{"id":3067,"date":"2016-06-30T16:24:10","date_gmt":"2016-06-30T14:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/06\/30\/eur-studenten-gaan-voor-goud-in-rio\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:10","slug":"eur-studenten-gaan-voor-goud-in-rio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/06\/30\/eur-studenten-gaan-voor-goud-in-rio\/","title":{"rendered":"EUR students going for gold in Rio"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Van links naar rechts: Seve van Ass, Larissa Meijer, Bart Straatman, Marloes Keetels en Huibert Pols<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTim Ficheroux<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Most students are counting down the days before they can go on holiday, but this isn\u2019t the case with Larissa Meijer, Marloes Keetels and Seve van Ass. For these hockey players, the summer of 2016 will be all about the Olympics.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday afternoon, Meijer, Keetels and Van Ass paid a last visit to campus. Erasmus Sport had organised a \u2018farewell party\u2019 with lunch and a brief speech by EUR Executive Board member Bart Straatman.<\/p>\n

Erasmus Topsport<\/h3>

Since 1992, Erasmus University Rotterdam has been supporting high-performing athletes within the Erasmus Topsport programme. University-appointed sport coordinators help world-class athletes who are also enrolled in a degree programme to combine sports and study.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u201cI want to see more than just hockey fields.\u201d\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSeve van Ass\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Combining sports and studies works out just fine for the three hockey players. Still, there\u2019s always a clear divide between student life and top-level sports. \u201cActually, I like the fact that on the one hand, I\u2019m always busy with hockey; and on the other, on campus I work together with students who wouldn\u2019t even know how to hold a stick,\u201d says a smiling Keetels. Van Ass: \u201cI want to see more than just hockey fields. That\u2019s why I decided to study. Indeed, you could say it\u2019s part of the \u2018hockey culture\u2019 \u2013 taking care to develop yourself in other areas than just the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard work, and they can forget about going out on the town all night. But they don\u2019t mind. Keetels: \u201cWhen you\u2019re working to make a dream come true, this means passing up on some things. Besides: celebrating a championship is more fun anyway,\u201d she says with a smile. \u201cAs it is, I\u2019m far too tired to make a night of it when I get home from training. You\u2019d have to pay me to go out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u201cYou\u2019d have to pay me to go out after training.\u201d\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarloes Keetels\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

It is not entirely certain whether Keetels and Meijer will be representing the Netherlands in Rio. The final selection will only be announced next week. For Meijer in particular, this will be quite a tense week. \u201cThey\u2019ve more or less decided who will be goalkeeper in the starting line-up. I\u2019m still in the running for reserve goalkeeper, but so is one of my teammates. We\u2019re basically tied, so I\u2019m still on tenterhooks until Wednesday.\u201d Keetels is not entirely sure whether she\u2019ll make the cut either, but believes she runs a good chance of ending up in the selection.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Van Ass already heard earlier that he will be allowed to play for the Dutch team. \u201cI was sitting at home with my girlfriend, waiting for my coach\u2019s call. While our talk only lasted a few seconds, it\u2019s an all-or-nothing deal. Four years ago, I was told that I was just short of making the selection.\u201d But this time round, it was a different story: \u201cI picked up and my coach said \u2018congratulations, you\u2019re through.\u2019 My girlfriend could tell by the expression on my face that I had been selected \u2013 there\u2019s no way I could hide my smile, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Olympic dream<\/h3>

In the case of all three students, competing in the Olympics wasn\u2019t a dream they had held since childhood. \u201cI really got into this sport by chance,\u201d says Keetels. \u201cI started when I was 6 or 7. My cousin and my brother played hockey, and I wanted to as well. I played in Schijndel, and when I was 11, I went to Den Bosch to join a club there. A few years later, I was playing for the under-16s, then the under-18s, and now I\u2019m here. I simply enjoyed playing hockey \u2013 it was only around the age of 16 that I realised that I was actually quite good at it, after which I started really making an effort to break through in this sport.\u201d Meijer can identify with this. \u201cI started playing hockey when I was 8, simply because it seemed fun. At the time, I didn\u2019t really dream of becoming a professional hockey player one day. But along the way, you start developing bigger dreams. First of winning the national championship, then the European championship \u2013 and now, gold at the Summer Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u201cWhen I was a kid, I didn\u2019t really dream of becoming a professional hockey player.\u201d\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLarissa Meijer\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Van Ass dreamt of Olympic glory every now and then. \u201cAs a young boy, I loved watching hockey matches on the telly. But as a teenager, there was also a period when I preferred to go out and drink.\u201d This all changed when Van Ass heard at the age of 20 that he had come just short of making the selection for the 2012 Olympics. \u201cI remember thinking what a fool I had been to not make an all-out effort. Since then, I have been working very hard to make the cut this time round \u2013 with success.\u201d But this is no time for Van Ass to rest on his laurels. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough to simply go to Rio. I have to put in a strong performance there, make my mark during the matches and \u2013 naturally \u2013 bring home the gold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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