USA Adventures - Interview : ERIK DOESBURG, Dutch Player Of SOCKEYE

Let me start this blogpost with an interesting quote as found on the Sockeye website :
"Known for exploiting defenders with his height, speed and throws, Doesburg is excited to bring his young exuberance and intimidating mark to the Fish for the 2011 season."

Well here's the deal : Erik Doesburg, a young and great player from Gronical Dizziness (Netherlands) crossed his way over the Atlantic Ocean to be part of and play with the World Vice Champion in Ultimate Frisbee : Seattle Sockeye.

Some might say "well,okay" but to those of you who know Sockeye or anything about Ultimate in the US of A, you should know that this is a very big deal.

Sockeye took home the silver medal at World Ultimate Club Championships 2010 in Prague and has been in the top 3 of UPA Nationals (North-American championships if you must) ever since 2002 while winning the 2004,2006 and 2007 edition.

This team brings top high-level ultimate to the field and they have the credits to show for it.

And yes, Erik is a part of the 2011 roster.

Proud as we all are of him, here's a little interview with the man himself :

GetHo': Why and for how long have you moved to the USA ? Only for Frisbee reasons or did you have any study or work projects to achieve ?

E.D."I’ve been here since late april and I’m staying until mid november. I’m only here to play Ultimate. I meant to get a master/graduate degree at one these colleges and play for a college team but after failing the application process I came anyway."

GetHo': Did you choose Seattle/Sockeye for any particular reason or did you just wanna be part of a top-level Ultimate team ?
E.D."The idea was mainly being part of a top team. Sockeye seemed like a real nice team and Seattle has one of the biggest Ultimate-communities around. If I wouldn’t have made it into the team I could have seen and learned more than enough..I’ve been following North-American Ultimate for a few years now and was always very pleased by Seattle Sockeye. I also played against them in Vancouver at the 2008 Worlds."

GetHo': You took parts in the Sockeye try-outs. Did it take you a long time ? How were these games ? Multiple days ? A lot of people trying to get a spot ?
E.D."Yes, tryouts were pretty hard and took a while. It started with a “combine” where about 90 players were divided into 5 teams and just played some games. After that there was a selection of 18 players (plus all the returners from last season) and with those players we practiced for about 3 weeks. At the end of this period we played Flowerbowl, a tournament in Vancouver where we split up into two different teams. After this tourney the selection was made and we had 24 players left, including me. 2 players might be added but they’re not in Seattle yet…"

GetHo': How did you react when you got the good news ? How does it feel to be part of this amazing team, Vice World Club Champions ?
E.D."I was thrilled ! It had been a dream for years to play at the highest level possible so it was almost unreal when I got the good news..


It’s really amazing and I am so honoured to play with a team like this. In the beginning I found it a little intimidating playing against all the players you see in the highlight videos on Youtube but they are all amazing and very friendly guys who helped me out a lot with moving issues. They even got me a place to stay and the furniture to put into it !"

GetHo': Since you’re sticking around till november, this means you’ll be playing for Sockeye at UPA Nationals ?
E.D."Well, first we gotta qualify for these nationals. The Northwesteren region will probably only have two bids this year. In this region we will have to compete against last year’s champions Revolver and other top level teams like Furious George and Rhino. It promises to be an exciting season ! Basically I’m only here till the end of the season, but I’m already dreaming of coming back again ! "

GetHo': What are you’re ambitions there ?
E.D."At first I was just trying to make the team, but now I’m focusing on contributing as much as possible to the team."

GetHo': Did you experience a lot of differences in the way Ultimate is played over there ? Another way of playing, another level ?
E.D."Yes, there are a lot of differences. The game is played much faster and way more physical. It took me a while to get used to this kind of playing and I’m still adapting. It’s not uncommon for a defender to put his hand on your chest so he knows where you are going and there’s a lot more contact…


Next to that the level is just much higher, tactics are more advanced…


In Seattle there are a lot of recreational players but the true talents are all part of Sockeye.

Back in the Netherlands we always had a mix of competitive and more recreational players at practices but here it’s just one big group of people who want nothing but getting better at playing this lovely game."

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If you'd like to read more about Erik, you can follow his blog at http://whatskrakken.blogspot.com/ ,
his player profile at the Sockeye website : http://www.seattlesockeye.org/team/erik-doesburg/ or cool preview on the upcoming UPA season where Erik is already mentioned twice http://skydmagazine.com/2011/06/glance-2011-elite-open-landscape/  

Good luck to Erik, and keep on reading !!