3 Sports New Zealanders Should Get More Involved In

New Zealand is a small country which has punched well above its weight on the global sports front but there is potential for the country to show even more of its colours if focus was placed on these sports. 

Why these sports? Because they have quite a high profile on the world's stage and success for New Zealand in these sports would be quite tremendous for the country and bring long-term benefits. 

1.Baseball 

New Zealand has had a great tradition at softball but let's face it softball is a bit of a minority sport on the world front - when was the last time the world champs were held? On the other hand, baseball - a sport so identical to softball they should be the same - has a growing profile worldwide with the world classic becoming more popular. And of course, Major League Baseball is a lucrative arena for baseballers worldwide. I think it's time to channel that talent that has been great at softball here into baseball and perhaps maybe see a few New Zealanders join the Hispanic Americans, Japanese and Koreans plying their trade in the MLB.

2.Handball

Handball is growing fast from its base in continental Europe and is quite a superb sport to play combining the skills of netball, basketball and football. And it is played at the Olympics and looks set to do so for years to come. Even Great Britain have started playing it by choice. I reckon New Zealand could be quite good at handball given that we do have some rather tall men and women and already have the facilities and skills. Handball could also be a great sport to play during the lunch breaks. 

3.Basketball (womens)

I'll be crucified for saying that we should ditch netball for basketball but to be honest, basketball is a far bigger game on the world stage and surprisingly, women's basketball is very much the poor cousin here. There is plenty of potential for women's basketball to take off here and there's also the lucrative WNBA in the USA to consider - certainly more lucrative than the ANZ Championship. And unlike netball, basketball is an Olympic sport for both men and women.