DOM Akuei doesn’t consider himself to be a patient person. That’s part and parcel of being a professional athlete.

It’s something which he’s had to learn over time, as he enters pre-season number three as a Carlton footballer. Even saying that raises Akuei’s eyebrows.

“It does feel weird to say that. Time flies.”

Ever since being selected as a Category B rookie, becoming the first graduate of the Carlton Academy, Akuei has grown up at IKON Park.

As he put it, it’s hard not to in the football world.

Since day one, it’s always been about development for the 21-year-old — both in and away from the game.

“Football doesn’t just teach you things on the field, you learn things off the field as well. You mature, you understand yourself better,” Akuei said.

“I don’t just want to add to who I am as a footballer, but I want to add other aspects to who Dom is and how people perceive me. I have a couple of hobbies on the side that I want to develop, and develop my character as a person.”

One of those hobbies that Akuei has picked up is fuelling his great passion away from football.

“I’ve picked up playing the piano, I’m six months into that now. I’ve wanted to do it for years: I’ve always loved music, I listen to hours and hours of it.

“To be able to play it and hopefully - down the line - be able to produce some of my own music, it’s something I find inspiring and something I’ve got the passion for.”

Akuei’s musical taste is vast. He didn’t want to commit to nailing down his top three musical influences of all time, but he did reveal that he’s currently listening to “a bit of Wu Tang” while he’ll back himself with No One by Alicia Keys on the piano.

And, weirdly or not, he can see a fair few similarities in learning the piano to his football craft. 

That’s where that aforementioned patience comes into it.

“I’ve had to learn to be patient. I feel like I’m not as patient as I should be, because you put timelines on things and when it doesn’t happen, it can set you back. 

“It’s a life lesson. You always want it now, you want it tomorrow, but sometimes it can take weeks or months or years.

“Football and piano — it’s all repetition, it’s drills, it’s hours and hours — it’s very similar. Some of the things my piano teacher says, I’m like ‘I’ve heard this before’! Drills, doing it over and over, it’ll take time, it’ll happen: I hear that every day.”

Does his piano teacher also lecture him about pressure and contest?

“Nah, that’s just a ‘Vossy’ thing.”

There are a few things clear when it comes to the young defender: he’s keeping his options open.

“I’m building. Character building, as some would say. I don’t want to pigeon-hole myself.

“With my football, I’m always looking to get better. My goal is obvious — so I won’t say it! I’m happy but not content: I’m taking one step at a time, appreciating where I am and where I’ve come from.”

Akuei, who cites Adam Saad (“he’s always taking care of me, he’s a man of value”) and Mitch McGovern (“he always has the answers, he’s a great support”) as his big football influences, was always certain that this is what he wanted to do.

Particularly when he was watching on from the grandstands of the MCG, watching his current-day teammates as an unabashed Carlton fan.

“I still remember the days where I’d go to the games and I’d watch some of the players that I’m with now,” he said.

“I play football because I love it. I always imagined myself playing it. I’d tell my friends when they’d ask what I’d be when I was older that I’d be a football player: I believed it.”

What about the piano-playing footballer?

“Not necessarily the piano-playing part back then, but footballer definitely!”