"I used to watch from the stands and now I'm playing on the field" - Dominik Chong Qui, Atlanta's Newest Homegrown

Another young left back is already making waves in Atlanta United. From season ticket holder to starting in his first MLS game with ten Five Stripes, the future is bright for the Alpharetta native. 

Dominik Chong Qui was signed to a Homegrown deal last Friday and will run through the 2028 MLS season with an option for 2029. He broke through last season with Atlanta United 2 and hasn’t stopped. Jason Longshore and Madison Crews chatted with the 17-year-old to talk about the his new contract and what it means to wear the crest!

This has been a whirlwind year for you. You know, we knew you had signed a 2's contract. Excited to see you progress from last season with the twos whole preseason with the first team, and then getting opportunities in Major League soccer. Just how have you handled all of the demands on your time and on your game?

I just try to be as physically ready and mentally ready as I possibly can. Stay away from injuries, always doing injury rehab, prehab. Mentally, I meditate sometimes. Positive self affirmations. I do that, and I just try to be as positive to myself because normally, I can be really hard on myself about anything that happens. So, I've been trying to steer clear of that being as positive to myself as possible.

How did you come into that with meditation as something that would help you as a soccer player?

My mom. She meditates in the morning. She told me that I that I should start because it helps calm her nerves helps ease her, and I've just picked up on that.

I wanna talk about your time with the US Youth National Team. When you got the call up, what was your initial reaction? What was going through your mind?

I was super excited because the last time I was called up prior to that was October 2023, so like two years ago, a year and a half. I was really excited. I called my mom because she sent a screenshot to me and my agent. I called her and I was happy because that was my first time leaving the country, outside of Canada, like leaving the country. So, I was really excited about the opportunity that I was, that was being granted to me.

What's it like to have a support system like your mom has been to you throughout all of your years and getting to have her by your side as well?

It's great because she's always there. She can be hard on me sometimes, but I just know it's for the greater good of my career. She's really positive too, though. She could be hard, but she could be really positive. She's my number one supporter and I'm really happy to have a great source like that.

You played at UFA before coming to Atlanta United. How much did UFA and the coaches there help you?

They helped me a lot with my confidence. I used to be a striker, winger, and there, I got moved to left wing back. I was still attacking, but I was also becoming part defender. I was working on that and I'm really thankful for all my coaches there. Coach Robin, Coach Stan, Coach Velko, they really helped me push through the challenges, the rocky roads, everything. They saw what I didn't see at the time because I like scoring obviously, but, you know, they taught me not to focus on so much myself, but focus on the team scoring as a whole. I'm really thankful for that.

I remember first seeing you with the U-16s in that MLS Next Cup run, and when you broke into the 2's last year, I think the biggest jump that I noticed in your game was the defending. It felt like you had grown physically, but also grown as a defender so much in that period of time. How hard is it to work on that aspect of your game, knowing you love to get forward and impact that side?

It's hard. It's was pretty hard because you get so caught going forward that it's hard to leave your center backs back there by themselves. It's just the fact of me realizing that I'm a defender now and it's part of my game to help defend the goal and to stay back with the center backs, or I could go forward still if my other fullback is coming in. It's just been working on that and working on using my speed and my physicality, not just to go forward, but to come back and defend the goal as well.

When you broke through [ with the 2's] last season, what were some of the biggest things you learned from Steve Cooke and his coaching staff?

He taught me how to defend properly. He taught me so many things about defending. I'm really thankful because he helped me use my physicality not just to go forward, but to come back. He helped me know that I put my body on them if they're running at you, put your body on him He just helped me a lot.

One thing that sticks out to me that we talked about too is your confidence when you're out there. Sometimes in MLS Next Pro and other games, you're going up against players who are a little bit older than you, but it doesn't phase you at all. How do you building that confidence on the field as well, but also just having the confidence to take those steps to try different things and be confident when you're out there?

I used to use that as an excuse that they were older than me, but then I realized that once you take steps to the next level, everybody's gonna be older than you when you're 17. I just work really hard to sharpen all my tools and just know that I'm not say better, but like more well prepared than they are and more eager to win the game than they are, more hungry.

You mentioned the mental side of the game a few times and it's always interesting to me because it feels like something that comes to a lot of players later in their career. Is it something that just kind of came to you naturally? Is it from your mom, is it coaches?

I used to be in my head a lot. When I would play, when I make a mistake, I'd be in my head. My mom got me a mentor from Beyond Goals Mentoring, Greg Garza. He was my mentor, so he helped me come with a lot of ways to upgrade the mental side of my game and I'm really thankful for him too.

It's really cool that you're kind of the next left back here at Atlanta United. Greg was the first left back here at Atlanta United, and you know, you're gonna get questions about George Bellow and Caleb Wiley being two who have gone on and succeeded. Does that mean something to you? Does it like add extra pressure? Is it something that's just kind of cool?

It does add a little bit of pressure to try to live up to those standards, but I just try to keep to myself, focus on the work, put my head down and just try to steer clear of what they're saying about me, especially the bad. I just try to think about what I can do to better myself and put myself in the best possible scenario to be the best player.

I wanna go back to something that Ronny [Deila] said. After that match when you stepped up, you were starting maybe 15 minutes before you actually got out there as well. What does it mean to have Ronny come out and say that he believes in you and has faith in you, and also have trust in you to put you out there and get the job done?

"It means a lot to me, actually. He's always so positive and helps me a lot, so I'm really thankful that he thought that highly of me and gave me the opportunity to play for my team. My childhood team, I used to watch from the stands and now I'm playing on the field is really crazy how fast things can jump.

We talk about all the time, especially with the homegrowns and with players that come through the academy all the way through. What does it mean to you to wear the badge for Atlanta United?

It really, it really means everything because I was a season ticket holder the very first year. I got them for my birthday. My mom gave them to me, so I've been attached to the club ever since. It means the world to me to represent the club that I've supported since they first came out since I was a kid.

I know the club takes the process really seriously with guys coming from academy to second team to first team. I think Matt Lawrey plays a really big role in that. How has he helped you in your transitions from academy to second team and then second team to first team?

He's helped me so much. We do video all the time. He helps me there. He pulls me aside, helps me do this, helps me do that. Helps me in every aspect of my game, my positioning, my defending, my attacking, and I'm really thankful to have a coach that cares that much about me in my development around me. I'm really, really thankful for it.

Listen to the full interview with DCQ on SDH Network's YouTube Channel!