Houda grew up in the Netherlands and she first came into contact with kickboxing at the age of 11.
She soon found out that kickboxing was her passion, Houda trained hard and spend all her time in the gym, training 6 days a week. Due to her passion and perseverance, in 2005, Houda became the Dutch Youth Champion.
At university Houda choose to study Sports Management and Movement.
Houda was inspired as a young girl by her coach – and she wanted to be the inspiration for other young children.
With her knowledge and experience in top-class sports and her social-pedagogical background, Houda knows how to reach girls and get them moving – literally. By sharing her story, Houda makes young people feel relevant and that they are capable of more than they think.
Her mission is to give coaches the tools to make sports more accessible for girls. She believes it is important that every individual can play sports according to their own needs.
Houda is passionate about equality and diversity in sports and has worked with Nike on their “made to play campaign”. Nike's words are clear: children should play. Not just some kids, but all kids. Not just some girls, but all girls, including girls who wear hijab.
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Show notes
Who is Houda
Why sport is her life
Coming from a sporty family
Being inspired by Bruce Lee at 8 years old
Getting into kickboxing at 11
Falling in love with kickboxing
Her journey in kickboxing
Training for her first match
Becoming the Dutch Youth Champion
Becoming more confident
Wanting to prove a girl could fight
Starting to wear the hijab at 14
Going to study sports at college
Being the only girls wearing the hijab
“It was not easy, but I had the power to do it”
Wanting to keep going with the kickboxing
Being in a car accident at 21
Spending a lot of time in recovery
Dealing with the first big disappointment in her life
Having nothing else apart from sports
Trying to figure out what to do next
Working with young girls but wanting to inspire the whole family
Wanting to make a big impact in the world
Having her own personal development program
Working towards lots of goals
Wanting to change the representation of girls and women in the media
Being a teacher of resilience
Giving the children tools to help build resilience
The power of being positive
Wanting children to believe in themselves
Teaching children how to say no
Why you attitude is very important
The power of having a growth mindset
How to deal with negative thoughts
Planting seeds in young minds
Having people believe in you
The pressure on girls to look/act a certain way
Needing the help and support from others
Wanting to educate other coaches
Being inspired by her mum
Being 1 of 6 children
How her parents support her dream
Working with Nike - Made to Play Campaign
Creating a play book for coaches to use to help them work with girls who wear a hijab
Starting a Youtube Channel
The importance of smiling and having fun
“Your start says nothing about your finish”
"If you have a dream and you want to achieve your dream, then you need to work for it and believe in it”
Social Media
Instagram: @loukilihouda
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