Netherlands:

After the anticlimax on their own field against HDM (0-3), the tears of promotion class Leonidas were not too bad. Of course the players already felt the pain of defeat. Reaching the play-offs alone was a feat, considering where they came from after the sudden death of teammate Rosella Lindeman last season.

Smiling, Leonidas players Nina Rondberg and Daphne Groothuis sat next to each other on the penalty bench for the final minutes of the playoffs after both were sent off the field with yellow. Despite falling behind 4-0 (counting the result of the outward game), the atmosphere was jolly. The two players turned to reserve referee Jannick Breunis, who was standing next to them at the match table, and asked him if they could borrow his yellow card. They wanted their picture taken with it. He declined the request, but it said everything about how lighthearted the defeat was taken.

Players did not lie defeated on the floor. Sticks were not thrown furiously into the dugout. The Rotterdammers missed three penalties, but no one felt that promotion had slipped through their fingers. The difference in quality with HDM was simply too big. What prevailed was pride in the season Leonidas had put together.

Departing coach Don Tissen showed no emotion after the loss. His conclusion was crystal clear: his team had been weighed, but found too light. The fact that some players played with a broken toe or hamstring or knee problems did not make the job any easier. I am proud of the girls. Very proud. We played good hockey, but HDM deservedly won. It was very simple: they had to, we could. That was the difference. We gave everything. We leave the field with our heads held high.

The departing coach Don Tissen. Photo: Rob Römer

‘I’m sure she watched us today with a smile’

Big was the difference this year from last season, when Leonidas went through a tough and tumultuous period. Even before the season began, newly appointed coach Moses Lodarmasse left. Tissen took over. He was barely two months in when tragedy struck: player Rosella Lindeman was killed in a traffic accident. Field hockey was suddenly of minor importance. It is therefore all the more impressive that Leonidas made the giant leap from the bottom spots to the play-offs within one year.

Tissen: ‘We’ve had a brilliant season. Especially when you see where we came from and what we went through. Of course we still have a hard time with it sometimes. The emotions are sometimes coursing through our bodies. We still think of her often. I’m sure she looked at us today with a smile.

Leonidas failed to knock HDM out of the big league. Photo: Rob Römer

The games against HDM were a bonus

For two seasons Leonidas dangled at the bottom of the league table. But this season the Rotterdammers kicked off surprisingly well by winning the Promotion League Cup, the preparation tournament in August. The league also got off to a flying start, with four wins in a row. But in the months that followed, the team was still searching for itself again.

‘We agreed at the beginning of the season: first of all we are going to have fun. But during the winter break we said to each other: we don’t have to be afraid of anyone. We can do a lot more, so let’s try to reach the playoffs,'” Tissen summarized his approach. It paid off. Starting in April, Leonidas mounted a phenomenal final sprint, good for seventeen points from seven games. Reaching the playoffs was celebrated as a prize. The games against HDM were a bonus.

Striker Mikki Roolaart, the club’s top scorer with twelve goals, is now making the move to premier league HGC. Eveline Korink stops playing field hockey. So do Minke Boeijenga and Emma Groenewold. The heart of the team is crumbling. Who knows how long it will be again before Leonidas makes the playoffs. All the more reason to reflect on this season’s performance, says Tissen: “We enjoyed it.