Daan Streutker

“The highlight was the fourth spot at the European Championship in my home country!”

Daan Streutker / Agribusiness and Business Administration  / Volleyball Player for Young Orange

Daan Streutker (20) from Coevorden is a third-year student of International Business in Food and Flowers, but he is also a talented volleyball player who is part of the Dutch Talent Team and Young Orange. Daan lives and trains at Papendal and studying at VHL University of Applied Sciences (VHL) in Velp offers a solution in this case. With Young Orange, he finished fourth at the European Championship, but his dream is to make it to the national team and go to the Olympic Games.

Where it began
“It turned out that my sister had a great deal of talent for volleyball very early on, and she soon played at a high level”, says Daan Streutker. “The sports hall that she used to go to also had a regional talent centre. I was allowed to train with their boys' team once, and things have developed rapidly from that point onwards. After a year of training, I participated in a selection training programme for the ‘Orange Youth’ (the Dutch national youth squad). The result was that I was allowed to train with this team every Tuesday, and after six months I was asked if I could come and live in-house at Papendal.”

Dutch Talent Team
“I am currently playing volleyball with the Dutch Talent Team and I have been awarded IT status (international talent) by NOC * NSF. The talent team consists of players from different groups – Pre-Orange Youth, Orange Youth and Young Orange – and we play in the premier league; the highest level in the Netherlands. We cannot be relegated or promoted, but we mainly participate to improve. It can actually be viewed as a training programme for top-class volleyball players. Within the team, everyone has their own position on the field and their own tasks. My position is ‘diagonal’ and I often end up on the right side of the field. I am also the man who scores a lot of points and has to hit the ball in difficult situations.”

Training sessions and the European Championship
“Under the guidance of a great coaching team, we train every day with the entire group. The technical aspects are discussed from 2 pm to 5 pm first of all, but coordination with other players is also very important. This is followed by strength training. We train around 20-25 hours a week all in all. On Saturdays we usually have a competition, while Sunday is our resting day. I participated in two ‘eight-country tournaments’ and one European Championship qualification among other events, but the highlight was the European Championship in my home country, where we played in a brand-new sports hall in Ede. Our goal was to reach the top 8 and we succeeded splendidly by securing fourth place.”

International Business in Food and Flowers 
“I chose this study programme because I want to start my own company after my sports career. My father is also in the business and has certainly inspired me in this respect. I have agreed with the university that the training sessions take precedence over the lectures, and that tests take precedence over training, while tournaments take precedence over tests and lectures. At Papendal, I also have a tutor who knows what my needs are and contributes ideas. Fortunately, VHL is very flexible and because the university is not terribly large, things can be arranged more easily and you are not viewed as a number.”

Future
“My dream is to make it to the national team and go to the Olympic Games. This is my last year at Papendal and therefore I have to find a club next year. I am very confident that this will work. At this point, I do not yet know how the combination of studies and top-class sport will work out next year. My International Business in Food and Flowers studies are very important to me in any event, as I cannot be a top-class athlete all my life. This is a great challenge for after my sports career!”