chokosc Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 It has been a long day for Edmar van Haalen. The 25 year old had just come back to his hometown, Nunspeet, after two months of intense studying at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. It was only 8 years ago that Edmar was on the breach of getting into the Ajax U18s, but the dream was cut short when he broke his leg during a friendly game. Since then, things have been different. Edmar never managed to get back on the pitch and the long recovery meant he had to look elsewhere. It wasn't an easy decision, but he chose to study law. Alongside his law studies, Edmar thought it would be a good idea to get his first Coaching Badge so that he could get a job as a coach at one of the local clubs. Despite passing his Coaching Course with ease, and getting his National C Licence. he couldn't find a decent job in Rotterdam, where he only had a part time job as a coach at a couple of youth clubs. Edmar arrived at his parents' house. To his surprise, his first ever coach was sat there with his parents. He knew they were good friends, mostly because of his help and belive in Edmar, but he didn't expect to see him when he got there. Between the two there was always an understanding - all talk about football is forbidden. It wasn't a secret that Edmar misses his playing days, and he hasn't taken his injury lightly. Despite the well known, gentelmanic rule, it was Edmar himself who brought up the topic. "I heard they were looking for a new coach at VV Nunspeet. Is that true?" "Yes, but you know, nothing special. They are looking for someone to take this job and enjoy it. No one is expecting big things around here." "Interesting. Do you still know the owner well?" "No, no. I don't know if you have the time now, with you studying in Rotterdam. Maybe when you finish you degree you could come back here and get yourself a job as a coach?" "Maybe." The next day Edmar woke up at 5:30 A.M. Not even at University does he wake up this early. He drank his morning coffee, made himself a sandwich and took off to the town's football pitch. Usually on Fridays, the young kids are training there in the early hours of the morning, just early enough for them to make it to school in time. Edmar likes visiting the ground he used to play on for many years, and meet some of those who coached him. Sometimes he even helps them with some drills. He witnessed something unusual, something he couldn't recall seeing during his time here. The chairman of the club was looking at the young players, talking with some other men that Edmar didn't recognise. It wasn't long before the conversation was over. The chairman started walking towards his car but Edmar stopped him. "Mr. Lammers, I'm Edmar van Haalen. Do you have a minute?" "Just a minute though. I have a meeting to get to. What can I help you with?" "I am currently a student in Rotterdam, my parents live here. I was interested about the vacant position as manager." A little giggle came out. "Listen. I know we are a small club but you won't have enough time to make an impact here." "I am willing to put my studies on a hold for a year." Edmar didn't even blink while saying that, "I don't even want to be a lawyer anymore. If things don't go well and we decide to part ways, I will continue studying." "Well, what can you offer us that someone else can't?" "I am a local boy. I am still young, but I know this club ever since I was little. I can help build this club. I always had a dream of playing at the top league but currently, I can only manage a team. If you give me a chance, I am sure you won't regret it." The chairman said his goodbyes and entered his car. Edmar stayed to help with the training that was going on currently. Edmar went back home. Just as he saw his house, he saw a familiar car sitting right infront of his house. It was the chairman's. Edmar walked inside the house and sitting in the living room was VV Nunspeet's chairman. "Here is your contract. The season starts in two months. You have two weeks to decide." Edmar was shocked, "Don't worry, I won't let you down!" It was clear to see that his parents weren't all too happy with what was happening. Being a football manager at such a small club wasn't the best career move for their son. Edmar didn't wait. He signed the contract and ran out after Lammers. He handed him the signed contract. "I'll give you a week and a half to get your head sorted. The squad is out on holiday so think about training rituals." He got in his car and drove off. A new era in Edmar's life was about to begin and he knew that he could regret this moment for the rest of his life. But, it was the thought of where this could lead him that made him be sure of what he has done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chokosc Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 VV Nunspeet The first thing on Edmar's to do list was change the club's logo. He never liked the old one and thought it was too outdated. Instead, it was decided the the town's Coat of Arms would be used as a logo for the time being. The club doesn't have a load of history. We will have to take adventage of the teams closer to us, those who are in the Gelderland province, such as Vitesse as well as other teams in nearby provinces such as PEC Zwolle, Heracles Almelo, Go Ahead Eagles, Almer City and FC Utrecht. If we can use the loan system to our adventage, it could definitely help us in our hunt for glory. This is our current squad. Obviously at this level, you won't see amazing players but we do have three that seem to be a step infront of the others and they will be the spine of the team both on and off the pitch. Roy van Velzen He is our CB and at the age of 32, we will have to make sure we use his current strengths to the fullest before he decides to retire. Maikel Lange This guy will captain us for the time being and hopefully for a long time. Either on the left wing or as a CM, we will be counting on him to create chances for our strikers and to lead this team forward. Tom IJzerman Tom will be our main threat up top. With his pace and agility, I am really counting on him to be putting the balls in the back of the net. Will be our vice captain for the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 I hope the intrepid young manager someday lands a side gig managing Panama. