An interview with Haico Spijkerboer and Bram RijsdijkIt is time for the second sports blog in the series ‘The line-up of Boer & Croon’. A few months back, no fewer than 11 Boer & Croon people stood with a racket on the gravel of the Santpoort tennis club, the Ruïne van Brederode, an initiative of Bram Rijksdijk, among others. Because what better way to get to know your colleagues than in a sporting setting? We spoke to Haico Spijkerboer and Bram Rijsdijk about their passion for tennis, their long- and short histories on the tennis court and how playing sports with colleagues adds another dimension to cooperation in the workplace.
Can you introduce yourself?
HAICO My name is Haico Spijkerboer, 55 years old. I am Partner Operations and Partner People & Change, and I have been working at Boer & Croon for almost ten years.
BRAM I am Bram Rijsdijk. I am 27 years old, and I was born and raised in Haarlem. I have been working at Boer & Croon for over a year as manager of Finance and technology.
Take us back to the beginning; how did you start playing tennis?
HAICO I have been playing tennis since I could walk. I used to play tennis very fanatically, and my life also consisted of tennis. I had a shopping cart with tennis balls at the tennis club and went to play tennis every day after school with my childhood friend Richard. We played tournaments together, and in my student days, I also played tennis in the Vondelpark at the Festina tennis club for many years. The men I played tennis with all live in other places now, but we still play tennis together in winter, and once a year, we go on a tennis camp together. That sounds childish, but then we will go to Mallorca, Sicily, Menorca, or Nice. We hire a tennis coach there for three days and spend four hours a day playing good old-fashioned tennis together. So tennis is one of my favourite sports.
In the past, we also had tennis tournaments with Boer & Croon or went to play tennis with each other and had a barbecue afterwards with the tennis tournament that took place in April, which has been revived because there are lots of other tennis freaks or recreational players who just love it too. I am, of course, quite old, but I could still compete with the real tennis cracks from Boer & Croon, who are still full of energy and in good shape. Then, I am still quite proud that I can keep up with them reasonably well and still show them all corners of the track from time to time. It's just super fun to do something fun together, away from work and in a different setting, that takes energy and gives energy—just like Boer & Croon; it takes energy but also provides energy!
BRAM I started playing tennis last March and have had lessons since then. Tennis appealed to me because I have always done something with stroke sports. I played baseball in the past, did golf, and did a padel competition for a year. Tennis was very close to that, so that's where I started. I met a friendly club of people at my lessons, and that's how it continued to roll. I joined the tennis WhatsApp group within Boer & Croon a while ago; nothing happened there. Then I thought of playing a game of tennis together one Friday evening instead of just hanging out at Hanneke's Boom. No sooner said than done, I scheduled a date, and we had a great evening together.
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What is the most extraordinary thing you have ever experienced in sport?
HAICO When I lived in Oudekerk for five years, I was still a tennis club member in Amsterdam. At some point, I stopped playing there and became a member of Oudekerk. People knew me there, but they didn't understand at all that I could play tennis. Then, I immediately won the singles and the doubles at the first club championships. Everyone was amazed that I could play tennis. I was very proud of that!
In addition, those tennis camps in Mallorca or Sicily with friends I used to play tennis with are natural highlights of the year for me. Both in terms of the sport you play and the friendship you have had for 30 years. This is also what you live for, so to speak; you work to live, and these are the things you live for. I am excited that we are going to Sicily together in October. We are already talking about that!
BRAM What I remember most is that as an 11-year-old boy, I became the champion of the baseball team. This was celebrated big time by spouting Jip and Janneke champagne!
To also talk about work for a moment ... How do you apply the experiences from sport in your work?
HAICO With tennis as an individualistic sport, I learned the will to win and what it is like to be entirely in a cocoon during a match, shutting yourself off from the rest of the world and having one goal of wanting to win. When you work, sometimes you also have to be in a cocoon to focus and get the result you are looking for. That is one side of sport. During my student days, I also played rugby for a while. That is a team sport where you need each other. In addition, rugby is a wonderful sport because you physically play a tough match and try to demolish each other. Still, afterwards, there is much mutual respect. After the game, a gate is made for the winners to walk under, and afterwards, you have a good time together at the bar. In business, too, you can perform much better as a team than as an individualist. At the same time, you are also in competition with another company. Ultimately, it is also ‘just work’, just like a rugby match. You get the joy of life from that.
BRAM What I like about playing sports with colleagues is that you get to know each other differently, creating a different dynamic. This also makes it easier for us to work together in our work lives. In addition, sports also keep contact with each other light, without necessarily involving drinks.
