Silvia Domínguez: "It affected my career, but I would not change being a mother for anything in the world"

Seven running medals, including three continental golds, one world silver, another Olympic…. The women's team of all wonders ran into a nightmare 2021, was left without going to the last World Championship and changed coach not without controversy. Now, back at a Eurobasket, with Miguel Méndez on the bench, Silvia Domínguez (Montgat, Barcelona, 1987) inherits the captaincy from Laia Palau and the responsibility of leading generational change and continuity in success. This Thursday, debut against Latvia (8:00 p.m., Teledeporte).

After the blur in the Eurobasket in Valencia in 2021, do you have the feeling that this is a start over? We are a growing team. We are excited about this challenge, but with our feet on the ground. It is starting over, yes, knowing that this process of regeneration, change of players and coach, is not a matter of a day. It takes time and work. To achieve everything we achieved in the past, we also came from a previous history. The expectations now, when you bear the name of Spain, are very high. You always want medals, win championships. Within the team the objectives are clear, to go step by step in this first phase. Is the ticket to the Pre-Olympic (first six) the minimum objective? Obviously, we have those six places in mind. It is the goal. Once there, we can think about looking further up the tournament. Do you learn more from medals or from failure? From victory and defeat. Not everything is pretty when you win, there are also many moments of suffering. A shot at the last second that enters, just as in the Eurobasket in Valencia, the free throw that could have put us in the fight for the medals did not enter. Not everything is black or white. Obviously, for those who played that 2021 championship for the first time, it was a sudden learning experience. boom. But those of us who have been here longer already experienced a similar situation in 2011, in that European Championship that left us without the Olympic Games. It is not something that came to us new. First tournament without Lucas Mondelo in many years. Is the change noticeable? Each coach has his style. And it also depends on the players you have. We have lost some in recent years, either because they have withdrawn or because they no longer come. You have to adapt, that's what Miguel is doing. Without Astou Ndour, we also have injuries in the position of four. That leads us to play with a different style, with more versatile players. We have to start from a good defence, grow from behind. How do you see the new generations that are coming to the national team? The difference comes from the flight of talent. They are betting on going to the US and doing their four years of university. And then they have to adapt to the jump to come back and compete with people with more experience.. Compare Raquel Carrera with players her age and see the evolution she has had being surrounded by professional players since she was 17 years old.

Silvia Domínguez, during one of the preparation matches. FEB She made her debut at the age of 16 in the Women's League, where she has already accumulated more than 500 games. It is his eighth Eurobasket, he has won eight medals with Spain.. What is still your driving force? Above all, passion. I wake up every day and think about basketball. And I'm excited. are challenges. As long as that is there, you have the energy to keep pulling. Now I begin to live what may be my last Eurobasket, my last matches with the national team. That is the engine that gives me energy, enjoying what may be the last times. Has women's basketball changed a lot since its inception? Now there are many more of these physiques that impose. More versatile players, with a much greater jumping capacity. It's a game I wouldn't say more attractive but with that different physical point than there was before. And in terms of visibility? In that, a lot. In the national team, before we arrived and trained. Now, first there are photos, interviews, sponsors… All this is a bet that has been made to put us in the spotlight and it is appreciated. In the clubs it also begins to be done. It is very positive. How does your son Yago handle his mother's work? Now with the Eurobasket he asks me about the rivals, about the players we play against, if there are any he might know. You see how he is getting older (he is eight years old). He has been playing for a couple of years now and he is interested in the games, where he can see them. And always give a 'feedback'. 'In that play…'. It's really cool to be able to share all that with him.

Silvia, during a training in Tel Aviv. FEB The concentrations, the trips, is it hard to separate? It is the most complicated. Since May 15 we are preparing. We had two days off in which I have been able to see him. But at the level of conciliation it is always complicated, we were not in cities close to Salamanca and it was difficult to bring him, also with the school. Although in that, both Miguel and the Federation have always given me facilities. The sacrifices we make with conciliation have the reward of playing the Eurobasket, which for me is something very big. As long as he understands it and shares it with me like this, it becomes much more bearable. He was one of the first to denounce that athletes were not protected from maternity. Have you noticed any improvements? There are, but it is true that there may be many more to make everything more feasible. That the fact that a player bets on being a mother before retiring does not mean an extra effort to play again. There are many ways to ensure that family balance does not affect sports performance so much. In men's sports, no one considers that for a player, being a father will affect his sports career.. Apart from the biological issue, which is evident, once the attachment to the child passes, many more facilities can be made for athletes. Find people who can take care of the child so that you can train calmly, so that you can have your hours of rest. It is an individual responsibility, but just as we worry about the nutrition or rest or nutrition of athletes, whoever is a mother can also receive help to make everything easier. When you took the step of becoming a mother, did you have doubts about your career? No you think about the things that can affect until you live it. I would not change it for anything and at the time I did not hesitate. I still think it was the best decision. What affected my performance? Sure. Maybe injuries would have appeared, with fate you never know.