Becoming a petanque champion at the Nations Cup at the European Championship for seniors at the age of 29 is not something everyone can achieve. But since Joey van Doorn from Schijndel started playing boules with his grandfather as a nine-year-old boy, the situation was over. He has now been playing petan for 17 years and is one of the top Dutch players, with his grandfather as his biggest fan. Although he missed out on the finals of the European Championships this year, the petanquer team still went home with the Nations Cup.
“No, unfortunately my grandfather is not with us now,” Joey laughs. He is now in Albertville, France, where the European Petanque Championship takes place. “It’s petanque by the way, not bocce.” In the background you can still hear some shouting from the audience: the matches are still going on. “But he is my biggest fan. ‘Top, great, super,’ he said about the win.”
“It’s a bit of a special sport for such a young guy.”
Joey stands out during the European Championships because of his age. It is not without reason that he mainly talks about it with his grandfather. “But now my friends like it too,” he laughs. “At first they respected it, because it is a bit of a special sport for such a young guy, but now they really like it.” It is not only the choice of the sport itself that makes it special, but also the term ‘seniors’. “Only you fall under that in petanque from the age of 23,” Joey explains.
But it should be clear: he is loafing fanatic. The fact that his team did not reach the final of the European Championship this year is heartbreaking. “That was a dramatic day,” says the petanquer grimly. “We only managed to win two of the five games and had played poorly. We lost really dramatically.” As a result, the team did not reach the knockout phase and advanced to the Nations Cup. A kind of consolation prize for just-not-finalists of the European Championship. And they won again with flying colours.
“At such a Nations cup there are 500 people in the stands. You can feel that.”
“Train a lot,” the player reveals his secret. “Three times a week.” He does this himself at his beloved JBC ‘t Dupke, the petanque club of Sint-Michielsgestel. “You especially have to throw a lot of balls, for your arms and wrist.” But it is also certainly a mental issue. Because whether you play Dutch premier league football or petanque, there are a lot of eyes on you. “At such a Nations cup there are 500 people in the stands. You can feel that.”
Fortunately, Joey is now prepared to deal with that. “Gain a lot of experience,” he says. As a result, he will look beautiful on Sunday evening, with his fellow seniors, on the podium of the European Petanque Championships. With a medal, a Dutch flag and a big grin.
