Netherlands:

Every day this week in the “As green as grass” section, we dig into our archives, looking for the first flashes of class in the current generation of internationals, then still with a young head. In this first installment: Yibbi Jansen and Pien Sanders. Over thirteen years ago, in 2012, they single-handedly led Den Bosch Girls C1 to the national title.

You will only be one of the players of that poor Pinoké Girls C1. On June 17, 2012 in Bilthoven, on the field of SCHC, they play the NK-final for C-youth, against Den Bosch of all places. The team with two rough diamonds within the lines: Yibbi Jansen and Pien Sanders. Just try to beat that.

At the helm are also two icons of Dutch field hockey: former national coach Marc Lammers (Olympic gold in 2008, Beijing) and former international Ronald Jansen (Olympic gold in 1996, Atlanta and 2000, Sydney), Yibbi’s father. They guide a talented team, with two budding stars at the front: Yibbi Jansen and Pien Sanders. The young players are about to claim their first starring role at an NK. From the dugout, the two old hands see it happen right before their eyes: how Yibbi and Pien take control of the final.

Yibbi Jansen in the NK final for the C youth, when she is twelve. Photo: Willem Vernes

With her thin little arms, twelve-year-old Yibbi Jansen cashes in on a penalty corner

The Stekneuzen inadvertently give Den Bosch the first push toward the title: they give away a penalty corner. Even at twelve years old, this is grist to the mill for Yibbi Jansen. The images in the video below are downright touching. Not to mention the smallest sprout on the field – with arms as thin as spaghetti strings – chases the ball against the board with apparent ease. A harbinger of what awaits the national and international field hockey world. The first blow to Pinoké has been dealt.

(Click on the video and you can immediately see twelve-year-old Yibbi Jansen cashing in on the penalty corner)

Fourteen-year-old Pien Sanders decides the final

Later comes the next crucial moment: Den Bosch gets a penalty ball. Pien Sanders steps forward. Coolly, as if it were a weekday training session. Even then she has nerves of steel. The fourteen-year-old talent effortlessly pushes the 2-0 in. It is the final blow for Pinoké. Den Bosch Girls C1 crowned themselves national champions.

It doesn’t take long for Sanders to break through on the international stage. In December 2016, just four years after she claimed the lead role in the NK final for the C youth, national coach Alyson Annan already brings her to the training group of the Dutch national team, as a seventeen-year-old rookie. Less than a month later, she makes her debut for Orange in Cadiz, against Spain (1-1). Sanders is a textbook example of the well-known saying in the sports world: what is good comes fast.

Fourteen-year-old Pien Sanders leads Den Bosch Girls C1 to the national title, her 2-0 is the final blow for Pinoké. Photo: Willem Vernes

Olympic gold

Jansen’s debut will be a little longer in coming. On Jan. 27, 2018, she will play her first international game for the Orange in Winston-Salem, against the United States (7-2 win). After the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she definitely makes her way into the selection and her real breakthrough follows. In November 2024, she will be named World Player of the Year.

Jansen has 94 international matches to her name so far. Her wins include the 2022 World Cup in Amsterdam and Terrassa, the 2023 European Championship in Mönchengladbach and the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Sanders has played 148 international matches to date. In addition to those same medals as Jansen, she also has the 2021 Olympic gold and the 2017 and 2021 European Championship titles in her trophy cabinet.

Yibbi Jansen stands below left her father Ronald Jansen, the first man from the right. To her left: 14-year-old Pien Sanders. Click on the photo to enlarge.