A new chapter started for Renée van Laarhoven at SCHC. In addition to the fact that it is the indispensable link in the defense, the 92-meal Dutch International is now also the new captain in Bilthoven, successor to Xan de Ward. This puts her at the head of the team that this season wants to pick in the EHL and the battle for the national title. “I want to bring a lot of energy through my positivity.
Van Laarhoven officially wore the belt for the first time last Sunday, In the home game against HDM. The fact that SCHC won the game easily (2-0) and kept its goal clean brought a smile to the face of the brand new captain. ‘Captain or not, as a team we always strive to keep the zero. We had trained all week with specific attention to our defense. Then it is great to start with a clean leaf and not to give up any penalty corner.
Is it the first time in your career that you wear the captain’s bracelet?
Van Laarhoven: ‘It’s not entirely new to me. At my previous club Kampong I also wore it when Malou Pheninckx was absent. And also in the national youth selections I was sometimes a captain, as a second year in the group. I don’t think a lot will change for me. I fill my role in the same way. In my position at the central back I have always been busy setting up the organization, communicating well and getting everyone on board. ‘
Photo: Jan Kruijdenberg.
Why did your new coach Robbert van de Peppel chose you as a captain and no more Xan?
‘Xan has noticed in recent months with Orange that she liked not to be a captain anymore. That draw finally ended with Pien [Sanders] And that was completely okay for Xan. She could concentrate on her own game at Oranje and like to be on the field and she now wants to be able to do that at SCHC. I think she has taken over the role of Captain in recent years. It requires a lot of responsibility, but she has always done it 100 percent. ‘
Ex-captain Xan de Ward takes the HDM goal under fire. Photo: Jan Kruijdenberg
What kind of captain are you?
“When he asked me, I said that as a captain I like to close to what fits me. I am not the one who is super critical of every training session about everyone. That is not in my nature. I am someone of connection. Keeping the team together is what I stand for. I want to bring a lot of energy through my positivity. Of course there will be some extra tasks for me, but in the end we will pick up the leadership tasks with a larger group. Players such as Yibbi [Jansen]Small [Dicke]Marleen [Jochems] And Xan will not suddenly take their hand tactics suddenly. ‘
How special do you think it is to wear the belt at SCHC?
‘It feels that you are appreciated within the team. And that shines outside. That is of course a very nice compliment. In the end you don’t do it for that, but it is very honorable. I am not the player who stands out most often. My strength is to play in the interest of the team, just like with Orange. ‘
Renée van Larangen Wit Orange teammates Xan the War (left) and Pin Sanders. Photo: Willem Vernes.
Of course, as a captain you now often have to tell the outside world how SCHC will succeed in winning the national title this year.
Where, and it is up to me and the other girls to process that well. The positive side of that attention is that it lives very much in the field hockey world of the field and that many people want us to win. That is very nice. But of course there is also the other side if we don’t succeed. That is difficult, especially immediately after a lost final. ‘
Last season there was the necessary commotion after the statements of the previous coach Gilles van Hesteren, who stated with confidence that you would take the title. Were those statements annoying?
“We were not so worried about that. We had self -confidence that it would work and we still have that trust. We go for the title and that indicate that. Above all, we must concentrate on ourselves. We are not going to do a hundred things differently this season, because we are already doing a lot of things. And if it finally works, I am sure there will be a lot of release. Because we also know what it feels like to miss the title. ‘
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