“I don’t like to sit on my hands, I want to develop as a person”

Joska le Conté became a Dutch champion in pole vault five times in several youth categories. But when she came into contact with the sliding sport, she exchanged the summer for the winter and she chose the skeleton. Riding her skeleton down the track, she was freaking fast. She did not fulfil her dream to make it to the Olympics by just an inch. She hopes to succeed this time as coach of Kimberley Bos. And then she is involved in her other career, with her own business Holland Sport Support.

“I had thought that I would miss it. Training, the races, the gym. That I would think, standing alongside the race track: Hey, I want to ride down myself. It was not that bad at all. Coaching is rewarding to me. It is great to elaborate on the question how someone can improve. And to see this improvement as well.

“An employer who values high-performance sport, understands that you cannot be present every day from nine to five”

Joska le Conté

Making the transition from athlete to coach was not that bad at all. First of all, it is wonderful to be involved in sport, and even more the sport that I love. Skeleton is a fantastic sport. The combination adds beauty to the sport: the start, sprinting, steering, the speed, the adrenaline. Even though I do not ride down as a coach any longer. I am involved in other things. It requires a lot of organizing and planning. That suits me well. When I was active as an athlete, we did not always have enough means for all activities provided by the federation. So you had to arrange things by yourself, such as traveling. I went to team captain meetings myself as well. It was not ideal for me as a high-performance athlete, but I learned a lot from it. It is an asset for me now. Just like my experience as policy advisor with the Royal Dutch Motorcycle Association.

I started there via Gold at Work (Goud op de Werkvloer), a project that was launched by the Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation (NOC*NSF), Randstad and Sports & Business (Sport & Zaken), so as to establish more positions with organizations that value high-performance sports for (former) high-performance athletes. I had completed my studies and I wanted to have a job in addition to training, with a sport federation. I started with the Royal Dutch Motorcycle Association (KNMV). They had registered as an employer that values high-performance sport. Such an employer cares about you as a high-performance athlete. They understand that you cannot be present each day from nine to five. I had made arrangements that I could focus on skeleton during the winter season and that I would be working with the Association during the summer. In the meantime, I also completed a master’s degree in Management Science. I don’t like to sit on my hands, I want to develop as a person.

Right now, I am nice and busy once again. I am employed with the Dutch Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation and, as said, I am the coach of skeleton racer Kimberley Bos. Furthermore, I do all kinds of other things for the federation. And I am a team leader for the grassroot coaches of Sporty Municipality Zeist (Sportief Zeist), which I do via my own company Holland Sport Support. It is nice work to do. It is rewarding. I am responsible for a large number of projects. It is about creating awareness among people as regards the importance of a healthy lifestyle, and to make sure that they do enough physical activities. You can do that in various ways, for instance by organizing activities during the King’s Day Games or by ‘Moving with a Doctor’s Note’. In this respect, we help people with a note from the general practitioner to find a sport which fits them well. This way, I contribute to society. That feels good.

All in all, I started off well after my high-performance career, even though I missed the thrill of high-performance sports in the beginning. I slid down during a World Cup for the last time. I was already a coach at that time. That was back in 2019. The British Airforce was training on the same slide track. I did know someone of them. They said: ‘Come and join us this afternoon. We have a sled, we have a helmet, we have everything for you.’ That was fun. But all right, I am a coach now. And I am proud of that. It was always meant to be actually. When I was twelve years old, I was an assistant coach at athletics, and when I was fifteen years old, I was training my own group. I already did that then and there with great joy and commitment. That is not something I took with me from high-performance sport to my work, it is in my veins. It is who I am.”

the next career step

“I contribute to society, which feels good”

“Actually doing something for people is rewarding”

Epke Zonderland

His high-performance career came to an end in 2021 in Tokyo. Epke Zonderland gave his last performance there. He became the world champion in the men’s horizontal bar three times, and he was the Olympic champion in London in 2012. This day will always be part of the Dutch collective memory, both thanks to the historic performance and the commentary in this respect – “And he is standing still!” Time has come for a new career now. He will specialize as a sport physician upon completion of his degree in medicine. He enjoys helping people, actually meaning something to someone.

