It doesn’t get more exciting than this. Never before had three teams in the Promotional Men’s League finished with exactly the same number of points. But on the all-decisive Sunday afternoon, Laren had the best papers. The Gooi team won 5-2 against HGC, taking one more victory than rivals Tilburg and Schaerweijde and as champion will be promoted back to the big league after one year.
‘I’m so fucking proud of the whole club, of this team, of the staff,’ beamed crowd favorite Kenny Bain (35) with his champion’s jersey on and a swarm of kids around him. ‘Three minutes before time I was completely wrecked. And then I also had to go back onto the field to make a crowd change. Another minute to play. But now it doesn’t matter anymore. I am incredibly happy. And also proud of myself. That I scored nineteen goals this season is not bad for an old fart, is it?’
That it was precisely Bain who put Laren on a comfortable 3-1, made the celebration extra special for the striker. With 22 seasons at a high level, four of them with Laren, Bain had been saying goodbye in his head for weeks. After his second goal of the afternoon, he gave a big hug to his father, who stood along the line as proud as a peacock. Afterwards, he sought out family members with tears in his eyes. Some had even come specially from Scotland for this special day.
The most beautiful
His wife Julia Müller, a former Laren player, had sent him a sweet app that morning after leaving for a children’s party. ‘She wrote that she was super proud of me. That did me a lot. And the fact that she, my kids, family and best friends were there today makes it complete for me. Last season, because of all the ups and downs in the big league, I was not always fun, at home and on the field. This year I had less stress, maybe because I knew this was my last season. And then to finish like this … This is by far the nicest way to quit.
Kenny Bain uncorks the champagne: Laren is champion. Photo: Rob Römer
Fifth in the winter break
The road to the champagne was erratic and anything but obvious. Last season Laren stranded in the play-outs against SCHC after a difficult premier league season. Argentine coach Lucas Rey left and in his wake three Argentine players. With the relatively young Allard van Heemstra at the helm, Suzanne Reimering as assistant coach and Sjoerd Marijne as performance coach, and a team that otherwise remained virtually intact, the team’s ambitions were clear: to promote straight back to the highest level.
Nevertheless, the season start was difficult. In the first half of the season, Laren lost to bottom-flight HCAS and only managed a draw against Almere, another low-flyer. ‘We played more as loose individuals then,’ Van Heemstra said. ‘Everyone wanted to force something themselves at decisive moments. Whereas the strength of this team lies in cooperation and trusting each other’s qualities.’
Photo: Rob Römer
In the winter break Laren was in fifth place. Promotion seemed far away, although the team still had a catch-up game to play. That game – coincidentally also against HGC – was won convincingly in early March. According to Van Heemstra, that was the turning point. ‘Certainly from that moment on there was more mutual understanding, more acceptance. The boys solved it more with each other, dared to trust each other’s decisions. And perhaps most importantly: from then on we often decided difficult pots in the last quarter.’
From March onwards hardly anything was given away. Only against Leiden did Laren lose (3-1), and last week the team got stuck at 3-3 against rival Tilburg. But that one draw turned out to be exactly enough to keep everything in their own hands Sunday afternoon, in front of their own crowd.
It’s alive
I don’t think it should be possible for us to become champions after losing so many unnecessary points. That there wasn’t a team that stood out this season. But that also makes it special. After the first half of the season I really didn’t expect this,’ routinier Pieter Paul Houting told me.
Two years ago Laren also promoted, but that felt different, according to Houting. ‘Then it was the first time in nine years that we returned to the big league. Because of that, the emotion then was bigger. This time it is handsome because we return after one year. That doesn’t happen often. And what I like: it is so alive at our club. Children are eager to go on the supporters’ bus. Even to Tilburg, about a hundred kilometers away. That’s partly thanks to Kenny. As youth coach and coordinator he has really made a difference. As a result there are more parents along the line. Not only now, but also next year.’
Pieter Paul Houting and Allard van Heemstra congratulate each other. Photo: Rob Römer
Meanwhile, from the clubhouse blared We are the champions. The players were enjoying their first drink with family and friends. The bowl went from hand to hand. Outside, a party bus was approaching for a ride to Amsterdam.
Van Heemstra smiled: “Whether I’m going along? Ah, I think the boys still know how to party. And they deserve it.’
by Hockey.nl
