Former FC Groningen talent Ids Hannema (24) from Norg now belongs to the top padel in the Netherlands. “It calms me down”

Last weekend Hannema won the P250 tournament in Valkenswaard, her first tournament victory. Together with his partner Bart van Kampen, with whom he played doubles for the first time, he beat twin brothers Mats and Kai Groen from Zoetermeer in a thrilling final: 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 .

Best northerner after Lootsma

This victory in Brabant has just placed him among the twenty best padellers in the Netherlands, making him the second northerner after Werner Lootsma from Groningen, who is fourteenth in the national ranking. And Hannema is far from finished. ,,It’s going well,” says De Drent, who moved back to live with his parents in Norg after his comeback as a footballer from America.

,, Save money,” says Hannema, who makes a living giving padel and tennis lessons. ,,In Valkenswaard I won 350 euros, so it was good for four games. You can win even more in the even higher tournaments, the P500 and the P1000, which is only the national championship here in the Netherlands. But that’s where I want to go. »

“I was in the worst group at FC Groningen”

As a footballer, there seemed to be a bright future for him. The son of tennis and now also padel teacher Winand Hannema started – of course – in Gomos and ended up at FC Groningen’s youth academy at the age of ten. There he played in a team including goalkeeper Jan Hoekstra and Ozan Kökçü, whose younger brother Orkun moved from national champions Feyenoord to Benfica last week.

Ozan himself also became a professional footballer and now plays for FC Eindhoven. ,,He and Jan are the only two from our old team who have become professionals,” says Hannema. ,, I think I was pretty much in the worst band ever. If they just succeeded, how am I supposed to become a professional footballer? I had to leave FC Groningen when I was fourteen and it was not for nothing.

After Achilles in Dayton, Ohio

Nevertheless, Hannema developed into a gifted amateur football player, already having a starting spot at the age of eighteen at Achille 1894, who at the time were playing in the main league on Sunday with Paul Weerman as coach. Hannema was coveted by other more successful clubs, but came up with their own plan. He left for Dayton, Ohio, USA in 2019 at the age of 20. Hannema studied there organizational leadership at Wright University and played football for two total seasons with the Wright State Raiders. And he made an impressive shot with it, which killed nine people.

The young Drent was on the radar of various professional clubs in the United States, but his stubbornness still played tricks on him: after a few run-ins with coaches at the Raiders, he quit football altogether. “It’s organized quite hierarchically in America college football . The coaches are responsible and as a player you are expected not to interfere. But I did it because I felt what some coaches were saying about football just wasn’t right. It didn’t make it much more enjoyable and it made me lose the fun of football. I may not be a typical football player either, I prefer to draw my own plan and that’s not always easy to accept. Certainly not if football is not going very well either. Hannema has gone vegan in the United States. “It didn’t make it any easier, let’s put it that way.”

“I can’t even give a pass more than ten meters now”

In short: after obtaining his baccalaureate, he did not know how quickly he had to leave. ,,Actually, as far as football is concerned, I was there a year too long,” says Hannema now. ,,It wasn’t fun anymore.” Is a return to a club in the Netherlands perhaps one of the possibilities? Perhaps with the second divisionist ACV, the champion team of Assen, near Norg? ,,I can’t even give a pass from more than 10 meters anymore,” laughs Hannema. ,,I recently played at a farewell party of a few former Achillians, including Morten Otto and Wouter van der Molen. I couldn’t play football at all. No, it won’t be right away. Nice paddle.

Hannema had already come into contact with padel when he was still playing at Achilles 1894. After his footballing adventure in the United States, he traveled to Spain, the cradle of the sport of padel, to learn its intricacies. Where is its peak? Certainly in the national top 10. But that is not its main objective. ,,I notice that I learn a lot from padel. For example, I learn to control myself better. I used to get angry quickly when things weren’t right for a while, but also in everyday life. I learned to stay calm. This ball really comes to you in padel, you just have to wait for that moment and stay relaxed. I also try to apply these lessons in everyday life. Keep calm, relax, it will come to you.”

Padel as therapy

Maybe it looks like a new revenue model: a combination of padel training and mindfulness? ,,Yes, maybe I want to go in that direction,” says de Drent, who currently gives padel training about 20 hours a week in Assen and Westerbork. “Padel is much more than just a sport where you have to hit the ball as well as possible. It’s about constantly keeping tabs on what’s happening in a 360 degree circle around you and anticipating it as best you can. And in the meantime keep your peace. I really like that.”