She really should have started her first playoffs this weekend. But SCHC midfielder Noor Knoop has already played her last game of the season. Indeed, her top hockey dream is over. The 20-year-old talent, who is also creating a furor as a runner, is struggling with a persistent back injury. ‘Playing at a lower level is also not an option for the time being.’
Knoop played her last game for SCHC in the EHL, against Railway Union. A month after that brief appearance, there is still no clarity on the exact cause of the pain. This week Knoop is undergoing an mri-scan that should provide clarity, but doctors have already strongly advised her not to combine top field hockey and high-level running any longer.
‘Against Railway Union it went wrong after just a few minutes, when it shot into my back,’ Knoop explained from Copenhagen, where she and her mother have spent the past few days trying to recover from the mental blow. ‘At first I thought of a muscle injury, but the X-rays pointed to something more serious.’
Knoop is in suspense at least until next Tuesday. That’s when she will get feedback from the mri scan. ‘It doesn’t look good, but you always hope somewhere that it’s not too bad,’ she says, perhaps against her better judgment.
Running fanatically
A bad scan result means an abrupt end to her still fledgling career in the Tulip big league anyway. After a top season with Huizen – after which she was named best player in the Promotion League – Knoop earned a top transfer to title contender SCHC. At the same time, she developed remarkably quickly in running, where she was able to join the national sub-top with ease. She worked with a trainer, followed personal schedules and began to dream of international competitions. But her body put the brakes on rock hard.
Photo: instagram Noor Knoop.
It is not only her stick that disappears into the closet: her running shoes also remain untouched for the time being. ‘The morning after that race I fainted from the pain. And now I still feel stitches, stiffness and tingling in my legs, especially if I sit still for too long. Even taking an exam was an ordeal,’ says the medical student.
Field hockey and running both gave her equal energy, but after the recent complaints, Knoop is forced to choose. ‘Playing field hockey is simply too stressful for my back,’ she says. ‘The posture, the unexpected movements you make when you duel – it’s too much. In running, that strain is much lower.’
Love for field hockey
Last Saturday, after the home game against HDM, chairman Michiel Verveld took to the field to say goodbye to the technical staff. Knoop: ‘Then I suddenly heard him mention my name. That overwhelmed me. It was meant very sweetly, but I found it very confronting. I had not prepared myself at all.
Then, after a short pause: ‘It really hurts me that I have to drop field hockey now. I love the game enormously. I would prefer to keep playing at a lower level, but even that is not an option for now.’
Noor Knoop on the ball in the league game with Huizen. Photo: Bart Scheulderman.
No previous soreness
Knoop was scheduled to compete in two months at the European Athletics Under 23 Championships in Bergen, Norway, in the 5 kilometers. During the Hilversum City Run in April of this year, she ran this distance in 16.05 minutes – faster than the European Championship limit. But even that adventure will not continue, as she is out of action for months to come.
She now asks herself the inevitable question: could this have been prevented? ‘Maybe. Maybe it was too much. But until the injury, I felt good. I got up every day with lots of desire to train, had no pains anywhere, was super cheerful and not at all tired.’
This is precisely why the blow comes extra hard. In April I dreamed of the EHL, the playoffs with SCHC and the European Athletics Championship. That dream has now shattered. I really have to process that.’
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by Hockey.nl
