In early August, the phone suddenly rang at Alkmaar. The KNHB reported that the ladies of Warande had withdrawn from the Overgangsklasse and asked if Alkmaar wanted to fill the vacant spot. A question no one had seen coming, but one that turned the Alkmaar ladies’ season upside down even before the start.
The night before the training where the news would be shared with the rest of the selection, Lynn Oosterveer slept badly. The Alkmaar Ladies 1 captain had been informed a few days earlier by trainer Mistral Barsingerhorn.
Oosterveer was curious about the reactions of her teammates. ‘I immediately thought: this is what we have to do? But at the same time all kinds of things were going through my head. It means whole Sundays on the road, longer trips, tougher opponents. Would all the girls be up for that?’
After training, the selection gathered in the clubhouse, where the news was shared. One player sat open-mouthed in amazement, another was very happy. The choice was quickly made. Alkmaar said a resounding ‘yes’ to promotion. The season that had ended with the loss in the playoffs against Union for promotion still had a happy ending.
Bubbles to celebrate
Nothing else was talked about that day. Toasts were made with a little bubbly. ”In the evenings we kept calling and emailing each other,” Oosterveer says. A day later the news of promotion to the Overgangsklasse was also shared with the hard core app group with more than a hundred family members and friends.
Alkmaar Ladies 1 during the playoffs. Photo: Private archive Lynn Oosterveer
The emotion was all the greater because the team had just missed out on promotion. As number two Alkmaar qualified for the play-offs against Union. In Malden they drew 1-1. The next day followed the home game, in which a 4-1 deficit was erased in the last minute: 4-4. In the shoot-outs the decision was in Union’s favor. The dream of promotion shattered. Until Warande withdrew.
The KNHB has clear regulations for such situations. When a team withdraws and a spot becomes available in a particular class, it is filled again at the start of the new season. Initially, the invitation goes to the highest finishing teams that just failed to promote at the underlying level. The federation can deviate from this if it concerns a number three, four or lower. Because Alkmaar just missed out on promotion in the playoffs, the team came into the picture first. And so everything fell exactly into place.
‘This also came at the right time for us,’ Oosterveer says. ‘Nobody quit. And that’s unique I think. So if there should be a moment, it was now. We are at our strongest and we are also getting additions from the youth.’
The Alkmaar ladies are a close-knit team that promoted to the First Division in 2024. Young and old field hockey together, almost everyone was once coached by the same trainer in youth. ‘We know each other through and through. We also do a lot together off the field,’ Oosterveer explained. Last season the team played uninhibited, without the pressure to finish at the top. It earned the team victories and eventually a ticket for the playoffs.
No one is under any illusions that things will be different in the ‘Overgangsklasse’. The game is faster, the opponents are more physical and the referees may allow more. It will be tough. But this will also bring us closer together.’
The bar is higher
Alkmaar continues on the same footing despite the promotion. Many adjustments have not been made. For example, the number of training sessions is not increasing. The bar has been raised, however.
‘We agreed: give two hundred percent every training, get better every week. You notice that we are fiercer at practice, but in the good sense. We do extra shuttle runs to get fitter. We must soon be able to defend a 1-0 lead for sixty minutes or drag out the equalizer.’
Alkmaar Ladies 1 after the final league match. Photo: Private archive Lynn Oosterveer
Besides the sporting step, a practical challenge also awaits. Alkmaar will soon have to travel across the country, from Limburg to Groningen. That means long travel times and complete Sundays dedicated to field hockey. Oosterveer sees it as a challenge, but also an opportunity. ‘We are aware of the long drives. It’s nice to be together all Sunday. We’ll make something beautiful out of it.’
The team does not have a concrete goal, but Alkmaar wants to be a tough team in the Overgangsklasse that never gives up. ‘I hope that will lead to us being able to compete nicely.’
Alkmaar starts on September 7 with a home game against Helmond. Oosterveer is already impatient. When the news got out, it already started itching, but now that I’m talking and thinking about it, I’m looking forward to it even more.
Where exactly the adventure ends, no one knows. But one thing is certain: for the Alkmaar players, every Sunday in the Overgangsklasse already feels like a bonus after the unexpected promotion.
by Hockey.nl
