With the silver medal that we won at the Olympic Games in Bejing 2008, we gave up being anonymous and became the center of Spanish attention for a couple of weeks. It was a wonderful experience; we attended many ceremonies to celebrate this historic performance by the Spanish hockey team. But now every single player of the team has continued with his studies and/or job. Life has returned to normal.

A few years before our medal I came to The Netherlands to play professional field hockey. Although my sport career as a player is still alive, I know that hockey will not be everything my entire life, and that is the reason why I want to build a better professional future.

I felt that I was on the right track, doing this study. When you are a player, one of the best things you can do is balance your sports with a study, if you have the chance. It is a smart investment for your future. I did the International Master in Sport Management (MISM). I also helped out at the Johan Cruyff Institute for Sport Studies in Amsterdam, to facilitate the translation of Spanish programs to the Dutch environment.

To conclude I enjoyed living in Holland, which I consider to be a modern and liberal country. It is also an excellent place to improve your professional training. With this package (sport, study and job) I felt I was growing, not only as a player, but also as a person. It's important to have an academic and vocational training to be prepared when my sport career as a hockey player ends.