Joey van Walstijn can hardly believe it. The goalkeeper was very close to a unique achievement with HDM. On Sunday, the people of The Hague lost the European Cup Indoor final in Vienna to Harvestehuder from Hamburg (6-6, after shoot-outs). It was the end of a bizarre winter for the goalkeeper, who lost the competition on the field in the first half of the season.
It’s Monday, late afternoon. Van Walstijn drives with his parents and wife on the Austrian highway. The destination is Salzburg. “I haven’t looked back at a single moment,” says the goalkeeper. ‘That’s not on principle. Moreover, the images are still in my head. I’ve already played that movie a hundred times. Constantly asking the same question. What if…?’
‘What if I had waited a little longer for a Haverstehuder goal? What if we had made that one chance at 7-6? What if I had been just a little lower in the first shoot-out? And the last one had just made the corner a little smaller? So those kinds of questions.’
After the lost final, the goalkeeper couldn’t keep it dry. This is due to a feeling of sadness and powerlessness. ‘No offense intended, but I’m just good at shoot-outs. I know that I can add value to my team in this regard. Then you disappoint yourself a bit if you don’t stop one. Even though they were taken perfectly. I would have loved to have done better for the boys. That feeling hurt.’
From Oman, via the National Championships, to Vienna
HDM reached the European indoor finals once before – in 2012. But then they lost big (7-3) to Der Club an der Alster, also from Hamburg. ‘This was unique. I have been playing with HDM in the hall for ten years. But we have never reached such a high level. We were as good as the world’s best. Because yes, those are those guys from Harvestehuder.’
‘That was all because we put everything into indoor hockey for five days. We played together and were adults. Let us not be distracted by opponents, referees or peripheral matters, because that is where things sometimes go wrong for us.’ He heads in the cross himself. ‘Indeed, also against Voordaan in the semi-final of the National Championship. Things didn’t work out, we got frustrated and that meant we couldn’t get into our game at all.’
In Salzburg, Van Walstijn can recover from a special winter, in which he also played – and won – the Hockey 5s World Cup in Oman. Just like in the European Cup, the goalie was named the best goalkeeper. ‘It was a lot and bizarre. But I’m very happy that I did it that way. Sometimes I had to check whether I had the right shoes or my hall covers. There were days when I trained both in the hall and with the 5s. Two days after I returned from Oman, I was playing goalkeeper in the semi-finals of the National Championships. It’s unbelievable that it all came together like that.’
Second choice: shit squared
He loved it, that hectic pace. The adrenaline, the prizes and also the playing minutes. Because Van Walstijn couldn’t get that on the field. The goalkeeper, who was first choice for seven years, had to settle for a reserve role behind Luis Beckmann, the German who came over from Cartouche. It was a huge blow for the child of the club, who had already promoted twice with HDM.
“You don’t want to know what that does to a person,” it sounds honest. ‘It sucks if you lose your spot. Suddenly it no longer says, with the team with whom you have experienced everything. Of course, I went through it at times in the first months of the season. You start to wonder all kinds of things. Am I still good enough? Can I really still do it?’
A laugh breaks out on the other end of the line. ‘The winter has given me a lot of confidence. It’s very nice when someone tells you that you can still do it, that goalkeeper. So I am very grateful to my winter coaches for that. Those individual prizes were a confirmation for me that I am still on the right track. So now I dare to say it out loud again. Yes, I’m good enough. Good enough for the big league, good enough for HDM. With my passion, motivation and positivity, I will do everything I can to become the first goalkeeper again. And I really believe it can be done.’
When he participates in HDM on Sunday, his first practice match will immediately be a special one. The Hague formation will then play against Bloemendaal, the team of their hall hire Wiegert Schut. ‘That seems like a wonderful way to get back on the field. Did I mention I can’t wait to get into the fight?’
by Hockey.nl
