Netherlands: Eleven new faces for Schaerweijde: ‘We’re getting tough’

With a depleted budget, nine players who have left and eleven new faces, Schaerweijde, the promoter, has the difficult task of keeping its head above water in the big league. Bravely, new coach Razwan Ahmed, successor to the departed Albert-Kees Manenschijn, is putting his shoulders under the radically revamped Schaerweijde. ‘Our biggest job is to forge a cohesive team as quickly as possible.’

‘Razwan, you know there are only ten of you?’ Just before the second quarter of Sunday afternoon’s practice match against HDM (0-0) begins, it is the referee who points out to Ahmed the number of players Schaerweijde has inside the lines. Indeed: one is missing. Quickly, the new coach of the club from Zeist turns to the dugout and gestures midfielder Michiel Moret into the field. It is clear: the new Schaerweijde is not yet familiar with its automaticity.

That unaccustomedness on the field is reflected in Ahmed’s fiery performance along the line. For sixty minutes he moves like a conductor. His arms are in constant motion, drily pointing and coaching. Every opportunity he takes to adjust his orchestra. ‘Pep, in!’ ‘Michiel, higher!’ ‘Joost along, Joost along!’

In many a conversation with the substitutes, he conjures up a tactics board. This is followed by an impassioned argument about what exactly the intention is. The red and blue discs shoot across the board at lightning speed under his fingers. With so many new faces, Ahmed has a lot of work to do in preparation.

Razwan Ahmed gives instructions to new addition Stijn Draaijer during the practice match against HDM (0-0). Photo: Andre Weening/Orange Pictures

The budget for top field hockey took a solid hit, despite the promotion

‘I didn’t doubt for a second whether I should take on this challenge. My first thought was immediately: where can I sign?” beams the affable Ahmed a moment later in Schaerweijde’s clubhouse. For years the club has had a place in his heart. When he was thirteen, he emigrated with his parents and brothers from Pakistan to the Netherlands, only to pack his bags again a few years later and move to Manchester. After six years in England, Ahmed decided to return to Woerden on his own in 2011, after which he found his second home at Schaerweijde and began his coaching career.

‘I started with the youth, I worked as an assistant with the men and I have been head coach of the women. This is my club,” said Ahmed, who has been an assistant coach with Den Bosch’s men’s team in recent years.

Despite promotion to the Tulip big league, Schaerweijde has faced a new, less shiny reality in recent months. The years when the club could afford expensive foreigners are a thing of the past. The budget for top field hockey took a serious hit. Quite a few defining players left the club: Thies Bakker (Kampong), Lucas Corstens (Amsterdam), Jur van den Have, Thur Stadelmaier, Jort Marree and Pakistani former internationals Rashid Mehmood and Muhammad Rizwan (all quit). With the departure of nine players, only half of the squad remained.

Jens Hagen played with Gooische in the Overgangsklasse last season. Photo: Andre Weening/Orange Pictures

‘The facilities are still big league-worthy’

‘From my appointment in April, I knew the budget was tight. But after the promotion it turned out to be even further down,’ Ahmed outlines the challenge that awaited him this summer. Instead of complaining, he decided to accept the situation and put his shoulders to the wheel.

‘We can’t pay foreigners anymore, so I didn’t have to look for that. Some players I approached myself. Others called me. Some guys were a little hesitant at first because of the stories going around about Schaerweijde. But of course it was not as if Heren 1 had become a kind of Boys A1. The facilities are still big league worthy. The food is good, the equipment is in order, there are cars available. In the end, we were able to convince a lot of guys. At the first training session we were even with 23 guys.’

With the help of the tactics board, Razwan Ahmed explains to Peppe Veen exactly what is intended. Photo: Andre Weening/Orange Pictures

With eleven new faces, it will take time to get used to each other.

There was a complete line-up of new faces, including brothers Stijn and Lode Draaijer (Ede), Joost van Eijck (Victoria) and Jens Hagen (Gooische) from the Promotion League and the Transition League. Released from the big league were Maarten Bruisten (SCHC), Graeme Scott (Hurley) and goalkeepers Mahinder Terlouw (Hurley) and Guus van Holten (Rotterdam). From Oranje-Rood Under 18 came talent Derk Moret, while Teun van Aalderen and Tom Vermeulen joined from our own youth.

With eleven new players it will take time to get used to each other. That is why Schaerweijde has scheduled seven practice matches before the start of the competition. The first results show a mixed picture: a good draw against HDM (0-0), a small defeat against promotion class SCHC (2-1) and a big win over promotion class Ede (5-1). Sunday awaits the next qualifier, against Hurley, followed by the ABN AMRO Weekend. Ahmed’s task is to turn the loose puzzle pieces into a whole that is resilient in the big league in limited time.

‘Our biggest job is to forge a cohesive team as quickly as possible. That’s what I told those guys: invest in each other, every practice, every game. We can be tactically like a house, but if we’re not a team, we’ll go off. So that’s where our focus is. The faster we are a team, the harder it will be to beat us,’ expects Ahmed, who would have preferred a few more irons in the fire offensively. An experienced striker would have been welcome with more funding.

Stijn Draaijer is one of Schaerweijde’s eleven new faces. Photo: Andre Weening/Orange Pictures

I want us to step off the field with pride every game, regardless of the outcome. That we can say: we fought for every meter Schaerweijde coach Razwan Ahmed

Nevertheless, the team looked surprisingly fresh in the practice match against HDM. In the first half, Schaerweijde played along nicely. After halftime the picture tilts: HDM puts the promoter with its back against the wall. It is thanks to the saves of goalkeeper Guus van Holten that Schaerweijde stays upright. In the final minute, the club from Zeist had an opportunity to take the win, but the penalty corner was not cashed in. Afterwards, the sentiment is positive. The 0-0 feels like a success, given all the circumstances.

‘Of course we’re going to have a tough time,’ Ahmed knows. ‘But I want us to keep fighting, like we did today. As a team. I want us to step off the field with pride every game, regardless of the outcome. That we can say: we fought for every meter. At the end we’ll see where we are in the league table.’