Home Away from Home

By Molly McAteer
Special to UNHWildcats.com

From the moment she stepped on campus, Bloem van den Brekel (Eindhoven, Netherlands) has made an everlasting impact on the University of New Hampshire field hockey program. Portraying values of commitment, effort and determination, van den Brekel is the student-athlete coaches dream of.

van den Brekel is the first UNH All-America selection since 2013 and graduated with many accolades including 2021 America East Defensive Player of the Year, 2021 NFHCA Northeast Region First Team and 2021 All-Conference First Team.

A SECOND HOME

After finishing her fifth season with the field hockey program, van den Brekel took some time to reminisce on her time at the University. van den Brekel's journey was a little different as she was not aware about the opportunities to play the sport she loved in the United States until her senior year of high school.

"When I heard I could do this, I started working towards that dream," said van den Brekel.

Being from the Netherlands, she was unable to see the school in person before deciding that it was going to serve as her second home for the next five years.

"From the moment I talked to the coaches I felt so welcomed. The way they told me stories about UNH, being a student-athlete at the university, the surrounding places, and stories about the team itself influenced me to wanting to become a Wildcat. After a couple of Skype calls I knew I wanted to come to UNH."

Looking back on her five years, van den Brekel shared some of her favorite parts of UNH and what helped her feel grounded at times. Being near various mountains and beaches, she loved spending her free time outside.

"The most memorable part of UNH's campus is during the summer and fall time when I would be outside watching the prettiest of sunsets with my friends."

After speaking with van den Brekel about her memories at UNH she took a minute to sum up her experience as a student-athlete. This statement came easy to her and shows how big of an impact these five years have had on her.

"To sum up my experience as a student-athlete at UNH, I would say it was a time in my life where I got the opportunity to be part of something bigger than just a team, where I got to compete, share memories with my best friends who are my second family, where I learned lessons about commitment and lastly was able to become a leader."

BEING A STUDENT-ATHLETE

When asked how to balance being a student-athlete, van den Brekel immediately talked about the importance of time management.

"Even if it is just taking advantage of those 20-minute breaks, those helped me a lot. For me it was also a balance between doing what I need to get done and doing things for myself to make sure that my head was not filling with too much stress. Strategies to balance the stress of being a student-athlete definitely revolved around spending time with my teammates and living in the moment."

van den Brekel has a passion for working with people and learning about how to make society better. This led her to becoming a sociology major at UNH.

"Sociology is broad which was interesting to me because now I can pursue my master's degree in almost every sector of society."

CHERISHING THE SPECIAL MOMENTS

While her time at UNH, van den Brekel had the opportunity to play in the championship game of the America East tournament in 2017. That experience has stuck with her and was what popped into van den Brekel's mind when asked what her most memorable sports moment was.

"We went into the tournament as the underdogs yet won the quarterfinals and semifinals both in double overtime. The excitement from the team, coaches, fans and alumni made it all even better. I carried this moment from my freshmen year until now."

Senior Day is always a memorable day for seniors and van den Brekel easily agreed that the moments shared with her teammates before the game are unforgettable.

"Senior Day is always a special day, full of every emotion. My teammates made it such a memorable day by taking the time to 'celebrate' us seniors in our locker room with just the team. This moment was a special one, and it brought us all even closer to each other. It is also a moment of realization of how fast time can go and a moment where memories from all previous years flash by real quick."

LIFE LESSONS

van den Brekel continuously spoke about the feeling of being a part of something bigger than just a team. She has learned several life lessons throughout her time with UNH field hockey and talked about how she can apply these lessons off the field as well.

"I learned lessons about commitment, not just to field hockey but also off the field. This program has made me into an independent person and a better leader for myself as well as for the people around me."

van den Brekel accepted the opportunity to take a fifth year and to be a part of the team one last time after COVID-19 impacted her senior season.

"My fourth year as a senior did not end how I wanted it to. I guess COVID-19 was the main reason for that, so when I got the opportunity to play another season, I took it. I knew that by taking this opportunity I could finish better, one last time with my teammates."

Following her fifth and final season, van den Brekel was named a Third Team All-American and she further explained what that award meant to her.

"Being named an All-American is an affirmation for the work I have done during my time at UNH. It is a good way to end my career at UNH with that recognition, and I would not have been the player I am today if it wasn't for my coaches who trusted in me and for my teammates around me who made me better and work harder."

van den Brekel also had a significant impact on head coach Robin Balducci, on the way she looked at her coaching philosophy after having van den Brekel as a player.

"I learned not to stifle a naturally talented athlete, give her more freedom technically and tactically to enhance her creativity. I also learned to be careful not to set expectations too high every minute of the day!"

NEXT CHAPTER

van den Brekel left the United States and returned home to Eindhoven, Netherlands where she will continue her degree with a master's back in Europe. She has a passion for school and continuing her education in the sociology department.

She made lifelong friends while playing field hockey at UNH and has cherished many moments while being a part of the program.

To her fellow UNH senior field hockey teammates:

"From our first hello to the hardest goodbye, it is all a start to something new and with all of you by my side my memories would not have been as amazing as this. I will see you soon!"

Coach Balducci spoke about her time with van den Brekel as a part of the UNH field hockey program.

"It was a pleasure to coach her not because of her talent but because of her commitment and effort."

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