it was cool to be enthusiastic about sport. 

They would give the PE teacher quite a hard time and I was trying to take up every position and run around the pitch. I remember girls stood there with their arms folded and they didn't want any part of sport, it wasn't their thing. They were interested in schoolwork, arts or music and I felt I was alone in loving sport.

It feels like times have changed a little for girls, but there are issues in the modern world that could drag children away from sport. 

I have three kids of my own and I was so encouraged when I saw some of the girls sports at schools my kids went to. Hockey, netball and athletics were being promoted and it felt like the success some of the GB athletes had enjoyed in the recent Olympic Games had changed a few attitudes and the enthusiasm levels were lifted noticeably from my experience at school.

Having more star names and role models in female sports will help young girls feel comfortable with trying to follow in their footsteps and that's why a hero like Jessica Ennis has been so important for a sporting generation in our country.

I also feel there is more interest and awareness around health and fitness and food issues than we had in my time at school. We have more information about what is good to have in a diet and young people are engaged in what is good for them.

What we need is parents to encourage their kids as much as possible to get into sport. I played tennis and have introduced the sport to my children, but we need more Mums and Dads out there to promote sport as an important part of a child's education and development. 

The challenge in the modern world is getting kids away from social media, YouTube and whatever else they are watching and ensuring that they find time in their week for sport and healthy activity. 

Everywhere you look, all we see is kids looking down at their phones and I wonder whether they will have neck problems at some point. It's a big problem as they are not taking part in physical activity and I am not just talking about my sport of tennis. We need to get parents involved in sport and they will then encourage their kids to take part.

We also need to promote social sport and not focus on trying to find the next Andy Murray or the next Wimbledon champion. 

I always feel we need to be realistic when setting our expectations. When someone picks up a paint brush for the first time, they don't expect to be Picasso and some people like to sit in a deckchair and paint the landscape just to enjoy it. Tennis can learn from that. It should also be a social sport, playing with your friends and taking something position from it.

Sport can be such a wonderful way to meet new people, get fit and add something wonderful to your life, so we need to make sure our children do not miss out because they would rather play on their phones than take to a tennis court.

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