Four months into the Centre of Excellence project, Badminton Europe talked to head coach Jeroen van Dijk about how the days are progressing in Holbæk in the new year.
The players have just returned from a minor break for Christmas and new year’s, and by now everyone is back at Stenhus Gymnasium, back in the hall for practice.
- It is going well for us in Holbæk, we have really settled in. We are starting to get the everyday life and practical, simple stuff under control, the head coach explains.
- Now, we are working on restructuring the tasks, so that the two assistant coaches get a bit more administrational tasks and I get to spend more time in the hall with the players.
First things first
Van Dijk has trusted his competent assistant coaches Nicola Cerfontyne and Kestutis Navickas with most of the training, while he was taking care of ‘business’ and the start-up of the centre. The head coach is now looking forward to getting back in the hall.
- In the beginning I spent a lot of time getting everything to work and now I can devote my time to the players' development.
The first focus for the coaching team was to professionalize the players and build the structure and the rules for the centre. Without that the whole setup would not work. Van Dijk is happy with the players’ development when he looks back on the first four months and is excited for the future.
New players and coaches in sight
Badminton Europe will reveal a total of three players who will come to the centre this month. One of them being Robert Mann of Luxembourg who was announced earlier this week.
- We have contact to players at the moment, but we cannot spill any details before a deal is in place. We have also received a lot of applications for the scholarships we are starting to give for the Centre of Excellence-project, which does not only include players but also coaches, van Dijk tells Badminton Europe.
- At the centre, we can provide sparring and input. Players should come to the Centre of Excellence for a variation in their training and to get new ideas. And if players do not have the optimum possibilities in their home country, we can deliver a professional setup in a daily life filled with badminton.