In Depth with
Merel

I'm the middle sibling of Ad and Annemieke's. Tessel, Sanne, and I grew up in Amsterdam. Sports are in our blood. The small age difference between me and my sisters contributed to our elite sports mentality. We wanted to beat each other in every game of basketball, soccer, or tennis. That's how Tessel and Sanne became Dutch basketball champions multiple times, and Tessel later played for the Dutch 7s rugby team. Our family is very close, and we give each other the world, except when we're playing a game, then it's war. 

As a football player, I never stopped studying. I earned my pre-university education (VWO) diploma at Fons Vitae in Amsterdam. I then earned my bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Alabama. Once back in the Netherlands, I re-educated in Psychology at the Open University. In August 2024 I was accepted at Harvard University for a certificate in Business, which I finished doing so becoming the best in over 70+ students. Psychology, business and football are inextricably linked. Not only on an individual level, but certainly also within a team context. What similarities exist between a top-level sports team and a corporate team, and how can we create a top-level sports culture in the corporate world? And what can a sports team learn from the corporate world? I am currently developing a leadership method for football coaches based on psychology and my experiences as a player. My goal is to create a new coaching style for the future coaches in the world. 

I both played football and basketball until I 16 years old. I played for SC Buitenveldert and for Mosquitos in Amsterdam. I made it to the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association) and NBB (Dutch Football Association) national teams. The higher the level, the more training I had to do, and at a certain point, that became too much. I had to make a choice. It was football. Sanne chose basketball, as did my sister Tessel.

Living abroad teaches you how much of who you are was shaped by habit, not choice. When everything is unfamiliar, the language, the food, the way people queue or joke, you start noticing your own instincts more clearly. You learn patience, because things take longer. Humility, because you’re often wrong. Curiosity, because it’s the only way to survive without shrinking.

It also teaches empathy. Being the outsider makes you kinder to outsiders everywhere. You learn that there isn’t one “normal” way to live, just many ways that make sense in their own context. Somewhere between missing home and building a new one, you grow more flexible, more self-aware, and quietly more confident.