Niels Thijssen is a debutant at the European Judo European Championships for mixed teams from Sunday. The 23-year-old Judoka from Boxmeer took an important step in his development last year by going to a top sports psychologist. “I noticed that I was suffering from uncertainty, I really wondered how I could ever win my competitors. But now I have the feeling that I am going to make those guys on the mat.”
The uncertainty grew at Niels after he encountered a defeat early in several tournaments. “My weight class up to 73 kilos has the worldwide in view of the most participants. At international tournaments there is a lot of competition. I know the other guests in my class and I often thought to myself: how hell can I ever beat them? There were guys I really looked up to.”
Niels trained hard in the hope of becoming a feared competitor of the current world toppers. However, it didn’t work out in competitions. “Even if I was very fit and had had great training weeks, it was not possible to show that on the mat. I ran into the mental part of a match.”
To take steps in the mental field, he approached a top sports psychologist. There he learned, among other things, to set clearer goals for himself. “You can get so much more out of yourself if you have a real goal in mind. Only training hard every week is not enough, you have to know where you want to go and how you will achieve that.”
He also chose to train more targeted on strengths and weaknesses. “For example, it is difficult to simulate a competition in a training. Yet we tried to look for that fatigue. For example, by going to spar after a heavy training. I noticed that there was still a lot of stretch in it.”
Niels trains full -time At his judo school in Nijmegen and at Sportcentrum Papendal in Arnhem. The conversations with the psychologist and the other way of training proved successful. “I notice that investing in myself has paid off on the mat in the last six months. Ultimately, running a few good tournaments helps to increase your confidence.”
“I must honestly say that I did not expect this.”
The invitation for the European Championship Mixed teams event is a nice reward. “I must honestly say that I did not expect this. In my career I am at the beginning. The European Championship is a great opportunity for me and I will do everything to be as good as possible in Montenegro.”
In the tournament for the mixed teams, three male and three female judokas compete against each other per country. “It is very exciting when both countries win three games. There will be a draw which weight class should bring the decision. Then the pressure is full. Judo is normally an individual sport, but this team event adds an extra dimension. I would like to fight the deciding party. I did that once and then I won.”
After the European Championship, the Dutch Champion of 2023 has more goals. “I still have relatively little experience at this level. In the coming year I want to take a medal at an international tournament and place myself for a European Championship or World Championship individually. In the end I want to be there at the Olympic Games in 2028.”