“When you stay at home, it may start nagging you. What if I had gone after all? Now I know that I could not have done anything else in Tokyo. I did my utmost. I was satisfied with my performance. I even had an euphoric moment afterwards. As if I had won a competition. I think I was relieved that I could finish my career in high-performance gymnastics with dignity. When I look back, I consider London 2012 as the highlight. I gave my best performance ever there, with a combination of three flight elements in a row. That was an exceptional performance. Everyone knew I was going to do this, but if I would succeed? You could feel the tension. It is wonderful that you accomplish exactly that at this particular moment.

What has helped me was a crucial mistake during the Olympic finals in Beijing four years before. That was a turning point in my career. It had gone quite all right during training until then, but it never fully showed during the competition. It did not show either in those finals. I was performing too conservative and I was hesitating whether I would carry out a difficult combination of jumps. I did not take that chance. Subsequently, my hands slipped from the horizontal bar. It was not the performance which I had in mind. I thought: This is not going to happen again. I have benefited quite a lot from this mindset during the remainder of my high-performance career. When you do something, do so with a firm conviction.

I did already have this conviction in choosing an academic program in addition to sports. It turned out to be the study of medicine. I actually wanted to mean something to people. I enjoyed operating, working with my hands. I knew it was a difficult study in the combination with high-performance sport, because of the obligatory attendance and the many internships that you have. But there was no alternative. This is what I wanted. My days were fully booked: training, studying, training, studying, sleeping. I was involved in training for thirty hours a week easily. And another thirty hours with studying. I never considered it as cumbersome. I wanted to do this very much myself. You have so much energy at that age. You can handle a lot indeed. And it is all right as well if you make progress a bit slower than regular students.

In the end, I completed my studies in eleven years. I was most delayed with my clinical apprenticeships. Those were quite difficult to schedule in combination with high-performance sport. You are physically active with the clinical apprenticeships like you are with gymnastics. The combination is just a bit too much. Especially before important competitions and tournaments. Theory is just a matter of learning the study material, which was a much better combination with high-performance sport. At the same time, I have to add that I received a lot of understanding. Both from my study program and the physicians with whom I worked together. It was never an issue if I worked less hours and took a longer time to finish. They often observed my high-performance planning and they considered this in drafting the work schedules. That was marvelous.

In the end, I will not pursue a career as a surgeon. I am going to specialize in sports medicine. I will start the educational program to this end in January 2022. This program primarily consists of gaining working experience in several departments, such as cardiology, pulmonary medicine and orthopedics. I am looking forward to it very much. It is a very broad education which gives you a lot of options. What fascinates me about sports medicine is prevention. Practicing sports and being physically active play an important role in this respect and provide for many advantages in health. High-performance guidance could also be an option. Participating in a large tournament as a sport physician is very appealing to me. But that may be something at a later stage. And the physiological aspect of sports medicine fascinates me as well.

I consider it important to enjoy what I am doing. In high-performance sports, it was about your development. Improving myself step by step and doing everything it takes to this end. In my new career as a sports physician, I am going to help others to take small steps. For instance, to recover well and fast after an injury, so that one can quickly start again. That is rewarding. The future will tell what practice will bring me. The transition to my next career still has to begin, actually. Coping with adversity, setting targets, planning, being patient. It cannot all take place in one day. I am lucky to be around for a while.”

“If I worked less hours and took a longer time to finish, that was all right”

“Participating in a large tournament as a sport physician is very appealing to me”

the next career step

“It is important to discover who you are”

Joyce Sombroek

When Joyce Sombroek was 26 years old, she retired as goalkeeper of the Dutch ladies hockey team. And a couple of years later, she quit with her hockey club in Laren. She suffered too much from hip osteoarthritis. At that time, she already had quite a trophy cabinet. She won gold in the European Championship, the World Championship and the Olympic Games and she has been proclaimed the best goalkeeper in the world twice. At present, she works as a general practitioner in medical training at the Amsterdam Medical Center. She considers that a societal career is important as well. She has always been aware of that.

