Ties Wouters (15) would not have played a single minute during the JO16 final between Tilburg and Push. The Tilburger – from Oisterwijk – broke his leg in two places at the end of last year. Only in the quarterfinals did he play fully again. ‘This is one hundred percent the best day of my life.’
With the gold medal of honor around his neck, Ties Wouters almost immediately points to his left leg. He puts his sock down a little and shows his scar. ‘You can still see it a little,’ he says. Just below his knee is a scar of at least five inches, tucked right away under his stocking. ‘There’s a pin in it. If I were to fly now, the detection gates would go off,’ he laughs.
He can smile again, with the metal in his leg, but mostly because of the metal around his neck. That was so different at the end of November. That’s when things went all wrong for the teenager. During an indoor practice with his team, he tripped and then a teammate fell on his leg. Nothing crazy, can happen, Wouters thought. ‘It was very weird. I actually got back up immediately, but then collapsed. My bone didn’t feel like it was supposed to, or something.’
Partying Tilburgers. With Ties Wouters on the far right. Photo: Rob Romer
Foul luck, that was clear. Not only for him, but for all his teammates. “I was very shocked and in a lot of pain,” he recalls. He was eventually taken away by ambulance. ‘It had trouble getting to our bladder hall. It’s a little further away from the clubhouse. I was in bizarre pain for an hour.’
A double leg fracture
At the hospital, his tibia and fibula were found to be broken. Especially the one in his tibia was serious. The teen underwent surgery and began rehabilitation. No field hockey for the time being, that was also clear to him. Not in Tilburg, but not with the Dutch Under-16 either. ‘The doctor told me it would take at least six months. Then I immediately started calculating.’
He calculated that he could play field hockey again in May. That could easily be the best month of the year. That gave him hope. ‘I hated not being able to play field hockey. Sitting there, first in a wheelchair and later with crutches. Watching from the bench is really the worst thing there is. But my teammates did well, very well even.’
Ties Wouters and captain Thijme Groels. Photo: Rob Romer
So well that by mid-May it was kind of clear that their national adventure would last longer than ten games. That after the regular competition it wasn’t finished for the Brabant talents. ‘I was very happy about that,’ grins Wouters. In May he was back on the field – exactly as his doctor predicted. ‘I had to build it up slowly. I participated in the last three games of the league. But only a few minutes each time.’
Only from the finals on was the teenager fully deployed again. He rewarded his rehabilitation with a goal in the quarterfinals against Gooische (6-2). ‘That was already a dream. But I really didn’t dare dream that it became so much more beautiful,’ he says. Tilburg beat Cartouche in the semifinals (2-1) and crowned its top season Saturday afternoon with the NK victory over Push (3-1).
‘One hundred percent the best day of my life’
‘This is really quite sick,’ he realizes. ‘This is really one hundred percent the best day of my life,’ he continued. With his entire family in the stands. ‘Everyone was there. And I really couldn’t sleep for three feet last night. I was so nervous. I kept waking up. Not normal. By now he can laugh about it. Even after such a broken night he proved his worth.
‘I would have liked to score another goal, though,’ the teenager concludes. ‘He almost hit it, right? It was really just picked off the goal line,’ he looks back. But he won’t lose sleep over that tonight. ‘I’m really happy to be back to my old self for a long time. We’re about to take the bus back home. This medal won’t come off again today. We’re going to party hard.’
Watch a replay of the final between Tilburg JO16-1 and Push JO16-1 below:
by Hockey.nl
