In my early years, in the municipality Westland, Quintus (from Kwinstheul) was the name of my sports-club. Since the age of 6, I played the sport of team-handball, an Olympic sport which – by the way - is completely unknown to most North Americans. First I wanted to play soccer, but in that time a well respected club-leader personally visited young families in the area to ask if their kids wanted to play team-handball for Quintus. At that young age, I felt so honored that someone would come by and ask me to play for their club, that I changed my mind immediately: I would play team-handball instead of soccer!
As a team we would play home and away games. The away games were mostly within Westland’s boundaries; the odd game in The Hague was considered very far away! After all, we would travel by bike, two by two, in between the greenhouses and through the villages, with our sports-bags on the bike’s rear-rack, our coach in the lead to set the pace and – of course – with a head-wind both ways! Biking was not part of the sport or training; no it was simply our mode of transportation. Our parents would often come to watch and support us, and yes - they would come by bike as well!
Now, in Canada, my kids play volleyball (as I said, team-handball is unknown here, so volleyball came closest). The club where my daughter plays is in Hamilton, a 45 minute drive from home. So, I am glad that she drives a car to her practices herself since she turned 16. We watch most of her matches, even if a 4 to 5 hour drive away. Next week she will be playing a 3-day tournament in Edmonton, against teams from all over the country. Toronto to Edmonton is 4 hours by air, and this is relatively normal for Canadian youth-sports.