Top Belgian talent Charlotte Englebert enjoys her time at HC Den Bosch: ‘Hockey feels like a different sport here’ | Regional sports

First an interview at Viaplay, then to De Volkskrant Then with her Brabants Dagblad In conversation. Engelbert is very popular in the media. Not strange either. It is a big ‘purchase’ for HC Den Bosch, which has also signed Romée Joosten from HC Tilburg.

She admits that the top Belgian talents still need to adapt after a busy summer. I trained with the entire squad for just three weeks after the PSL and European Championship silverware with Belgium in Mönchengladbach. “I have plenty of time, because I signed for four years.” She commutes between Antwerp and Den Bosch several times a week. “I’ve been treated very well by the girls. It’s a lovely group,” says the midfielder who can also play as a striker.

How is she experiencing her first weeks at the “Real Madrid of hockey”, as HC Den Bosch described it in the Belgian media? Englebert beams. “It’s almost a different sport here,” she admits. “The level is very high, everything happens much faster than in Belgium.” At Oosterplas, she wants to become an all-around hockey player who masters all aspects of the game. “I want to bring this experience to the national team.”

Raoul Ehren has been in charge there since December 2020. So moving from club to country is not a big deal for Engelbert, because Ehren has won numerous trophies with the Den Bosch hockey players in the eleven years he has coached them. The playing styles are similar. Now the national coach is working on it Red Panthers On his way to the top he wants to win a medal at the Olympic Games in Paris next year. Englebert plays an important role in his project.

Belgian media considers her a “global star” even though she is only 22 years old. In Belgium, she won the Golden Stick Award for the best player in the competition in 2022, and in last year’s World Cup she was voted as the best talent. At Racing, Englebert appears to have finished learning. It’s time for new motivation. It is understood that Dijkstra and HC Den Bosch would strike. Engelbert may be the missing piece of the puzzle in the title fight – last season the Hokies did not reach a playoff final for the first time since 1998.

Belthoven hockey fans can enjoy her class at times, both offensively and defensively. Intercepting, dribbling, threatening, or putting team members in front of the goal. “We will have a lot of fun with her,” coach Dijkstra said earlier. His teammate Yossi Borg: “Charlotte is really great. She is dangerous, very fast and offensively and also very strong defensively.

SCHC seemed to have won the first game thanks to a tip from Mette Winter, who was completely free. “This shouldn’t happen,” Dykstra and Englebert said. In the final seconds, Frédéric Matla awarded HC Den Bosch the deserved point, as she often does in crucial moments. “It was all very even,” Dijkstra concluded.

How does Englebert view her first match at the top? “I’m tired, but I’m also happy. Although it could be better. It was intense. She is already looking forward to the next competitions, because every week a new surprise awaits her in an unknown competition. One thing is certain: the Dutch audience will enjoy it.” .