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In recent generations, women's sports have been a blessing. Some of us can remember the bad old days in the '50s, when we would discover in casual schoolyard play that a girl could outrun most of us or hold her own in basketball or hit a softball - but there were no teams, no coaches, for girls.

In terms of soccer, it wasn't really a thing that girls did. In England it more kind of Net Ball and Hockey and stuff like that in athletics. It's to each their own, really.

Women's sports is still in its infancy. The beginning of women's sports in the United States started in 1972, with the passage of Title 9 for girls to finally get athletic scholarships.

We all know that girls who compete in sports perform better in school, are physically healthier and have a stronger self-esteem.

I never did any sports at school. It wasn't until I moved to America, to New York, when I was about 20 that I actually thought that if I wanted to be an actress I might have to start working out.

Of course, in our grade school, in those days, there were no organized sports at all. We just went out and ran around the school yard for recess.

If wanted to play a sport, I played a sport. If I wanted to do things that many girls born in 1950 didn't do, I did it.

People in the States used to think that if girls were good at sports their sexuality would be affected.

When all the girls were getting all made up and getting into all that girl stuff in junior high I was out playing softball or touch football with the guys.

Going out and playing football or baseball with the boys, when I was a tomboy, was a great way to learn about winning and losing, and most girls didn't have that experience.