x4

Planet Field Hockey

For planetfieldhockey, catching up with Ronald Brouwer was not easy. If Brouwer wasn't snowboarding in the French Alps, he was off in Scotland winning the World Perth Indoors with Holland. But we finally tracked him down to talk life and hockey.

Ronald Brouwer is the latest up and coming Dutch hockey star. He is now twenty-one and finds himself forced to make the transition from the junior national team to join the seniors. He recently made the jump to the “big leagues”, although for now, only in indoor hockey. With his four goals in the Perth World Indoors tournament, it was obviously a natural progression.


planetfieldhockey: First off let's talk about your summer last year. The summer of 2000 was a special summer for you as you were named the most valuable player at the European U-21 Championships. How did it feel to be awarded such a prestigious award?
Ronald Brouwer: Well, it was a kind of shock to be voted MVP of the tournament, because I didn`t expect it. Of course it felt great, especially as it was my last tournament as an under 21. I really wanted to play well and go home with a gold medal. I didn`t go home with a gold medal, but I was happy to be awarded the MVP award. For me it was a good thing to happen, because I finally proved I could score goals in important games

pfh: How many goals did you score? And where did Holland finish?
RB: 7 field goals in 5 games. We won the bronze medal.

pfh: There must have been a lot of great young players at that tournament? Can you name some of the best from the teams that were there?
RB: The gold medal went to Spain and they had a great team. I don`t know every player by name, but the most important player in their team was Tubau, who is a first eleven player in their national squad. But they had 3 more great players who were also in the national selection. Germany was the same. That`s probably why we didn`t bring home the gold. Spain and Germany had more experienced players, which is very important at a junior tournament.

pfh: Let's talk about the exciting start to your season here in the Dutch league. You are one of the top scorers in the dutch league right now. You have 10 goals in 8 games this year and I see that you finished last season with 12. Why such an improvement from last year?
RB: I think the most important thing I improved was to be relaxed when hitting on goal. Most of the time I have always thought you have to do everything at full speed, but in most cases I have found that you can take an easier shot using the time I didn't know I had. Of course you need to be in the right spot too, but sometimes that`s luck or maybe experience? Last of all when you’re a center forward you really need a good team that trusts you and gets you the ball where you want it.

pfh: HGC is having a very successful season up to now. What has gone right in a season that was predicted to be HGC's worst in years after losing the services of the team's captain and world player of the year, Stephan Veen?
RB: This year we didn`t expect too much of the season. We started off as a tight defensive team with a good corner and counter-attack, which got us through the first four difficult games. After that our confidence improved and we just kept improving our tactics and, with a bit of luck sometimes, and some great hockey we managed to win almost every game. We have the best corner execution in the world in Bram Lomans. We also have a couple of good players who can win the game for us on any given day. Players like Guus Vogels, the newest no. 1 goalie of Holland, Friso Jiskoot, and Rob Short are the first names that come to mind. We are also getting late Christmas presents acquiring two new players for the second half of the season. Maarten Burgers returns to us after a six-month break and James Elmer of the Australian National Team is also joining us.


pfh: The papers are now calling for ' Brouwer for the Dutch team'...how does that make you feel? Do you see yourself at the world cup in 2002? Who do you have to compete with to be in the 16?
RB: I try not to think to much about it, but of course i have a fair chance. I think if i can keep up this level of playing i have a shot at the World Cup 2002. I will be competing with players like Jaap Derk Buma, Remco van Wijk, Teun de Nooijer, Marten Eikelboom, so that is a big challenge. Playing with the Indoor side this week really made me realise I can fit in with the best players in Holland.

pfh:.What are your hobbies?
RB: I`m someone with a lot of energy, so i like to do a lot of different sports like surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, golfing, etc. I think you can wake me for almost every sport.

pfh: Who is your favorite player?
RB: Ex-dutch international Taco can den honert. But of course my friend and ex-teammate Stephan Veen and Teun de Nooijer is also up there.

pfh: A rumour of you dating one of the Womans Dutch Hockey Players has been brought to our attention. Would you like to comment on that?
RB: (Laughing).....Don't really know about this question but yes there has been a date but the rest is no comment.

pfh: Can HGC win the title this year?
RB: It`s going to be really hard, because all teams will be so tough in the play-offs. Now they`re just cruising at half speed, but as soon as there`s something at stake, they make the difference. At least that`s what happened the last two years with us in the play-offs. We didn`t lose to
Bloemendaal in the regular season, but when we played them in the play-offs they just had something extra and knocked us out years with ease.

pfh: Are you in school or working?
RB: I`m a civil engineering student in Delft. I am in my fourth year now.

pfh: With all the advice you have been given through playing with many of the best players in the world what would be the one thing you were told that you would pass on to young players around the world?
RB: If you ever get the chance to play with a great team in Holland, or somewhere else, and you really want to get better, do it!! I think the best way to learn is from better players, so try to find an environment in which you are a talent but not the best player. That`s how I have learned the most.

Rate This Article

Select Here  5 Stars  (Best Rating)   4 Stars   3 Stars   2 Stars   1 Star  (Worst Rating)

Your opinion counts.
Rate this article or enter your comments below.