Koning says EHL fever rising every day at Den Bosch
With extra stands going up, fan villages being erected and all the extra signage appearing around Oosterplas, Josine Koning says EHL fever is definitely building at Den Bosch.
Speaking after a training session on Thursday morning, the star goalkeeper – a five time European outdoor club champion – says “you can feel the energy” as the club and city prepares to host the EHL for the first time.
It will be her ninth top tier competition since she joined the club ten years ago, taking in gold medals in 2016, 2017 and 2018 in the old EuroHockey Club Cup and then winning EHL Women in 2021 and 2023.
They were also hosts for the 2017 edition but Koning says it is shaping up to be a new world: “You can really see that it’s now bigger than that and, seeing it going on while we were training, it’s just very exciting to see.
“Ours is such an amazing club and now you can kind of feel the energy that a big event is coming up. It’s super cool.”
Indeed, she is hoping to add another famous chapter to what is already a glittering career with the club, a chance which seemingly came out of the blue a decade ago.
Having initially developed at Amersfoort, she moved to SCHC when she was almost 16, rising up to the second team and the Dutch Under-21 set-up.
But, with first team opportunities limited, Koning found herself needing to get more game time at senior level. She initially saw limited options in the Hoofdklasse and so began scouring the second tier of the Dutch ladder to see what options were available.
Out of the blue, Den Bosch coach Raoul Ehren dropped her a phone call to see if she was interested.
“I had the talent but maybe not the experience,” she recalls. “They did take a big leap, took a chance and it worked out pretty well!”
Such faith in youth is something intrinsic to the DNA of Den Bosch – she joined the team around the same time as Pien Sanders, Sanne Koolen, Frédérique Matla, Joosje Burg and Maartje Krekelaar.
They are now the “culture guardians” of the team, something they learned by osmosis from those who went before.
It is something Koning noticed straightaway: “Twice in my first ten minutes, I went over the ball [and let two goals in]. I was pretty anxious back then, and I remember Maartje Paumen coming up to me and saying: ‘no worries, I just have to score an extra one now; you do you and we’ll make sure that we win’.
“It shows how the culture and DNA is here. The older ones, the more experienced players, are more responsible for the results. The youth have a chance to grow and learn.
“Of course, we are quite critical but still, it’s no one’s individual fault if we get a goal against, it’s the entire team’s. I think that creates space to develop.
“Every year, they are off building. In a few years, they will be the new Pien Saunders, the new Maartje Kreekelaar, the new culture guardians.”
It has led to countless memorable moments with many Euro successes sticking in the mind; she cites Paumen’s farewell event in 2017 at the club as a big one while her first two Euro Cup finals both ending in shoot-outs, losing one and winning one.
How the next journey goes remains to be seen. They wait until Wednesday night to find out who their FINAL8 rival will be, though there is an expectation it will be a more familiar opposition than Railway Union.
“We’re anticipating that it’s going to be SCHC,” she says. “We played them two weekends ago—it was a draw, but we were dealing with a lot of injuries. We’ve analysed them. Their penalty corner is dangerous, and they’re a very attacking team. It’s always an exciting game when we play them—so much quality on the pitch.”
Even with some players sidelined, the confidence in the Den Bosch camp is high: “We now have had some time to adapt and we’re just really excited to show Europe what we are made of and make our great club prouod. We’re going to give it everything—we’re ready for a hockey party!”
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