Herinneren is een vorm van ontmoeten…

“Ik wil niet door Joey getackeld worden hoor...”
I remember hearing that as I stood on the pitch, close to a group of 9 and 10 year olds. It was tackle training time, and the closer Joey got to the front of the queue, the more nervous the players near me got. They jostled and swapped positions, trying to guess when it was Joey's turn to tackle. One boy wasn't paying attention and found himself at the front of the queue as the ball was shoved into his hands. The rest of the group thought it was hilarious as Joey folded him in two. (I can’t remember what I said to the poor boy - probably something like “You okay? Next time, maybe pay more attention”). A year or two later, if memory serves me well, one of the coaches wouldn’t allow Joey to tackle anymore during training drills.
Joey was a quiet young lad when he started playing rugby with us in Almere. He wouldn't say much. He watched what the coaches were showing, or what the more experienced players were doing, and then tried it for himself. We could see from almost the start that he loved the contact side of rugby, especially tackling. He would give it his all - fly in and chop down whatever was in front of him; whether it was a tackle bag, the biggest player on the opposition team or a poor team-mate on the training field.
But there was never malice or ill-will in his tackles - just 100% intent. He loved it, and he was good at it. He was quick, he was strong, he was fearless - and it was here that we saw the first real signs of the drive and passion Joey had for rugby. It was a drive and passion that was a pleasure to see and a source of pride for his club. Frans, Marleen, It’s heartbreaking. It’s intense. It’s unfair. From Iris and myself, our deepest condolences go out to you during this unimaginably difficult time, Ritchard