The Netherlands: Telgenkamp is again internationally: ‘wants to experience Veldhockey differently’

He spent the summer at his office in The Hague. Hardly anything got from the Silver European Championship in Mönchengladbach. And returned to the Orange Training Group on Monday after an absence of five months. Duco Telgenkamp is another international. “Less obsession, enjoy the moment more.”

In the middle of the interview, Telgenkamp bursts briefly. Last night I forgot in which clothing we were training. Without really thinking about it, I had already put the old set in the bag. However, I already had the new outfit. But I had to start packing again.

He tells it in the clubhouse of Amsterdam, where he and half of the team rest this Monday of the first training. “Later going to the gym,” he sounds relaxed. “It felt very quickly as old times. You get used to it so quickly. Then you just hear: It’s good that you are back. And then it is back to the results of this weekend.

Duco the international and businessman

So the Parisian gold medal winner is back. Was also added back to the group app on Sunday, where he left before the summer. It is Duco again, the international. A huge contrast with the businessman that we spoke about three months earlier. In its stately business building in The Hague, He spoke about his hockey -free summer. About the dot on the horizon that was missing.

About the difficult combination between running a company – a streaming health service – and top hockey. And about his performance obsession in Veldhockey, which brought him a lot but did not last long. An interview that definitely still showed his love for field hockey. But that feeling was overgrown with countless question marks.

“I had thought of those topics since the Olympic Games,” says Telgenkamp. ‘So it was not a five -month Sabbatical for me, but a process that was going on for much longer. I knew very well how I didn’t want to continue as an international. But how I wanted it, I still had to sort that out. I recently worked on that. And I think I found a good mode in that. ‘

Photo: Willem Vernes

‘The big goal for me was how to support it more sustainably as international. Enjoy the game without doing it alone if I score. Or only when we won something. That actually didn’t work, because I was already working on the next game. I now try to let that go for that. When I was thirteen, I was already afraid that I could not become an Olympic champion if I couldn’t score against Victoria with the HDM C1. I now want to experience field hockey differently. To approach it Kilder, without being less good on the field. ‘

When I was thirteen, I was already afraid that I could not become an Olympic champion later if I couldn’t score with HDM’s C1 against Victoria. Duco Telgenkamp

He spoke a lot about this with his parents. His girlfriend. And also with the national coach Jeroen Delmee. ‘It was about what I actually enjoyed about field hockey. I had to go back to basics. On the Duco that Veldhockey played to have fun. Inside, but also outside the field. Not so forced to think about the next training or Sunday’s opponent. I try to think less about how their last man is going and how I can score. ‘

“That went on. I was never gone. Constantly that pressure on what is going to happen and what I have to do to be good. You can do that at the play -offs or at a tournament. But not 365 days a year. I make that switch and it goes in the right direction. ‘

Photo: Willem Vernes

‘I know what I can do’

While he was busy with his field hockey experience, Telgenkamp also felt the eagerness to be part of the Dutch national team. “I was looking for contact again. Asked questions again. I saw something coming up about the World Cup that I found interesting. I became curious again. And that was very nice to notice.

He looked at the final of the European Championship with Miles Bangsens, who missed the tournament because of a knee injury. Unlike that, I didn’t see much, was also working on work. I also did not feel the need to completely change my schedule. I thought they played seriously well in the final. Then saw again how nice it is to be part of it. ‘

And so he saw the Lost Shoot-Out series against Germany, against whom he scored the winning goal in the Olympic final a year earlier. He will not tell himself that his team missed him there. “But I know what I can do. That I can bring something like that. If I had been in that final, I would have created danger. ‘

With Miles Bukens. Photo: Willem Vernes

Flirting with a return

It brought him a small step closer to a return. A month after the EC he asked Delmee if they could meet. “That felt like flirting. I told him that I would consider it a huge honor if he wanted to call me again. Fortunately he responded very positively. Because I want a lot, I don’t make the selection in the end. ‘

That task is clearly with the national coach, who already indicated that the fire was back with Telgenkamp. “Because we kept in touch, I knew exactly how he was doing,” said Delmee. “We gave him space, he needed that. During that time he looked carefully to see if he still wanted to become a top athlete. You have to like it, it’s one life of life. It has been good that he took a distance in the summer, so he can stand there again. ‘

Photo: Willem Vernes

Whether there is still a counting camp, Delmee does not dare to say. “I didn’t see him so well today. The future will learn it. The total image in his life must be right. If that is not the case, we notice it on the orange. ‘

And in the group there was also room for a very targeted striker. “We all know that the performance at the European Championship could have been a little higher,” said Delmee. ‘And we also know what Duco performed during the tournaments he played. He is a Finisher. If we were better done with the EC, we would have become European champions. I am not saying that other guys can’t do that; But it is a trademark of Duco. That can be deadly in the circle. ‘

In the beanbag with his friends

That deadly striker also has a better balance between work and field hockey. ‘On training days I work mornings and evenings. But when I am here with the group, I don’t want to make all kinds of agreements in between. I also want to take the time to chat. To eat a sandwich in peace. And so lie in the bean bags with Miles and Floris Middendorp, until the next training comes. Less obsession, enjoy the moment more. ‘