Martinus - Artikel
Not a farewell
And so we have come to the end of another phase in the history of our famous club.
With two amazing parties we said goodbye, starting a couple of weeks ago with our British friends, and yesterday-evening (and this morning!) to our lovely First ladies team.
I'm sure that it's no farewell: the boys and girls have found out that being with Martinus is a little more than playing a game every week. They're part of us, and they always will be, whether they like it or not. Wherever they play, they will play there as our representatives, and their clubs will know they come from Martinus. And if they need us, we will be there.
I wrote before about the meaning of what they have achieved. It is hard to establish the value of things like these on the moment itself. The value is to be known in perspective: in perspective of the work that has been done, the ideals that lead to it, the believe that it was the right way, and also in perspective of everything that still has to come.
I also wrote that I learned in my life that the value of these things lies more in the path that we take and in the way we do it, than in the goal we finally achieve. Did Joop Alberda, who participated just about during a year-and-a-half in the Olympic Project, deserve to win the Olympic Gold more than Avital and his father, who dedicated their lives for almost 15 years to the project and changed the Dutch Volleyball scenery forever? I'm not saying that he didn't, but in my mind the Selingers won the gold as well or even more. They were standing on the platform, invisible but clear to my mind's eye, when the medals were handed out, as were all the other pioneers (like Teun and Harry and now the British team) who dared to dream, and, even better, dared to go for it. It's difficult to ride a wave, but it is an even more impressive achievement to give the impulse that causes the wave.
When I was about 26 I learned to ski. As I was part of a very athletic group (Yes sir, I did!), we were pushed to the limits to learn in a couple of days what others would take weeks. The third day we were going downhill as we reached, with considerable speed, a small path that was curving along the side of the mountain. The mountain on the left, and the leg-breaking depth at the right. The guy before me fell, and blocked the way. As I couldn't stop (I was to close) I instinctively passed him at his right side, stand on my left ski one centimeter away from going down and breaking both my legs, my right ski hanging above the abyss. Never in my life have I been more in focus, more in balance, more in control and stronger than in these three seconds. And the adrenaline told me right away: I felt like a giant, although I was the only one to notice what happened. And there was no medal at the end, nor was it needed. The reward was there, right away: I got to know myself in a way I didn't before.
The sharpness of the moment and the adrenaline made it easy to get this perspective of myself. It is far more difficult to do so in the process that the girls are in. It takes time and a lot of learning to really understand what your role has been and how proud you can be of it. But eventually you will, and you will understand that, when the medals are handed out, you will be standing there, visible or invisible.
And now we are back to normal?
Forget it!!!
It will be an interesting competition with at least 4 to 5 clubs that will be stronger than ever. I am sure that the magnetism of the National Team the past couple of years has its influence on potential sponsors. And hopefully it will compensate for some of the annoyances. Most of all I hope for new initiatives, but I will go into that in my next column.
And the NeVoBo? Well...
And Martinus? We will surprise, as we always have done!!
Frans Verweij
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