That was quick!
Edwin Benne has been hired by the Dutch Federation to coach their men’s team after the departure of Peter Blange.Edwin played in the 1988 Seoul and was a silver medalist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
The Dutch team hasn’t been successful at all since finishing 9th in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The team did not compete in the World League between 2004 and 2008, finished a disappointing 12th place in 2009 and 11th in 2010 and the Federation had to withdraw the team from the 2011 edition due to program restructuring.
Aside from a series forgettable international results, the Dutch squad has also been struggling in the European Championship since winning the gold back in 1997. The team finished 5th in 1999, 8th in 2001, 6th in 2003, 11th in 2005, 7th in 2007 & 2009 and will not compete in the 2011 edition after a disastrous performance in the Qualifying Round.
As far as the future is concerned, Coach Edwin will work on a plan to qualify the Dutch team in the 2016 Olympics. He’s got enough time to develop the program and we really want to see Robert Horstink, Dick Kooy, Koistra and the rest of the squad experience the Olympic spotlight. Though it’s 6 years away, we are optimistic for the talented Dutch team & we can’t wait to see a STRONGER Dutch team
Since it’s been really tough for the Dutch, we hope Coach Edwin will make a difference.
Well Congrats on the new job coach!
(images: fivb.org/ echo-muenster.de)
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