Maya Brady Talks Her ‘Uber Competitive’ Family and ‘Making an Impact on Young Girls’ in Sports (Exclusive)

"It's funny. I try not to be so competitive, but I am," the UCLA softball star, and niece of Tom Brady, tells PEOPLE

Competition runs in Maya Brady's blood.

The UCLA softball star's mom, Maureen Brady, was a pitcher at Fresno State, and her uncle is NFL legend Tom Brady. Still, the 20-year-old athlete says her biggest motivation is to inspire a future generation of female athletes.

"It's funny, I try not to be so competitive, but I am," Brady tells PEOPLE. "My family is uber-competitive. For example, if my mom is playing against one of my little cousins or something, she's still going to be super competitive, and I'm like, 'Mom, relax! He's literally five and it's mini-golf.'"

And yet, Brady says her competitive spirit takes over once she gets in the game — even in mini-golf. "I'll start playing with them and I realize I'm just as competitive as my mom. I try to not keep some things competitive, just because in softball I do get super competitive."

Related: Tom Brady Celebrates Niece Maya Winning PAC-12 Player of the Year: 'LFG'

The UCLA softball star had a chance to show off her competitive spirit during NERFBALL's Battle in the Bubble tournament in Florida. The toy company announced the launch of its official sport, Nerfball, and invited a team of athletes, including Brady, to compete in the inaugural tournament.

Brady says it "was so chaotic but so much fun" to participate in the competition. Kiyan Anthony, whose parents are LaLa and Carmelo Anthony, was among Brady's competitors during the first-ever NERF exhibition game.

"It was almost like giving the blasters to all of us made us go back to our childhoods," Brady tells PEOPLE.

Related: Mallory Swanson Wants to Inspire Fans the Way Serena Williams and Mia Hamm Inspired Her (Exclusive)

Next, Brady will turn her focus to sports academia. After graduating from UCLA's undergraduate program this spring, Brady says she's getting ready to begin earning her master's degree.

"It's called Transformative Leadership and Coaching, and it just kind of looks at the in-depth experience of athletic departments or looking at the philosophies of some of the greatest coaches in sports," she tells PEOPLE.

"I'm super excited. We've had a ton of girls go through the program on my team, and everybody has such great things to say about it and the experience that you get from it," Brady adds.

Beyond her academic and athletic goals, the softball star says she hopes to continue "making an impact on young girls" as a role model.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"I've had girls come up to me and say, 'I'm number seven because of you,' or, 'I play the same position as you.' I just love it because I was in the same boat," says Brady. "I was always kind of in awe of when I would see these players and realize, wow, this is a real person. This isn't just somebody I watch on TV."

Brady reveals that she "was super shy" as a young girl and "never went up to players" she admired, "but I just think it's so cute and it's so nice to know that even though I'm not maybe as televised or I don't play a sport that's as well known, I'm still making an impact on young girls just by doing something that I love and something that I've kind of devoted my life to."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.