After the unfortunate end of a rollercoaster squash "career", I had to change focus. First of all gain my health back, but living aint free so I had to make some money too. Through a sponsor I got offered work in his gym as a physiotherapist. I started up Complete Fysiofitness in 2013 around the time I had to quit squash, and after 2 years it was ranked the no1 physiotherapist practice in the city I worked in.  After several years I broke partnership with the partners at the time and from 2020 I started up completely alone in the same city (Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands) bu ..read more

Now in effective training for 2 months, I was invited to the national team training in February in Oslo Norway. For the seniors this meant selection training for the European championships. For me it was basically do or die, as 3/5 players are already selected due to good performances earlier in the season. The new coaches from England (Lauren Selby and Emily Ison) have never seen me play before, and although my past performances should be a powerful statement we all have to remember I have been away for 2 years. The post exercise malaise have been a lot better and I have not felt it in a ..read more

Yes it is a real thing, and here is proof that you are reading quality!!! What is extra cool is that I am the only player blog on the list, so since I do not brag about finishing 36th in a tournament, I rather brag that I finished no 1 as a players blog. boom! For the full list, see here:  http://blog.feedspot.com/squash_blogs/?utm_content=bufferb37d9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer ..read more

What you are about to witness are based on true stories - The first time I played Aisling Blake, I grabbed her tit (I was reaching for the ball) - The first time I trained with Geoff Hunt, I wanted to be nice to the old man and hit mostly floaters and high 3 wall boasts. After the session he said, you re playing well but your boasts are shit. Then we played another game and he knocked my front tooth out - First time going out with Borja Golan he decides to jump out of the taxi on the highway and do the worm 3 times in between cars - First time I met Peter Nicol, he was passed out drunk ..read more

Any athlete knows that the greatest fuel to the fire is someone telling you that you cant do it. You get a cocktail of anger/stubborness/grit/Immashutyouuphater kinda sensation through your bones "No one recovers from ME" "Its a chronic condition" "You will have to live with it" "You will never play squash on any level again" - Well fuk you, then I will do the opposite of what you tell me After 2 years of research I have found the cure. Although there are many subcategories of ME, I found what works for me. Its a long process and it requires a dicipline of that of a top athlete. I need to ..read more

I can give you a different story every time you ask me, what is experience. Naturally, as a squash player, I now refer to experience in sports. And now, even though I was a late bloomer (starting squash at 16) I still have some years under my belt, and I filled those 10 years with a lot of squash and sqiuash travels. I am not the young buck anymore. I am no longer the underdog. I am no longers the talent (never was actually). I am no longer the junior. I now have juniors chasing me, which is a weird feeling. Luckily none of them beat me yet ;) hehe The last year, being forced to take time a ..read more

The worst thing about this whole EBV/CFS/ME/PVF/PEM abbreviation hell I've been going through the last 18 months is not the physical aspect. You would imagine an athlete in one of the most challenging sports in the world, whos strength is being able to play 3 matches per day and be fit enough to win the final on Sunday, would feel horrified by struggling to walk stairs. And yes, it sucks to be sick for 2 months only after walking 3 flights of stairs. But, ok. Thats reality. The new reality. Adapt. It took 8 months before my metabolism dropped. By then I had lost 5 kgs of muscle. After this ..read more

In 2011 the World Open Squash was held in Rotterdam. After the first few days of qualifying I was one of the players not making it into the main draw, losing to Davide Bianchetti. A few days later, as the squash nerd I am, I arranged a hit at the same club as the championship was being held with a friend who also participated but did not qualify. Before starting a friendly game to relieve any frustration pressure from losing the match a few days before, I went to the toilet to relieve myself of a different kind of pressure. Midst of my pressure session (squash pun intended), someone fiercely ..read more

For the last 2 years there has been less squash. With that aside, I have been forced to start my own company to support myself. 2 Years of hard work has resulted in a successful practice 30 min drive south of Amsterdam. It is now up and running on its own with full schedules and good reviews. In this time (being obsessed with rankings) I have attained the top ranking of physiotherapists in the region. Going for no1 in Holland, naturally. My company's vision is a top sport mentality combining physiotherapy and personal training, to not only treat the injury, but keeping the entire body ..read more

I just reviewed one of my matches from Tromsø PSA closed sattelite a few months back. I showed up still being sick as a social trip and a nice break. I was on court for all my matches to hit some balls, which is nice, but I cant strain my body. Listening to the live commentary, I realized that maybe people don't fully understand what I am going through. I especially worry about the Norwegian Squash Federation who have supported me fully as I was an active professional, but lately have stepped back. It is called Mononuchleosis, "Mono" for short. Popularly known as kissing disease. It affects t ..read more