More than three hundred students of Rodney’s Gym are in danger of coming to the street. The Oosterhoutse Vechtsportschool of Rodney van Oossanen (48) has to move early from the Arkendonk shopping center. There are apartments and a new activity center. “It cannot be that something like that is lost.”
Rake blows are distributed in Rodney’s gym. A group of students came together in the building in the Arkendonk shopping center to follow a kickboxing lesson. But that can just be the last time, because their gym has to go there. “Something we absolutely don’t want, because we want to continue our passion,” says the owner.
Until he was 30, Rodney himself was at a high level in the ring. He followed training sessions of eight-fold Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Ramon Dekkers from Breda and got a lot of discipline from this. Because he also wanted to teach others, he founded his own gym in Oosterhout in 2011. First he taught in Heijl sports center, but in 2019 he moved to the former library in the shopping center.
Demolished
Now Rodney’s gym has to move again. The location is being demolished to make way for apartments and a new activity center. The nearby former swimming pool Arkendonk has already been demolished. The facelift will cost more than 9 million euros.
“At first I could still sit here for a good two years, but the risk is that they want to pull the project forward,” says Rodney. The redevelopment of Arkendonk is faster than expected. “It was known that it goes flat once. But you should not first give an end date and then make something forward.”
Second home
His students also think it’s a shame that Rodney’s gym has to move. “Many young people come to train every day here. It has also become a social movement,” said the owner. A second home, the 16-year-old Linn calls it. She has been a student of Rodney since she was six.
Kevin (23) is also a child at home. “Ten years ago I came in here and since then I have been there every day,” he says. “I grew up here. It has shaped me to who I am now.” Rowena (19) has also been a member of the martial arts school for more than eight years, where she trains for competitions. She is also disappointed that she has to move to a new location. “It all started here for me, so there are many memories here.”
Hijackers on the coast
In the meantime, Rodney is difficult to continue his search for a new home. Many available places in Oosterhout are not suitable as a sports location, so that the zoning plan must first be changed. He does have a place in mind, but does not want to share it yet. “There are more hijackers on the coast,” he explains.
Incidentally, it is not yet clear when his gym should move definitively. “And that uncertainty makes me very nervous.”