While soccer next Sunday is dominated by the Klassieker between Ajax and Feyenoord, a day earlier in The Hague the ladies of Rotterdam and Amsterdam face each other in the semifinals of the NK Zaal.
‘A nice clash, right?’ laughed Van der Waart as he commented on the upcoming opponent, who finished second behind Den Bosch in the other pool. ‘We’re not going to the playoffs just to compete. We didn’t finish first in our pool for nothing. We also want to win the semifinals against Amsterdam.’
Rotterdam secured a spot in the playoffs last Saturday in Almere during the final round of regular competition by beating HGC (7-4) and Leonidas (2-0).
Still, the match against already relegated Leonidas was more exciting than the Rotterdam team had hoped beforehand. Due to Victoria’s surprising win over SCHC earlier in the day, that other Rotterdam team also mixed in the battle for the playoffs.
Coach Jordy van der Waart of Rotterdam. Photo: Rob Römer
Victoria then also won its second match and thus led by eighteen points ahead of Rotterdam (17) and SCHC (16). Point loss by Rotterdam against Leonidas would be fatal. After all, Victoria had won more games than Van der Waart’s team and SCHC played against Voordaan, which had already been eliminated.
Extra pressure
This put extra pressure on the game against Leonidas. ‘I have always learned that you have to embrace nerves,’ explained Van der Waart, who had to bridge a long break between the two games with his team.
‘You can think of all kinds of things, but you’re not going to get rid of the nerves anyway. I did what I think we feel most comfortable with. You want to watch a game, you go watch a game. You want to watch a series, you do that. The only agreement was that we got together an hour before we played. Just go outside to get some fresh air and get sharp.’
Against Leonidas it remained 0-0 for a long time until Noor Omrani broke the spell for Rotterdam eight minutes after halftime. From a penalty corner she dragged the ball into the ropes. Cheers and applause can be heard from the bench. Of joy, but also of relief. When Iris Hollander also makes it 2-0 from a corner, it is clear that Rotterdam is sure of the play-offs.
The ladies of Rotterdam celebrate a goal. Photo: Rob Römer
Confidence
After the game, Van der Waart hugs his players and waves to the fans in the stands. In the team photo, everyone is smiling from ear to ear. ‘In the end, this last match will be more exciting than we had hoped and thought beforehand,’ says Van der Waart when he has withdrawn from the festivities.
‘But I had a lot of confidence in these girls. We discussed all scenarios and always assumed that we had to win twice. If we did, we were in the playoffs.’
With the win, Rotterdam finished number one in the pool, ahead of defending champion SCHC. ‘Over the course of the indoor season, we got better and better. I also think we really deserve to be in the playoffs,’ said Van der Waart.
Together with assistant Niels Wagemans, the coach tackled the indoor adventure seriously. ‘Every week we trained twice and almost always for two hours. You see the team grow and at some point a light bulb goes on in the team and you think: now it’s going to come.’
Joy at Rotterdam after winning the playoffs. Photo: Rob Römer
That moment was a week earlier when SCHC was defeated 5-1. ‘You saw the fire arise. Now we are going to do it. We are standing and are so close to the playoffs. I think that’s the biggest step we’ve taken together. We really started to believe in it and showed that conviction.’
Growth and maturity
Van der Waart is complimentary of his team. ‘I am proud of the mental growth the group has made and how mature the girls have become in a short time. I particularly like how the girls have taken matters into their own hands. Like, this is the goal and that is what we are going for.’
Van der Waart makes the comparison with the field. ‘On the field we sometimes looked for the cause outside ourselves. In the hall we look at what we ourselves can do better. And how we can make each other better. Yes, then we are just like that in the semifinals for the national championship.’
And in that, against Amsterdam, the team is certainly not hopeless. Rotterdam, which captured the indoor title in 1999, 2000 and 2001, scored 42 goals in the regular season and was the second most productive team in the big league. Yasmin Geerlings finished second on the top scorers list with 14 goals. Defensively, too, Rotterdam is doing well. With 25 goals against, the team had the fewest passing defense. ‘We have all the weapons to play varied indoor hockey,’ said Van der Waart.
Last season, the Rotterdam men won the national indoor title by beating Voordaan in the final. Van der Waart starts to smile when that success is brought up. “We’re going to try to repeat that trick.
Yasmin Geerlings on the ball for Rotterdam against HGC. Photo: Rob Römer
by Hockey.nl
