En route to Paris: Jan Driessen

You just missed being selected for the Tokyo Games. What is your current status in the Dutch team?

“I was selected for the Olympic qualification tournaments in Hong Kong and Utsunomiya, Japan, and played in both competitions. So it looks promising, but nothing is guaranteed.”

You won the Olympic qualification tournament in Utsunomiya in Japan and this gave you a ticket for Paris. How is your team preparing for the Olympic Games?

“The Netherlands has three teams that compete in international competitions: Team Amsterdam, Team Utrecht and Team Haarlem. The 12 men in the different teams train together all year long. The players who will represent the Netherlands are selected from this group. We train twice a day in the Velodrome in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The training and the matches that we play are how we prepare for the Games.”

‘A match lasts 15 to 20 minutes and anything can happen’

You travel for a couple of months around the world to various competitions every year with both the national team and Team Amsterdam. How do you manage this physically?

“By taking things easy when we are in the Netherlands. We also look after our bodies. We are careful about what we eat and make sure we get enough sleep. But it is heavy once in a while. This is the case for all the players.”

Do you still have time for your study?

“I am not spending that much time on studying this year because of the Games. Over the last half year I took a subject worth six points. After Paris I will see if I can arrange my basketball schedule differently as I do want to graduate at some point.”