For almost twenty years he played in the jersey of field hockey club Abcoude. From the F’jes to Heren 1. Climbed up from the Third to the First Division. But after twelve seasons in the flagship, a special period for Thom Brinkhof (27) and his teammates comes to an abrupt end. Abcoude Heren 1 will cease to exist. ‘It is unfortunate that it ends this way, but I had a great time.’
It has now been over a month and a half since that last league game. In the sunshine in the garden, Thom Brinkhof looks back on that Sunday. The images are still razor-sharp on his retina.
Abcoude had already been relegated, but that did not diminish the motivation. We agreed with each other to give everything one last time in that last game, to enjoy ourselves and to look back with pride. Opponent Red-White was still playing for the championship. Yet Abcoude surprisingly stood firm. Only in the last quarter Rood-Wit ran out and the score was 3-6.
Afterwards Ladies 1 formed a guard of honor for Brinkhof and his teammates. The farewell was celebrated in the clubhouse. People reminisced about matches, team weekends and everything in between. What prevailed above all was the realization that a special period had come to an end.
Abcoude Men’s 1. Photo: private archive Thom Brinkhof
The last time
‘When I packed my things, I knew: this is the last time. I also went onto the field differently. You suddenly learn to appreciate the little things. That could be anything: fetching a ball back and forth on a just-sprayed field, people cheering you on along the line. After the final whistle, I was emotional. No tears flowed, but it was a crazy feeling. Now it’s really over.
With pride, Brinkhof tells about Abcoude, the small, close-knit club under the smoke of Amsterdam. ‘Everyone knows each other. I played together with guys with whom I was already on the field in youth. With players who once trained me. And later I trained guys again with whom I eventually played in Heren 1 myself.’
Abcoude is a real family club, he emphasizes. ‘I played with my brother, with three nephews. At one point we had four or five brothers on the team.’ What began as an out-of-control friends’ team grew into a performance team that competed in the First Division for the past four seasons.
The season after promotion to the First Division, Abcoude surprisingly finished third. In the opening game visiting Houten, three points were taken immediately. ‘We felt like we had played a Champions League final. Everyone was proud and happy. We secretly dreamed of another step higher. Unfortunately that never worked out, but we really belonged at that level.’
Abcoude Heren 1 celebrates promotion to the Second Division. Photo: private archive Thom Brinkhof
The golden glow
The 2022 Silver Cup adventure is also still sharp on Brinkhof’s mind. As a former second division club, Abcoude made it to the quarterfinals, where it was eliminated 4-1 by the later finalist Eindhoven. ‘We went to Eindhoven with the whole club. In previous rounds the crowd was lined up along the side in Abcoude. Unprecedented. We got so much energy out of that as a team and managed to pull games towards us.’
In the years after promotion, as Brinkhof describes, ‘the golden glow’ disappeared. More and more players quit and the flow from the youth stopped. ‘The gap between A1 and Men’s 1 was simply too big.’ The team was held together with veterans and young substitutes. ‘Sometimes we had no substitutes. That had been different at times. Sometimes we even had 22 players.’
Finally, the knot was tied. ‘We realized that there was no more to it. At training sessions we sometimes had six or eight players. And that was reflected in the results on the field. Then you ask yourself: what am I doing it for? It felt like the house of cards was starting to fall apart. That frustration grew until the moment we said: it’s not going to go on like this. It was a tough decision to make.
Thom Brinkhof in action for Abcoude Men’s 1. Photo: private archive Thom Brinkhof
The club was keen to keep its flagship team, but according to Brinkhof, any rescue plan came too late. ‘If there had been a plan two years ago, it might still have been possible. Now guys had already made their choices.’
Some quit, others made the move to another club or joined Men’s 2. Brinkhof hopes to play with his little brother at Weesp. ‘I have to see if it can be combined with work, but I’m looking forward to it.’
Pride and melancholy
What remains is pride. And a touch of melancholy. ‘We built up a close bond. After the whistle it didn’t stop. We were best buddies off the field. We experienced SO much.’
One memory quickly comes to mind. ‘Our team trip to Gerlos. In retrospect, maybe not the wisest idea: skiing with a field hockey team. We went on until after après-ski. We had agreed to be on the slopes at nine o’clock. A few guys came up just short of crawling.’
‘It’s a shame it ends this way,’ Brinkhof says. ‘We wanted to leave something beautiful, but that is no longer there. Still, I look back with pride on what we did with Men’s 1. The app group still exists, and who knows, maybe there will be another team trip. One thing I know for sure: we made memories we won’t soon forget.’
Tomorrow you will read the story of Hoogeveen, where after years of absence a Men 1 is back on the field.
Abcoude Men 1 in action against Shinty. Photo: private archive Thom Brinkhof
by Hockey.nl
