Let’s start with an easy one: name, age, position and years played for KZ? FvG: My name is Florine van Grimbergen, I am 26 years old and play almost my whole life for Klein Zwitserland.  I only left for 4 years to play for Laren and now I am back at my old club!

I’ve played a bit of hockey with Martijn, but never with you. Who is the most skilful player in your family? FvG: My dad Maarten van Grimbergen! He played for Klein Zwitserland and for the Dutch team.

Great result first up against Tilburg! What is a good goal for Dames 1 this season? FvG: We want to go for the play-offs off course, get the best out of yourself and than the same as the mens team get back in the Hoofdklasse, but there is still a long way to go!

Dames 1 have some new players too. What have they brought to the team and has anyone in particular surprised you? FvG: Myrthe Groothuis; she is playing normally on the midfield but she is doing very well as a defender with us. 

If Dames 1 had to immediately stop playing hockey, and enter their team into another sport, which sport would Dames 1 be best at and why? FvG: Cheerleading team haha. We all have crazy good dancers in our team. I guess you will see this once on a TD.

Can you tell us a few personal goals for this season? FvG: I want to learn how to scoop. At women’s hockey that a big weapon and I want to make everybody better and better.

What is your all-time favourite hockey moment? This can be personal or something you have seen. FvG: When I played for MA1 of Klein Zwitserland, we played final national championship against Den Bosch. I normally never score goals, but I did inject the ball at the penalty corner and scored the tip-in which was the winning goal!

So Ben, introduce yourself. What is your name, age, position and nationality? BG: Ik ben Ben Craig, I am 25 from Australia and I play as a defender. 

Is this your first time in The Netherlands? BG: Nee, I actually used to live in Amstelveen when I was 11. I went to a normal Dutch school and played hockey too. It was amazing that my whole class could switch to English so that I could join in. Since then I have been back twice. It’s a really, really nice place to visit (and live!).

What kind of work do you do next to hockey? BG: I was very lucky and managed to score an internship with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which will be very exciting. I just finished my combined Law and International and Global Studies degree, so it is literally the perfect place to start. Back home I used to be a music teacher (piano and saxophone). 

I know you played for the Australian team, how many caps do you have? And do you still play in the national team? BG: I played 21 games for Australia, which I am very proud of. Currently I am not in the National Senior Squad, only the National Development Squad, which opened up this great opportunity to experience the Hoofdklasse and HCKZ. 

I went to Australia this Summer over there and it was winter! Which city in Australia do you like the most? BG: Sydney of course! It has everything; amazing beaches, the harbour, national parks in middle the city and the mountains are only an hour away. I love being able to go camping for the weekend and totally escape the city, or spend a day with my mates on a boat going fishing. That’s a shame you only saw it in winter, but even so, the winter can still be very nice! 

What would you try before you die? BG: Good question. How about a play-offs series with HCKZ Heren 1? 

What is the team goal for HCKZ Heren 1? BG: EHL. No, just kidding, that would be nice though. We are doing everything we can to get points every game. We want to have a solid return to the Hoofdklasse, learn a lot and book our ticket to the Hoofdklasse next year where we will keep improving and growing as a team. 

Thanks Ben. Welcome again at the club and all the best this season. 

Thanks Flo, great to talk to you. Good luck with Dames 1!!