- News release
Bloemendaal coach V.d. Heuvel also coach Chinese men's national team
Michel van den Heuvel will remain coach of Bloemendaal, but will combine his position with a new challenge: coaching the Chinese men's national team. Club icon Teun de Nooijer returns to 't Kopje as assistant coach of The Mussen.
'It is the hardest, most challenging assignment you can imagine in international hockey,' says Van den Heuvel about his adventure at world number 22. 'China has a totally different sporting culture, communication is a challenge - and that's what makes it so great. We are going to try to take this team towards Olympic qualification.'
It will be Van den Heuvel's fourth international job. Previously, he was national coach of the Dutch national team, with whom he won bronze at the 2010 World Cup. After his time with the Dutch team, he embarked on an adventure with Pakistan. Later, Van den Heuvel was national coach with Belgium. After his role as assistant, he moved up to the position of national coach after the Tokyo Games. A year ago, he bid farewell to the Belgian team in Paris.
Michiel Hilders, board member of top hockey: 'When I heard that China wanted to appoint Michel as national coach and Michel wanted to take up this challenge, I had to switch gears, but of course I wanted to support Michel in this great opportunity. Together we looked at how best to combine this. Most of China's programme falls in the summer and winter break, so that is somewhat manageable. And it also offered us the chance to give Teun a nice role at Bloemendaal again. Teun is, of course, a Bloemendaal legend. He belongs on 't Kopje with hockey. I am really very happy that he is coming to support the team. I have every confidence that with our players and staff we can compete for prizes next season.'
For De Nooijer, the return feels like coming home after two seasons as head coach of Amsterdam's women's side. 'Bloemendaal is my club. Field 1 just feels like my living room.' The record international of the Dutch national team with 453 international matches made his debut in Men's 1 in 1992. De Nooijer then played 21 seasons in the Bloemendaal shirt and coached youth teams and Women's 1 for years.
Despite the combination of positions, Van den Heuvel is clear about Bloemendaal's ambitions next season. 'To reach and win play-offs, play EHL and reach the Final Four. That's the bar. If that succeeds, the season will be successful - even with this extra challenge added.'