“After the Rio Olympics, I could focus more on my study in medicine. During the winter break, I went to Sydney for an apprenticeship. Subsequently, I was traveling for a month and I took the time to consider what I wanted with my hockey career. When I was suffering from hip osteoarthritis again during a hike in New Zealand, I thought: You know what? I quit! It has been fun. I have lived all experiences with the Dutch team and I have won every medal which could be won. I will have to continue living with my hip for the rest of my life. And you simply cannot practice high-performance sports halfway. It is all or nothing. I reduced my trainings at my club in Laren. We were only training in the evening hours there. That is far less intense than with the Dutch team. I continued as the first goalkeeper for another year. The following season, I joined the indoor field hockey team as the second goalkeeper and team physician. At that time, I had a more supportive position and in fact, I hardly performed as a goalkeeper anymore.

No, I have not experienced the emptiness. My first career smoothly transferred into the other. I constantly focused on this. Already with the Youth national team. I wanted to complete my studies in medicine, with a regular duration of six years, in a maximum of ten years. During the final year of my studies, I considered which road I wanted to travel with my studies in medicine. I had several conversations about it, also with TeamNL@work. Then I thought: I want to become a general practitioner and a team physician. Then I can combine care and high-performance sports. Then, you start to think what could be a good move. I really wanted to go and work at the Amstelland hospital. I could have a broad orientation there. Such a broad base comes in very handy in order to extend your knowledge and experience.

I sent in an open application letter. You can wait until something comes along, but you can also investigate where you want to work and what is good for you. That is how I have done it. It happened the same way with my second position at the OLVG hospital. I could learn new things there which were appealing to me. I contacted them, had a meeting and I was accepted. I have not experienced the difficulty of finding a job. Perhaps it helps that you are or have been a high-performance athlete. You benefit from specific qualities. Discipline, perseverance, focus, performing under pressure. Of course, you also have to be able to cooperate as a high-performance athlete. I think people value the asset of these qualities. So, doors are opened for you a bit easier, but you need to have the right competences in the end and you have to show what you can.

I consider it important to gain a lot of experience and to develop myself. When I could join the team in 2020 to Tokyo as a physician of the TeamNL Tokyo Center/Holland Heineken House (HHH), I immediately said yes and I took an unpaid sabbatical for half a year. It is such an opportunity that you don’t let go. Due to COVID-19 it did not come true: the Olympic Games were postponed for a year. In the beginning of 2021, it was clear that the TeamNL Tokyo Center would not be there anymore during COVID-19. However, in the end I did join the team one year later, at the request of NOC*NSF, as the COVID-19 liaison officer of TeamNL.

I worked quite hard for half a year: preparing, informing people about the measures, discussing positive tests, assisting athletes to the quarantine hotel, contacting the IOC, liaising with the organization. It was a special period in time. It was terrible for the athletes who had a positive test result. It means the end of your Games! The food in the quarantine hotel was not perfect. We often stopped by to bring food, treats, games and training equipment. We dropped it off at the reception, we were not allowed to see the athletes. It convinced me in my belief that I want to join the team as a team physician in the future, because I think it is so marvelous to pursue such a wonderful goal with high-performance athletes!

What I would like to share with today’s athletes: consider carefully what your ambitions are after your high-performance career. As an high-performance athlete, you devote a major part of your life to high-performance sport, but it is not your identity. It is not who you truly are. You are more than that. It is important to discover in time: What do you like, what gives you energy, which are your qualities? It is good that attention is drawn to this more and more. It is also good to realize that a life as high-performance athlete is truly unique. You are facilitated and supported in all kinds of ways to reach your goals and the media draw quite some attention to successes. Some coaching may be helpful, or talking to a teammate who already has gained experience with it. And, even more important, don’t forget to do those fun things that you always wanted to do before you are engaged in your new profession and you are working fulltime.”

