Coach Mervin Gario will start his first season with Amsterdam Pirates. The first training is scheduled for Sunday. It was recently announced that main sponsor L&D Support is taking a step back within the club after fifteen years. What does that mean for the club?
“It doesn’t mean much to me. I don’t spend much time with it and I’m used to working with limited resources. I’m really looking forward to it,” says Gario matter-of-factly. The past five years, he coached Hoofddorp Pioniers.
Chairman Koen Gijsbers is more concerned with it. “What the main sponsor has done in recent years is unprecedented. It is not the case that they have left the club, but they are no longer the main sponsor. With the appointment of Gario, we have a long-term plan. He will have time and the most important thing is stability within the club,” said Gijsbers.
Selection 2023
At Amsterdam Pirates quite a few supporting players have retired or left for various reasons. For example, Rashid Gerard and Kalian Sams announced that they would stop. Pitchers Shairon Martis, Tom de Blok and Mike Groen left for Neptunus in Rotterdam. “For me, every player is the same. We are going to have fun from players to staff to supervisors. We are going for the top four and then put something nice in the play-offs,” says Gario enthusiastically.
“Perhaps we are now taking a step back sportively and then taking a step forward. We want to be the best again in the longer term. The team is going to rejuvenate, but I prefer to invest in talents to be such a future-proof club,” says Gijsbers.
The experienced Roelie Henrique, Denzel Richardson and Kenny Berkenbosch have indicated that they will stay.