[1] Els Commandeur was born in 1941 in the Dutch city of Enschede.

She studied law[2] and was a field hockey player, achieving a position in the Dutch national youth team.

In 1987 she was appointed as the technical delegate for the female field hockey tournament at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

[1] In 2001 she was elected as president of the Federation, with an agenda for renewal of the sport.

[5][6] In 2010 van Breda Vriesman was appointed as Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau for her work as volunteer for field hockey and sports.