Jikke Huinink, only girl taking part in tournament

12 June 2022

“A boy like that doesn’t want to lose to me…”.

A few years ago Jikke Huinink came over from VIOS Beltrum to Grol where she played in JO15-1. At the Marveld Tournament she is also part of the Grol team. This makes her the only girl that participates in the tournament. A special fact.

She herself finds it a special and great experience. “It is at a higher level than the competition,” says Jikke. On Friday, she played part of the game and on Sunday she played the entire first half of the last game, for the 11th and 12th place, which Grol won 1-0 against AZ. Jikke looks back on the tournament with great satisfaction. “We played very good football, but unfortunately it was often not rewarded. Today we finally got the reward,” she says, beaming.
The fact that she is the only girl between all the boys does not really bother her. She is used to it, of course. The boys from the other teams sometimes have to get used to it, but they also like it. “During dinner, we had a lot of contact with the players of Red Bull Bragantino. We did that with the help of Google Translate. Then we were fooling around a bit. They would ask the boys on my team how old I was. In the field, Jikke did notice that the opponent was more easily irritated. “Such a boy obviously does not want to lose to me…”.

The parents are also proud and follow the performances of Jikke and her team closely. This includes Jikke’s very last match at Grol. “We haven’t missed a match yet. A yellow wristband, huh, a weekend ticket!”, laughs Manon Huinink. “In between games we can also go home, Beltrum is not far away.” Fanatical as ever, they encourage Grol. “I wonder what an opponent will think when he suddenly stands opposite Jikke,” wonders mother Huinink.

For Jikke, the tournament and the season with Grol are almost over. In a few weeks, Jikke will make another switch and she will start at PEC Zwolle: Jikke good luck!