The 42-year-old football coach John Kramer from Pesse seemed to become the Alex Ferguson of Pesse, because the born and bred Pessen resident was head and youth coach at Pesse from 2011. In 2021 he chose Protos and found a village club that has many similarities with Pesse. He recently signed for a fourth year with Protos, which is still enjoying the 47th edition of the Protos Weering Indoor Football Tournament. “That is the most beautiful indoor football tournament there is,” says Kramer.
For the first team of Protos from Steenwijksmoer, the past few weeks have also been all about the largest indoor football tournament of its kind in the Netherlands. The first team had to play in the preliminary round in Vroomshoop. “We are the only team that has no supporters,” Kramer laughs. “It’s a bit of a shame, for us it might have been more fun to play in Coevorden or Dalen. Everyone from the club volunteers in a hall and the players who did not play also helped in a hall. I was also an assistant in the semi-finals in Het Activum in Hoogeveen. The tournament is very much alive within the club and the organization is excellent.”
John Kramer was born in Ruinen and moved to Pesse after two years, where he grew up and still lives. “We lived next to a forest and our backyard bordered on heathland. I had a beautiful and peaceful childhood.” Sports played a prominent role in the Kramer family, but emotions sometimes boiled over. “My brothers Wilco and Martin and I couldn’t handle losing well. Sometimes things would crack in the Kramer house,” John laughs. “I played tennis, skated, football and judo. I always want to win. I will never play tennis against Nadal, because then I know in advance that I will lose. I played football at Pesse from the age of four until I was 24 and even then I didn’t enjoy it when we lost.”
Red leg
He joined the first team at the age of fifteen and his first match was against Ruinen. “I don’t remember much about the match, but I do know that trainer Henk Metselaar hit me on the leg before the match as a boost. I started the match with a bright red leg. During the first five seasons I was not often in the starting line-up. I was an attacker and Henry ter Wal and Ronnie Nes were always in the starting line-up. I played in the second team and always filled in for the first team. I found that quite annoying, but I wasn’t that articulate yet. I have had a starting place in the last four seasons, and in nine seasons I have scored 55 goals. I remember once playing a match in the shoes of leader Stoffel Strijker, because I had forgotten my shoes.”
He still has some special competitions fresh in his mind. “Before the cup we played as a fifth division team at main division Genemuiden. When we arrived, they had already finished warming up. We lost 10-0, but it was still nice to play in such an entourage. I will never forget the decision-making match for enforcement against Old Forward. I was eighteen years old, we won 1-2.”
He was once approached by vv Hoogeveen. “I trained twice. The players immediately said: you will be in A2 after all. That was no added value, so it was short-lived.” Broken leg On November 1, 2005, his football career came to an abrupt end. “During a match in Zwartemeer I received a kick, which broke my tibia lengthwise. I continued with it until the end of February 2006. The doctor thought it was a bruise. One night I developed a fever and turned out to have blood poisoning. That is also the reason I am no longer allowed to play contact sports.”
This accident put the focus on being a trainer. “I was already a youth trainer at Pesse and became trainer of Saturday 1 in 2012. I was also leader of Sunday 1. In my second year as trainer we were promoted to the third division and that had never happened in the history of Pesse. We were immediately relegated again, because players left and not many came, so we couldn’t keep it going.”
In 2017, John switched to Sunday 1 as trainer and he celebrated quite a few triumphs. Pesse was promoted from the 4th to the 2nd division in a few years and that was also a first for the club. A highlight was a season in which Pesse performed stunts in the cup. “We won against the first division teams Nieuw Buinen and Groningen. We lost to major leaguer Urk via penalties. The worst part was that we were 2-0 ahead: 2-3.”
Protos
Kramer seemed to stay with Pesse for a long time, but in 2021 he moved to Protos. “We played with the same players for four years and at a certain point your trick runs out. Then you have to choose another club.” That became Protos and that club shows a lot of similarity with Pesse. “At both clubs you will find friendliness and conviviality. There are critical older people standing along the line. I like that, because then the players don’t easily think that they are very good. They recently asked if I had already signed up and that makes me happy. The fact that Protos does not have a canteen is not seen as a major disadvantage. There is lava underneath a field, so it dries quickly and can always be trained on. The difference between the two clubs is that at Protos a little less is expected. At the top of the 4th class is good, while Pesse is expected to compete at the top of the 3rd class.”
For John Kramer, Pesse remains one of the most beautiful clubs in the Netherlands. “Pesse is a pleasant village club, where there is a great sense of community. For me there is club love. I still do the locker room layout and the field layout. When I have a weekend off at Protos, I stand on the phone with Pesse. The accommodation is great too. I will return to Pesse someday, I think. That happens to many players who played for another club.”
He has other wishes before then. “I would like to obtain the TC 2 trainer’s diploma and perhaps one day TC 1. I would one day like to become an assistant to a fourth or third division player.”
Volley-ball
In addition to football, volleyball is also a popular sport. He played for Pesse for years in the first division of the recreational league. “We had a nice team with only fun animals, but we were fanatical. Every year we participated in the beach volleyball tournament on the Ermerstrand. We still have a lot of contact. Unfortunately, we stopped four years ago because we had too few players.”
The bathroom seller recently picked up volleyball again at Serve ’07 in the third division. He has lived in Pesse all his life and that will not change soon. “No, I will not move to Hoogeveen. Everyone knows each other here and there is a lot of excitement. The village still has everything, including a village hall and that is very important.”