The centre of The Hague was devoted to street hockey on Wednesday as some 90 children aged between 6 and 12 took part in a tournament on the Haags Hockey Plein. Street hockey is one of several KNHB initiatives to introduce the sport to a wider audience – in this case to children more at home in the playground than on the hockey pitch. “We have focused on neighbourhoods where children are less likely to join a sports club,” says Marlies van der Hoek, who coordinated the project on behalf of The Hague city council.
Nationwide
The initiative has been so successful that the KNHB now plans to roll it out nationwide. “It would be fantastic if we could introduce everyone in the Netherlands to hockey,” said Wim de Jong, director of the Richard Krajicek Foundation, which is one of the street hockey organisers. “If we start out in the big hockey cities like Utrecht, Amsterdam and Den Bosch, then we can actively involve the clubs as well.” KNHB director Johan Wakkie remembers beginning the project in a disadvantaged part of the city a year ago. “I talked about it with a local sports coach named Mohammed. He was not at all keen to start with,” Wakkie says. “He was worried the hockey sticks would be used as weapons! But after the first two-day training session, he had completely changed his mind.”
“Cool to show at school”
The finals took place on the Haags Hockey Plein, next to the Dutch parliament. Abdulah from Team Laakveld takes a selfie of himself after the game with hockey stick and gum shield. “Cool to show around at school,” he says. Youssouf says his team has improved now they are a fixed group. “I really like hitting the ball but the backhand is tricky,” he says. “It is just a pity the matches are so short.” The final took place between teams Ketelveld and Spico. With a score of 2-2 at full time, Ketelveld went on to win with a golden goal.