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManUtd1 Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Great intro - best of luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chokosc Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 @BoxToBox Everything is a possibilty! @ManUtd1 Thanks a lot! Preseason - 2016 A fairly good preseason for us. We lost to Go Ahead who are a much better team than us but we did very well in the other games! Very promising. We brought in 8 players to try and strengthen our squad. 2 players left us, one of them is our captain so Roy van Velzen will take that vacancy. One day Lange will regret leaving us! This is what our squad will look like at the beginning of the season. Not the greatest but I believe that we can have a good season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chokosc Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 2016/2017 First Period Toet joined us as a free agent right after the second game of the season. He looks to be a very good defender for this level and if we get promoted, I think he could easily make the step up! The first period is no over and we have managed to go 6 games without a loss. IJzerman has really been good for us with 5 goals and 3 assists in the first 8 games of the season. The loss to Berkum came out of nowhere really but I will take one loss in eight. Currently in second but we failed to secure a playoff spot at the first time of asking. We must keep our form up if we want to get to the playoffs. Very tight from 2nd to 7th! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keano16 Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Good start! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chokosc Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 @Keano16 It sure was! No where near what I expected. 2016/2017 Second Period I will start off with the transfers. Only Lucksch was part of the second period and he had a fairly good start with 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 starts! The rest were brought in to strengthen the side where we needed (Mostly CM) and also give depth where we were short. Not a good Second Period for us. We lost 3 games and drew one, meaning we finished this period in 8th. Not what I expected after our good start but hopefully things will pick up from here. As you can see, we beat Germania in our first round of our district's cup before losing to Bennekom in the following round. Currently we are sitting in 5th in the overall table. Hopefully we can go on a good run in the Third Period and secure ourselves a playoff spot, as well as getting closer to the top? Anyway, we must pick up our form and be more consistent. I am already 11-2 to get sacked and I don't want to see my name there! Something good to finish off with. Not too special at this point, but surely heading in the right direction. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxtothemax Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 This is really interesting mate, will be following! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chokosc Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 @maxtothemax Thanks mate. Hope you enjoy! Youth Income Absolutely nothig note worthy. Not expected anything really but this will be an area we must improve on the succeed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chokosc Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 2016/2017 Third Period Not too bad I guess. Only the one loss but we have not been getting enough wins. I won't fault the boys though, as we got draws against the bigger teams and also beat DETO. If only we were better against WHC and Go Ahead... So, we finished 5th overall, and quite a lot behind the top four. We finished 4th in the Third Period, and we only needed four points to get in the playoffs. I am not too bothered though. Hopefully this should mean that we get another season in this league to get a stronger squad together. IJzerman has probably been opur best player, scoring 17 goals and getting 5 assists. He will certainly be staying here for next season. This is how our players were preforming. Not too bad but a lot will leave in the build up to next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chokosc Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 First ever job interview! They are two divisions above us (won the league last season) and for some reason they wanted me! I declined the interview as I feel I have a lot to do here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chokosc Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 2017/2018 Season Preview This is what our team is looking like for the new season. Hopefully the stronger playerts can make an impact and get the rest playing well as well. We had at total of 10 players joining us and we have released a total of 14 players during the summer. Sadly, our keeper Dino Julicher decided to leave for a third division side, so we really had nothing to do to stop him. These are our expectations for the season. Anything less and I will be disappointed. We have to show progress! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chokosc Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 2017/2018 First Period Despite picking up an early loss to SVZW we managed to pick our form up and win a total of 5 games in the opening 8. Just like our start last season. This season though, DETO and SVZW are just beasting it! I can't see anyone catching up to those two. Hopefully though this will mean that 2nd-4th in the final table go to the playoffs. We will have to keep on outscoring our opponents if we want to stay with a shot of promotion! Our man IJzerman is turning up again, this time with 4 goals and 3 assists in the First Period. He has taken the CAM role this season and he is doing a great job! Our new striker Luwawu (great name if you ask me), has been banging in the goals! A great player and hopefully he can keep this up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chokosc Posted May 19, 2017 Author Share Posted May 19, 2017 Had a power shortage so had to replay the last two games. Updated with new pictures! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chokosc Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share Posted May 20, 2017 I'm a wanted man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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