“I have not experienced the difficulty of finding a job”

“Thanks to my work as COVID-19 liaison officer, I know that I would like to join the team as a team physician in the future”

the next career step

“I want to learn, grow and gain knowledge”

Robin Lindhout

After more than 250 games in The Netherlands men’s national water polo team, Robin Lindhout was not selected for the national team anymore in the spring of 2021. His dream, participating in the Olympics, collapsed. It is a tiny scratch on his prosperous career, which has brought him to many countries in Europe. Now, it is time for his societal career to which he fully commits himself. He wants to meet new people, learn new tricks and gain a lot of knowledge. For instance, he hopes to start as a sport psychologist someday. That is his end game. For now.

“When I was fifteen years old, I was involved in sports nearly fulltime. My career in water polo was given an international direction when I was twenty years old. I moved to Croatia and started playing for VK Šibenik. I had to get used to the new situation. There you are, all by yourself, far away from your girlfriend. I would have preferred to call or send text messages the entire day. However, this was so extremely expensive. I paid ten euros for a five MB internet package. What was different: they observed me as a talent in The Netherlands, while I was a foreign player acquisition in Croatia and, therefore, an adult. The expectations were high. You have to develop to this end. Croatia was followed by France, Spain, Greece, Hungary and Italy. What I like about living abroad is that you are part of a different culture. You develop as an individual and you learn how to cope.

In addition to the clubs where I played, I was involved in my international high-performance sports career. I had a dream to participate in the Olympics someday and to climb the Olympus. We missed this opportunity by just one penalty in 2016. Then, we lost from France during the Olympic qualification tournament with penalties. That hit us hard. It had to happen indeed in Tokyo in 2020. Subsequently, I would scale back my sports career in The Netherlands and time would come to do other things. A societal career, a family life. And then, COVID-19 confronted us. Everything was put on hold and the Olympics were postponed by one year. That final year cost me a lot of energy. The national coach had different ideas about my role. That may be. I was not selected anymore in the end. Very disappointing, but it is all right at the same time.

I have been playing in the Dutch league since 2020. For AZC Alphen. We practice every day, but it does not feel as high-performance sport. The experience is different. Additionally, I have a job. I work with Dyanix, a hardware and software supplier. I am trying to find my way there and to work on my career in this respect as well. I have to get used to the transition at times. In high-performance sports, you receive a quick conformation which turn you take. You put energy into a training, you feel sore the following day and you know: My body is growing. And you are working towards a clear goal. You are always involved in the next big thing. It is more blurred at work. It is a puzzle now and then: Am I doing well? Are we doing well? You do not receive feedback to these questions that quickly. But I like the challenge very much. You meet new people, you learn new tricks. I enjoy new experiences. And what is nice: my wages are transferred to my bank account each month, perfectly in time. That is quite nice after my water polo career.

In the meantime, I also started my own company. Or in fact, everything is ready to go. I always thought during my high-performance career: I want to do something with the experience and knowledge that I gained. It gives me much motivation to be a guest speaker. Or to give trainings and organize clinics. When I returned to The Netherlands, I decided to do this on the side. However, COVID-19 is still a hurtle. My company’s name is RL6. RL stands for Robin Lindhout. And 6 is my cap number. That number suits me well. It is part of my identity. I started playing with that number because my father used to play with it as well. It was more or less a tribute to him. It truly is my number now.

I am still discovering my story as a speaker. The group program TeamNL@work | Speakers assists me to this end. You receive guidance from experts in their fields and you meet wonderful people, all high-performance athletes, all of them with their own stories. My story is about someone who has made every effort, but who just didn’t make it. Because the holy grail is missing: participation in the Olympics. I call it ‘the successful loser’. I find it inspiring. I am truly thankful to participate in this program. I deem it important to improve myself. My studies in psychology also fit within this picture. I would like to be involved in sports psychology in the end. That is the end game. That is my goal.”

“At work, you miss the quick confirmation which direction will be taken”

“I call it ‘the successful loser’ ”

the next career step