My parents both are very active persons. My dad has played soccer from a young age, also he trained younger children for some years. But due to an injury in his knee, he had to stop with soccer and had to chose another sport. From that moment he is a very fanatic cyclist. He trains several times a week. My mom first was a runner, she trained one or two times a week. But also because of an injury it was better to try another sport. So she went cycling also. And now my father and mother cycling together several times a week. My parents always support me in my athletic career. When I was young they motivated me to sport and they always supported me.
The first part of my career cycle is when I start with volleyball. The first years I played volleyball only for the fun. I trained only one time a week and sometimes I played a match. In the second stage, we get a better, more professional trainer. We started training twice a week and start playing in a competition. As a team we grew and became better and better. And two years later we became champions. Then I went to Amsterdam and started to play also in Amsterdam. So during the week I trained in Amsterdam and in the weekend I trained in my hometown and played matches there. After two years of playing for two clubs I decided to stop playing at my hometown. So now I only play in Amsterdam.
The goal of my journey is to enjoy the athletic experience. I always played volleyball because I liked it and the main goal for me was to keep this joy in the game. It’s also important to learn and play well but joy is the number one important thing.
The most important decision I had to make during my career was the decision to stop playing at the club at home and to play only in Amsterdam. It took too much energy every weekend to go home and train and play a match there. So it was the best decision to stop playing for two clubs but it was a hard decision because I had so much fun with the team and the trainer.
At the end of the last year I played for two teams I experienced a lack of fit. It was hard to combine playing volleyball at two clubs and studying at an university. It took so much energy to go home every weekend to train and play a match. So I decided after that season to stop playing at my home club and to only play in Amsterdam. Now I only train once a week and play two or three times a month a match.
The most important relationships related to my athletic career are the relationships with my teammates. A good relationship with your teammates makes it so much nicer and much more fun to play. It’s like a friendship.
The athletic role is a part of my life. Other roles are the social role, work role, study role etc. Sometimes it can be hard to combine all the different roles. Unfortunately you can’t do everything so you have to make decision and set priorities. Sometimes you have to cancel social events and disappoint people because you have to train or play a match. That can be hard.
During my athletic career I am related to several sport organizations. These include the NeVoBo, SVU Volleybal and VC Patrick. I don’t think these organizations have had me as a resource.
My athletic career means social contact, physical activity, distraction and most of all joy. I now play at a student club so you meet a lot of new people, have good parties and nice tournaments. That makes it a distraction of the stress about work and study.
...(download the rest of the essay above)