Nationale teammembers Lacrosse

Wij gingen het gesprek aan met Hannah en Nathan, beiden fervent spelers van lacrosse. In Nederland een nog niet zo bekende sport. Lacrosse spelers dragen tijdens het spel een stick in de hand met aan het uiteinde een netje waarmee de bal wordt overgegooid. Het doel van het spel is om de bal met behulp van de stick in het doel van de tegenstander te krijgen.

Ook maken beiden onderdeel uit van het Nederlandse Nationale Team!

What does working out mean to you two?

For us, working out is part of who we are. Of course it keeps us feeling healthy and fit, but it also speaks to the dedication and hard work that we want to portray as part of our core values. The discipline it takes to show up every day and push yourself to get better is something we try to bring to other parts of our lives as well.

How did you came into contact with our gym?

It couldn't have been much more convenient for us. We moved to the neighborhood 4 years ago and this was the closest gym, so it was a no-brainer.

What does this gym mean to you after your registration?

Nathan: For us, Snap Fitness has been a bit of a "home away from home," especially when we first moved to the Netherlands. We may have been thousands of kilometers from home, but having a well equipped gym with a friendly community made us feel comfortable from the start. The pandemic started soon after we joined the club and it was great to see Snap always looking for ways to help its members stay fit, even during a difficult time to do so. We still remember outdoor workouts and picking out equipment to borrow when the gym had to close (rolling an exercise bike back to our apartment was something we never thought we would do and quite a sight for our neighbors!). We were so grateful to have a gym that was so gracious during a difficult time.

Do you have another sport passion besides working out in the gym? If so what is it and how does that make you feel?

For both of us, our biggest sports passion is lacrosse. It's a lesser known sport in the Netherlands, but we have found in it an amazing, tight-knit community here. We both play for the local club team (Rotterdam Jaguars, based out of the Excelsior football complex) and both participate with the Dutch National Teams: Hannah as a player and Nathan as a coach. We both love lacrosse for its team sport aspects, working with others to reach a greater goal (in contrast to the more individual focus of the gym). 

How do you combine your chosen sport with working out in the gym?

One of the best parts about lacrosse is that it allows for a wide variety of body & player types to have success. If you are big and strong but a little slower, there's a place for you. If you are smaller but quick or fast, there's a place for you. For both of us, we use the gym to try and keep our strength a strength, while continuing to get faster/quicker. And of course, as we get older, the gym is a great place to work on injury prevention.

And what is your goal you want to achieve with working out in the gym and your chosen sport?

For Hannah, her goals revolve around increasing athleticism to maximize her abilities at the upcoming European Championships this summer, and also to ensure she can help the Rotterdam club team achieve their third consecutive national championship.

For Nathan, his goals are more around injury prevention and maintaining a strong base level of fitness to ensure that he can continue to play (and coach) at a high level, even as he gets older.

Nathan & Hannah

Snap Fitness Rotterdam