WOLVES Iris

General
PLAYING IN SPAIN
She joined Spanish club CE Mediterrani for the 2020/21 season from Dutch-based Polar Bears and said the transfer would help her develop as a player faster. "I thought I was going to play at Polar Bears again until Mediterrani suddenly came my way. I could not pass up that opportunity. I'm also going to play European competition with Mediterrani. It is a wonderful challenge and a great opportunity to develop further. The team, the plans, it all appealed to me, so we quickly agreed. It wasn't that I had to leave, but I think I can now take extra steps faster." (nieuws.nl, 07 Jul 2020; gelderlander.nl, 18 Jul 2020)

CHOOSING EDUCATION
She represented the Dutch national youth teams but chose to start a degree in law and management at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, rather than move into the senior national squad immediately. After completing her degree, a club coach recommended she join the national team, alongside studying for a master's at Erasmus University Rotterdam. "He happened to also work as an assistant for the Dutch team, and saw me play quite often. In 2018, when I was already working on my master's in health law at EUR, the coach of the national team asked me to participate in their training programme. It felt like I had been invited to play for Real Madrid, even though I wasn't even fit to play for Ajax yet. I joined the rest of the team at the European championships, but hardly played. I was one of the older girls and at the same time one of the least experienced players. It was hard in the beginning and felt quite awkward." (erasmusmagazine.nl, 24 Mar 2020)