He played for Hurley for many years, but also became England national champion twice. He played field hockey in Spain, Japan and acted in a Bollywood field hockey movie in India. This year he turns forty, but also next season Bastiaan Leerkotte will be playing at a high level with HGC, which relegated to the Overgangsklasse. ‘Hockey has always been a way for me to really get to know the culture of a country.’
His finest field hockey experience? The oldest player in this season’s Promotion Class has to think about it for a long time. ‘ Everywhere I made friends with whom I am still in touch. If I could do one game over, it was the lost final for the national championship with Hurley’s Boys A1. We lost that one 4-3 to Kampong and apparently that still runs deep. Other than that, wherever I was, field hockey brought me so much.’
His field hockey experiences abroad began in his student days. For his studies he moved to England. Through the university teams of Cambridge and Oxford, he ended up with the top teams Reading and Wimbledon. A relatively limited culture shock compared to the Netherlands. When he traveled to Japan a few years later for his doctoral research, that difference was a lot bigger. ‘My former coach at Hurley Siegfried Aikman had briefly been national coach of Japan. He recommended that I join the team at the University of Tokyo.’
No sooner said than done. For four months he trained with them, the only foreigner among the Japanese. ‘The drive and fun of the Japanese field hockey players was similar to what I knew from Holland. But the way things went was totally different from what I was used to. The warm-up resembled a military exercise: tightly in line and on the beat. During the training we didn’t drink water from water bottles, but girls from the university stood ready on the field to serve us cold tea. They didn’t play field hockey themselves, but still wanted to be part of the field hockey club. I thought that was just uncomfortable.
Bollywood star
His other Asia experience was one of a completely different order. ‘Teammate Steven Ebbers – from Wimbledon and before that Hurley – had been cast by Indian film producers. They were looking for an English team to star in a Bollywood film. Paid holidays to India, that seemed like a good idea to me. Not much later I was on a plane to spend a few weeks on a film set. A bizarre experience. I had hesitated for a while because the film was being shot in Punjab, the border region with Pakistan. From the Netherlands you sometimes hear that there are skirmishes between neighboring countries there, so perhaps not the safest place in the country. But upon arrival, we felt completely safe. Of course during filming we were on the field hockey field a lot, in a stadium full of film crew and audience. Often more than twelve hours a day in the blazing sun with 35 degrees. That alone was intense.
‘Bollywood star’ Bastiaan Leerkotte
The film was shot in several stadiums, the second of which was in Chandigarh: the beautiful home stadium of the Punjab Warriors that played in the Hockey India League. He had told me about how beautiful it is and we were all looking forward to traveling, but on the night we were to leave there were riots in Chandigarh. Half a million people in the streets and the field hockey stadium appeared to have been annexed by the government to hold rioters. When we saw the concern among Indian producers we suddenly felt a little less safe.’
It didn’t dampen Leerkotte’s spirits. ‘I didn’t get rich from it, mind you, but they won’t take that experience away from me anymore. Besides, I was flown in for the premiere. Still funny to see yourself back on the screen of the biggest cinema in Mumbai and to hear some phrases being said.
From Hurley to Spain
When in the Netherlands covid threw a spanner in the works of the field hockey season, Leerkotte – now playing with his old mates at Hurley Heren 2 – crossed the border again. The competition did continue in Spain, where the globetrotter played for FC Barcelona and Complutense. There again I experienced what a perfect way sport is to get to know a culture. Except for Spain, in all my years abroad I never arranged a club in advance. I always started playing soccer only to end up back in field hockey through the back door. And because the level abroad is simply lower, as a Dutchman you are often quickly welcomed’.
The love for the sport also made him respond to HGC’s request to help form a new Men’s 1 after last year’s relegation. His connections at home and abroad could still come in handy. For example, he brought in Spaniard Grau Albert Torras from Atlètic Terrassa and brought along a group of players who fell just outside the first-team selection at Hurley. And yes, why shouldn’t he also return to the level himself?
HGC Men’s 1, with here from left to right Leerkotte, captain Vincent Langenhuijsen and coach Fareed Ahmed, recently relegated from the Promotion Class. Photo: Rob Römer
‘As long as my body can handle it, I like nothing better than working really hard and working towards a goal together with a team like this. It’s kind of funny that a lot of my teammates are half my age. And when a striker like Florent Vaal sprints past me, I do notice that I haven’t improved in terms of speed. But hopefully I can be of added value on another level, like on the mental level.’
Leerkotte had to miss the last few games as a player after he got a ball on his leg during training. ‘Huge bummer of course, hopefully I will be fit in time for the 35+ masters EC this summer. But the disappointment of our relegation with HGC is much bigger. I have really taken this club into my heart; the club people who work very hard behind the scenes to make everything possible in a difficult year like this are really great. I am very proud of the team, how with a whole new group we have still managed to establish a culture that we can build on. Next year we will go for the championship, I dare say that already.’
by Hockey.nl
