When did you start playing soccer?
I started with soccer on the age of five
What is your favorite thing about playing soccer?
First the fact that you can only book results together with the team. Second: playing duels with direct opponent
What was your most memorable game experience?
Reaching the semi-final in the EK Finland, 2009
What is something you always have in your soccer bag?
A little yellow duck (my mascot)
What was your most interesting and fun soccer trip and why?
A game against South Africa, just after the apartheid ended. It made a deep impression. I have great respect for Nelson Mandela.
What's your perfect day off?
A free day with my boyfriend. When the weather is fine we like to go to the beach.
Name a sports team other than Sky Blue FC that you can’t live without?
The National team (Netherlands)
What famous person most inspires you?
Nelson Mandela
If you could only eat one food item/meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I think it would be pasta with a good tomato sauce, chicken and pesto.
What's on your workout/pre-game iPod playlist?
Certainly ‘Live’.
Aside from soccer, I'm really good at…
Playing games with friends.
If my parents were describing me, they’d say that I…
Am a perfectionist.
If I were stranded on a deserted island with one of my current Sky Blue FC teammates, I would want to be with…
Christie Rampone.
I want my experience in WPS to be…
To develop myself towards a higher level.
QUICK HITS – List your three favorites:
TV Shows:
1. Sport Show (Dutch channel or ‘Eurosport’)
2. News Show (Dutch channel, sometimes BBC or CNN)
Places to Shop:
1. New York
2. Amsterdam
3. Den Haag (The Hague)
Restaurants:
At this moment I do not have favorite restaurants in the USA. I hope to have them at the end of the season! In the Netherlands, we like to go to a really good Italian restaurant.
Professional Athletes:
1. Inge de Bruin
2. Lance Armstrong
What are the three things you can never be without while traveling?
iPod, laptop, hair gel, passport.
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you want to go and why?
Suriname*. I have worked as a teacher on a school in Amsterdam and a couple of college’s came from Suriname. They told interesting stories. Must be a wonderful country.
*Editors note - Suriname is a country in South Africa
Did you have a childhood pet? What was its name?
No, I didn't.
What was your favorite TV show, movie, and music group?
Music: Michael Jackson and different Dutch bands. But most of the time I played soccer with kids on the street.
What was the first concert you ever attended?
Michael Jacksons (History) in Amsterdam.
What was your favorite Halloween costume that you wore?
In the Netherlands, Halloween is not a party.
What was your dream profession as a child?
Play soccer as a profession.
What was your first job?
Teacher.
What celebrities have your friends told you that you look most like?
Nobody, I think each person is unique
If you had a dinner party, who are the four people you would invite (can be living or dead) and why?
1. Nelson Mandela, to hear about his impressive way from prison to president.
2. Mia Hamm, how to reach the absolute top in woman soccer.
3. Anne Frank, to hear the story behind the book.
4. My boyfriend, Niels.
Surely it took a lot of hard work to get to this level, what motivated you to keep working hard?
The fun of the game and the results!
When it got hard, or you didn’t make the cut what did you do? What advice could you give kids about working hard and overcoming moments like this?
The way to success is never a straight way up. For anyone. Getting through times that are hard, will help you to become better.
When going through school and playing soccer at the same time, how did you fit all the pieces together (soccer, school, social life)
I always kept a strong focus on what I wanted and made choices. I realized you can’t have everything. If you want to reach goals with sport and school you will have to work hard for it.
What advice would you give to a young girl who dreams of playing in WPS one day?
Train hard, do more than expected, but always have fun with the game!