The race against yourself is the hardest. If there is one thing Dominique does the best is to give someone confidence against the hardest critic, YOU. Read on to see how she has dealt with this obstacle with fierce passion.

“My brother and dad played football and because of them, I started playing when I was 4 years old. I loved it straight away. There were no girl teams at our club so I played with the boys.

What I love most about football is the way togetherness works out on the pitch. When you score a goal there is so much happening before the ball hits the back of the net. This is why I appreciate the assist so much.

With my previous club ADO Den Haag, I won the Dutch Cup. This was a special moment because as a team we worked so hard for weeks to prepare. Just before half time, we broke them down with a perfect build up from the back. This resulted in a crucial goal giving us the win. What made it more special was my family being there to witness it. That moment of receiving the medal after the game and sharing it with family is a moment I will never forget.

When I was younger I compared myself too much with other players. I would put myself down. What I have learned over the past years is the only competition you have, is yourself.

It is obviously hard to be away from home but I am living my dream life. Every day I wake up is another day to work on my game and to enjoy being on the pitch. I am aware of the fact that friends of my age work 9 till 5 every day so I feel very lucky that I am able to live this life.

My aim is to be the best I can be every day and be better tomorrow. Be proud of who you are and what you have achieved. Even if there are tough times, if you work hard and try to improve yourself every day it will work out in the end.

The biggest message I would like to bring across is that everyone is running their own race. You are not competing with others, you compete with yourself. It doesn’t matter if other players of the same age have achieved more. It’s about your own journey to improve yourself as a player and person.”

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https://instagram.com/dobruinenberg