For Dutch-born freshman Nicole van Batenburg, the option of playing field hockey wasn’t the major reason she decided to attend college in the United States.
In her home country of Holland, the academic structure differs greatly from the one in the United States. Back home, she would have to choose a specific career path in the near future and study it intently.
Attending college in the U.S. allows her to take some time in choosing her eventual career path, because at this point in her life, she doesn’t have a good idea of what the future will hold.
“I know what I like, but I’m not really clear (on what I want to do),” van Batenburg said. “I can take a lot of really different classes here and try to figure out what I want to do.”
While she is putting a good deal of her focus on helping her team win Mid-American Conference championships and NCAA Tournament bids, van Batenburg also has several other priorities she would like to address during her college years.
“I always think that my academics are my most important thing, as well as my English,” she said. “(English) isn’t my first language, so I want to improve that. But I’m glad that with playing field hockey here, I can do both.”
The American level of field hockey has proven to be an adjustment for van Batenburg. In Holland, her teams only practiced for a few hours a week, while at Ohio, that number is up to 18.
Practice isn’t the only difference between the two nations in regards to field hockey.
College field hockey in Holland is almost nonexistent compared to U.S. programs. Club field hockey teams dominate the scene, and van Batenburg was captain of one of Holland’s more successful clubs, VMHC Cartouche.
While she was with the club, recruiting agents helped her find a good fit for her, and that fit happened to be Ohio.
“It’s not atypical to have recruiting agencies to send you information about kids who are looking at your school,” coach Neil Macmillan said. “She was one of a couple people we wanted more information on, so it really developed from there.”
But for Macmillan, the recruitment of van Batenburg in Holland was not unlike the recruitment of an athlete from other states.
“It’s not that much different recruiting overseas compared to over here in terms of what we do,” Macmillan said. “Obviously, when it comes down to the application and the visa and all the other things that go along with it, yes, there are some significant differences. … The process itself is getting to know the person and get to see some film on them.”
The adjustment process has been smooth for van Batenburg on the field, Macmillan said.
And van Batenburg said she’s enjoying every last moment of her opportunity to play overseas.
“My team is so nice and all the girls are very friendly,” van Batenburg said. “I’m really enjoying all the classes I’m taking, so I’m having a lot of fun.”
ch203310@ohiou.edu
