He performed for Hurley for a few years, but additionally turned England nationwide champion twice. He performed area hockey in Spain, Japan and acted in a Bollywood area hockey film in India. This yr he turns forty, but additionally subsequent season Bastiaan Leerkotte will probably be taking part in at a excessive stage with HGC, which relegated to the Overgangsklasse. ‘Hockey has at all times been a manner for me to essentially get to know the tradition of a rustic.’
His most interesting area hockey expertise? The oldest participant on this season’s Promotion Class has to consider it for a very long time. ‘ In every single place I made mates with whom I’m nonetheless in contact. If I might do one sport over, it was the misplaced closing for the nationwide championship with Hurley’s Boys A1. We misplaced that one 4-3 to Kampong and apparently that also runs deep. Aside from that, wherever I used to be, area hockey introduced me a lot.’
His area hockey experiences overseas started in his scholar days. For his research he moved to England. By the college groups of Cambridge and Oxford, he ended up with the highest groups Studying and Wimbledon. A comparatively restricted tradition shock in comparison with the Netherlands. When he traveled to Japan just a few years later for his doctoral analysis, that distinction was rather a lot greater. ‘My former coach at Hurley Siegfried Aikman had briefly been nationwide coach of Japan. He really useful that I be part of the group on the College of Tokyo.’
No sooner stated than completed. For 4 months he skilled with them, the one foreigner among the many Japanese. ‘The drive and enjoyable of the Japanese area hockey gamers was much like what I knew from Holland. However the best way issues went was completely completely different from what I used to be used to. The nice and cozy-up resembled a navy train: tightly in line and on the beat. Through the coaching we didn’t drink water from water bottles, however women from the college stood prepared on the sphere to serve us chilly tea. They didn’t play area hockey themselves, however nonetheless wished to be a part of the sphere hockey membership. I believed that was simply uncomfortable.
Bollywood star
His different Asia expertise was certainly one of a very completely different order. ‘Teammate Steven Ebbers – from Wimbledon and earlier than that Hurley – had been solid by Indian movie producers. They had been in search of an English group to star in a Bollywood movie. Paid holidays to India, that appeared like a good suggestion to me. Not a lot later I used to be on a aircraft to spend just a few weeks on a movie set. A weird expertise. I had hesitated for some time as a result of the movie was being shot in Punjab, the border area with Pakistan. From the Netherlands you typically hear that there are skirmishes between neighboring international locations there, so maybe not the most secure place within the nation. However upon arrival, we felt utterly protected. In fact throughout filming we had been on the sphere hockey area rather a lot, in a stadium stuffed with movie crew and viewers. Typically greater than twelve hours a day within the blazing solar with 35 levels. That alone was intense.
‘Bollywood Star’ Bastiaan Leerkotte
The movie was shot in a number of stadiums, the second of which was in Chandigarh: the gorgeous residence stadium of the Punjab Warriors that performed within the Hockey India League. He had informed me about how lovely it’s and we had been all wanting ahead to touring, however on the evening we had been to depart there have been riots in Chandigarh. Half 1,000,000 folks within the streets and the sphere hockey stadium appeared to have been annexed by the federal government to carry rioters. After we noticed the priority amongst Indian producers we abruptly felt rather less protected.’
It didn’t dampen Leerkotte’s spirits. ‘I didn’t get wealthy from it, thoughts you, however they received’t take that have away from me anymore. In addition to, I used to be flown in for the premiere. Nonetheless humorous to see your self again on the display of the most important cinema in Mumbai and to listen to some phrases being stated.
From Hurley to Spain
When within the Netherlands covid threw a spanner within the works of the sphere hockey season, Leerkotte – now taking part in together with his previous mates at Hurley Heren 2 – crossed the border once more. The competitors did proceed in Spain, the place the globetrotter performed for FC Barcelona and Complutense. There once more I skilled what an ideal manner sport is to get to know a tradition. Apart from Spain, in all my years overseas I by no means organized a membership upfront. I at all times began taking part in soccer solely to finish up again in area hockey by means of the again door. And since the extent overseas is solely decrease, as a Dutchman you might be usually rapidly welcomed’.
The love for the game additionally made him reply to HGC’s request to assist kind a brand new Males’s 1 after final yr’s relegation. His connections at residence and overseas might nonetheless come in useful. For instance, he introduced in Spaniard Grau Albert Torras from Atlètic Terrassa and introduced alongside a bunch of gamers who fell simply exterior the first-team choice at Hurley. And sure, why shouldn’t he additionally return to the extent himself?
HGC Males’s 1, with right here from left to proper Leerkotte, captain Vincent Langenhuijsen and coach Fareed Ahmed, not too long ago relegated from the Promotion Class. Photograph: Rob Römer
‘So long as my physique can deal with it, I like nothing higher than working actually exhausting and dealing in the direction of a aim along with a group like this. It’s sort of humorous that a number of my teammates are half my age. And when a striker like Florent Vaal sprints previous me, I do discover that I haven’t improved when it comes to velocity. However hopefully I could be of added worth on one other stage, like on the psychological stage.’
Leerkotte needed to miss the previous few video games as a participant after he acquired a ball on his leg throughout coaching. ‘Large bummer in fact, hopefully I will probably be slot in time for the 35+ masters EC this summer time. However the disappointment of our relegation with HGC is far greater. I’ve actually taken this membership into my coronary heart; the membership individuals who work very exhausting behind the scenes to make the whole lot potential in a tough yr like this are actually nice. I’m very pleased with the group, how with an entire new group we have now nonetheless managed to ascertain a tradition that we are able to construct on. Subsequent yr we’ll go for the championship, I dare say that already.’
