I am coaching elementary soccer again this year and love working with my daughter Ocean. It is a great way to get to spend time with her and we are making a bond with each other through sports. Yesterday the school teams participated in a futsal (5-a-side soccer) tournament in neighboring Kobe, Japan. The games were moved indoors due to weather but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the day.
Ocean is a pretty good athlete, coordinated with pretty good speed, agility, and strength. She does need to develop “the eye of the tiger” however, and her caring, compassionate personality carries over onto the sports field. Her classmates are similar as they are such a nice, intelligent group of young people, but they do not have a burning passion for a competitive sport. However, they are learning the important things through participating in a team sport. Improving their fundamentals of the game, learning the strategies of the sport, working together and being able to handle winning and losing. These are the important life lessons to experience through team sport and they are all champions in this aspect.
Her team won 1 game and lost three, the last in penalty kicks, but for me and Ocean, the goal of the day was to enjoy each other’s company and the camaraderie of her teammates in a competitive activity. Our season continues all this month and then we wait for baseball in the spring.
Bill's Blog 
Lovely, I think you’ll find that if you continue to support her in the way both you and Nadia are doing so well, her competitive age will develop in time. I know many very kind-hearted women who are fierce competitors. It just takes time for us “ladies” to manoeuvre the treacherous waters of female interaction! Strong women are often misjudged so it is natural for Ocean to begin from what she knows: being a kind and generous team-mate.