265. Thriving in Chaos: Merel van Dongen on Embracing Change, Motherhood & the Mindset Shift That Changed Everything

The SoccerGirl Podcast

SoccerGirl

Sports

5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 June 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on the SoccerGrlProbs Podcast, we sit down with Dutch international and current Liga MX Femenil defender Merel van Dongen for a raw and inspiring conversation about what it means to thrive in chaos. From shattering her nose mid-season to becoming a new mom, bouncing between countries, and qualifying for UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 with the Netherlands—Merel has lived five years in one.

We talk about her time setting assist records at Alabama, the emotional attachment to winning and losing, and the mindset shift that helped her stop obsessing over outcomes and start focusing on what she can control.

“I love not knowing what’s going to happen on Monday,” Merel tells us. “For some people that’s stressful—for me, that’s living.”

Whether you’re an athlete, a new parent, or just someone trying to stay grounded in a whirlwind of change, this episode will hit home.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Talker, because you know we got some problems
0:04.0	So you don't know where we're talking how to solve them
0:06.0	We may laugh, we might be your game
0:09.0	Is miss and peace
0:16.0	Hi, how are you?
0:18.0	Good, really good.
0:20.0	What time is it?
0:21.1	Where are you now?
0:22.7	I'm in Monterey, Mexico.
0:25.0	It's one in the afternoon.
0:27.6	Okay.
0:29.0	And I'm really, really glad I can be in your podcast, guys.
0:35.0	Thank you for me.
0:35.6	Yeah.
0:35.8	Thanks for fitting us in.
0:36.9	We know you're super busy, so we appreciate it. We will dive right in. We know you're a mom now. Congrats. That's so exciting. Yes. Sounds crazy still. Yeah. How is mom life? It's been very interesting, amazing, but also I've been traveling back and forth to Spain in Mexico because my wife and child are in Spain and I'm in Mexico.
0:58.0	Oh wow, that's hard.
0:59.0	Yeah, but they're coming next week for good.
1:02.0	Oh, cool.
1:03.0	One more week without them.
1:05.0	When she was giving birth, I was there for three weeks.
1:07.0	Then I went back, played three games, broke my nose, went back for 10 days.
	...

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