The Netherlands women's national field hockey team has been a world powerhouse for the past 30 years, winning three Olympic gold medals since 1996 and finishing on the podium every year except 1992.
Despite the success of the Netherlands, Temple field hockey did not have a single player from the Netherlands from 2006 to 2017. In 2018, the team finally turned to the talent pool in the Netherlands, signing Nienke Ollermans.
The signing of Ollermans marked a major step forward in the program's Dutch recruitment. Temple signed fellow Dutch player Myrthe Schuillenberg the following season, who was also acquired thanks to Ollermans, and his addition to the team eased Schuillenberg's concerns about moving to the United States.
“It was a relief to know Nienke was there, but I wasn't looking for a program with a lot of international athletes,” Schuillenberg said. “I was looking for the U.S. experience, and having one Dutch athlete already there was nice because I knew I had someone I could get along with right away.”
After acquiring Schuilenberg, the team added fellow Dutch native Tess Muller and Belgian native Alize Maas, who speaks Dutch. This offseason, the team again dove into the Dutch talent pool, signing three more rookies from the country. When Temple begins the 2024 season, its roster will feature five Dutch players and six Dutch speakers, a far cry from the number the team had just five years ago.
Head coach Michel Vittese, who joined the program as an assistant in 2019 and took over as head coach in 2021, has significantly increased the program's efforts in not only recruiting Dutch players, but international players in general. Last season, the team had players representing five different countries, including the Netherlands.
“We don't really care where the players come from,” Vittesse said, “we just try our best to put together the most talented, capable roster and get guys that tick all the boxes that we're looking for.”
Oremans, Schuilenberg and Mueller each blossomed as players during their time in Cherry and White, with Oremans starting every game his final four years and earning All-Conference honors his final three years.
Schuilenberg has become a consistent starter while Mueller has emerged as one of the team's best players, earning all-conference honors the past two seasons and leading the team in scoring last season.
Vittese isn't the only one building a pipeline from the Netherlands to Temple. She often calls players like Schuillenberg and Mueller to reach out to other Dutch freshmen, hoping they can help persuade them by sharing their own experiences.
“We've played a big role in the recruitment process for our international students,” Schuillenberg said, “especially as an international student, we help her market the program to other international students. I've had a lot of calls with other international students to let them know what Temple University is like and tell them about our experience.”
Ollermans, the player who started Pipeline's development, continued to play a key role in recruiting Dutch talent after graduation. During his time at Temple, Ollermans helped Schuilenberg and Mueller adjust to their new surroundings and was a comfortable presence for them.
After graduating, Ollermans returned to the Netherlands and worked as a “field hockey expert,” helping current international players connect with college coaches to give them the same opportunities she had years earlier. Of course, Ollermans also steered players to Temple University, trying to let Wittes know who to target.
“If Coach Vittes is interested in a freshman and I think he's a good fit, I let him know that I went to Temple and it's a great school with great coaching staff,” Ollermans said. “I also let Michel know that if he sees a player that he thinks is a good fit, he should expect an email from me so he can recognize the talent in the freshman.”
International players going to the U.S. aren't usually looking for a team that already has a lot of international talent. In the recruiting process for Olemans, Schuillenberg and Muller, they were each looking for a team that didn't have too many Dutch players so they could really experience America and expand their game.
“My first year here I was really shocked at the way they play field hockey because they focus so much on strength training whereas in Holland we practice more technical skills,” Muller said. “I'm definitely able to incorporate a lot of the American field hockey training into my game and vice versa.”
Temple University appears to be seeing serious recruiting momentum from the Netherlands, and with three new students from the Netherlands this fall, it appears they have a pipeline of talented talent in place.
Ollermans left the program after becoming one of the first Dutch recruits, but continues to help from the outside. Schuilenburg and Mueller also assisted Vittese with recruiting and should help incoming Dutch recruits just as Ollermans helped them. If recruiting continues to be strong, the talent pipeline from the Netherlands to Temple will continue to grow.
“That's the goal, honestly,” Vittese said, “I want to leave a lasting impression on these student-athletes, maintain a good relationship and ask for all the help I can to help them be good representatives of Temple University.”
