Until the final round of league play, Jordy van der Waart was determined to serve out the season as coach of Rotterdam. But the beating in Eindhoven against Oranje-Rood made him change his mind. ‘It didn’t feel like I was the one who could still get this group moving.‘
Because Rotterdam’s fate was already sealed – and the team was doomed to play the playoffs – the game in Eindhoven two and a half weeks ago in fact represented little more than a glorified practice match. Yet the dress rehearsal for the playoffs, in which Nijmegen will be the opponent next weekend, degenerated into a nightmare for the Rotterdammers. After fifteen minutes the damage had already risen to 3-0. After twenty minutes the havoc was complete: 5-1. Rotterdam’s performance was worryingly weak, three weeks before the crucial fight for survival. That the defeat was limited to 6-3 was the only bright spot.
Van der Waart, who had already announced in April that this would be his last season with Rotterdam, watched from the dugout in bewilderment. He no longer recognized his team. ‘Oranje-Rood is of course a fine team. But it is also an opponent against whom we should be able to do something. We did not do that at all,’ observed Van der Waart, who did not leave himself out of the picture. ‘If you are already down 5-1 after twenty minutes, the responsibility also lies with me. Apparently I didn’t manage to hit them the right way.’
It triggered a storm of doubt in him. ‘We were missing a certain conviction. I no longer felt I could hit them the way I could before. Of course you can say that in such a final league game there is a different pressure on those girls. That the result was no longer important for the ranking. But I had no guarantee that things would go better three weeks later in the playoffs.’
Jordy van der Waart stepped down as coach of Rotterdam last week. Photo: Willem Vernes
It didn’t feel like I was the one who could still get this group moving. If you doubt that, then you have to dare to say so, I think Jordy van der Waart
After the painful defeat in Eindhoven, he entered into talks with the club. In it, Van der Waart openly expressed his doubts. ‘I opened up. It didn’t feel like I was the one who could still get this group moving. If you have doubts about that, you have to dare to say so, I think. I have no quarrel with those girls at all, that’s not an issue at all. But I did think: if you still want to force something, maybe now is the right time.
With Jorge Nolte, the club had already determined its successor for next season. But when Van der Waart expressed his doubts, a phone call quickly followed: was Nolte willing to take over the helm immediately? He was. Nolte’s club Leiden also agreed, so the knot was cut.
Van der Waart: ‘I would never just abandon the team. But now I knew: a good replacement is ready. I have a good relationship with Jorge. I begrudge him a team that plays in the big league. I also begrudge the girls themselves staying at the highest level. Jorge knows he can always call me. About the team, about technical matters, about anything that is needed.’
Jorge Nolte is Jordy van der Waart’s replacement on Rotterdam’s bench. Photo: Willem Vernes
Jorge Nolte has the right experience and knows like no other what we need. Board member Koen van der Kaa
Koen van der Kaa, Rotterdam’s top field hockey board member, says he regrets the end of the cooperation with Van der Waart. ‘I am incredibly sad about it, especially because I really appreciate Jordy. I know how much time and energy he put into it. That makes it all the more painful that he did not succeed in making the desired turnaround. I find that sad for him, but also for us as a club. We really had the intention to finish the season together, after he announced his retirement earlier this year. Unfortunately that didn’t work out and I regret that.’
However, he is pleased with Nolte’s willingness. He could easily have said he didn’t want to burn his fingers on it, but chose instead to stick his neck out. ‘Ideally we would have granted him a quiet start, from the beginning of the season. But in this situation we ended up with him anyway. Last year he stepped in last minute with the men of Cartouche. With the women of Bloemendaal he also played in the play-outs. He has the right experience and knows like no other what we need.’
Van der Waart does not yet know whether he will be a spectator along the line this weekend at the duel with Nijmegen. ‘Of course it hurts. It feels like a work of art that isn’t finished. At the same time, it is also nice when someone else throws a new brush over it. And eventually it will end with a good ending. I am convinced of that.’
by Hockey.nl
