Who are the coaches behind CoachBall?

Reinier Sierag

At seven years old, Reinier started out as a Peanut with Alcmaria Victrix in his hometown of Alkmaar.

And even after that, he kept playing.Reinier played on a few selection teams in North Holland.And one of his highlights is stepping in as a catcher for the Alcmaria Men’s 1 team (back then in the Top League) against Sparta (in Rotterdam) as catcher.But also a great memory is making the trip to The Blocks (Veendam) three times in one season for nothing, and still turning it into a party every time.Or having a blast with the whole team on a Saturday night, then trying to bring your A-game together early Sunday morning during a game.

At twenty-eight, he became a dad and decided to start playing softball so he could spend more weekends at home.That turned out to be a great choice, because that’s where he got to meet podcast buddy Wesley, among others.Reinier has been playing at the Hoofdklasse level for over ten years now. After a solid second-place finish in 2020, his team actually became national champions in 2021 (this video is a real treat, too).

In the 2022 season, Reinier made the switch from Alcmaria Victrix to Olympia Haarlem (and, at 41, he picked up his first serious injury).

Three years ago, Reinier started coaching Beeball at Alcmaria.Currently, Reinier is coaching a youth baseball team where his own son Melle plays.

His daughter Jasmijn plays on Wesley’s U15 softball team.

Wesley Blonk

Wesley grew up with the softball bug running in the family.Both parents met each other at EHS in Haarlem.where they played for years.When Wesley snagged the national title with EHS back in 2003, it was an emotional moment for the Blonk family.

The journey there all started with the Peanuts at Koedijk.This is where the foundation was laid and Wesley started his career as a (baseball) catcher.After the little league, the Heerhugowaard club The Herons picked him for a talent team.Due to a serious knee injury, it looked like his baseball career might come to an early stop when he was just sixteen.Until two years later, when a call went out within his circle of friends to start a softball team.With no pitcher available, Wesley started tossing underhand.When he saw an opponent throw a real Windmill pitch, he was hooked and decided to join the junior girls' pitching training at Koedijk.He not only learned how to pitch in softball there, but also met his future wife.

In his second softball season, he played with Koedijk against DSC'74.This promising team was leading the pack, featuring several youth players who had already represented the Junior Dutch National Team.Koedijk managed to take this game with a 5-1 win.Three days after this game, an envelope from the KNBSB showed up in the mailbox, inviting me to join Team NL.Wesley became a solid ace on the mound for Team NL.After twelve years playing and five European Championships – with the last one ending in an impressive second place – it was the perfect moment to say goodbye.

At Alcmaria Victrix, a new men's softball team was formed, with Wesley on the mound as pitcher and Reinier behind the plate as catcher.After playing together at a high level for several years, you could say they really know how to read each other’s game.This was capped off with a great national championship title in 2021.During this time, Wesley was also approached by the national coach to see if he was available for the Softball World Championship in the Czech Republic.Once again, Wesley decided to give it his all and train hard for three months straight.It was an amazing experience.

After winning the national championship with Alcmaria Victrix, the team broke up and Wesley decided to focus on coaching the girls of Alcmaria Victrix U-12/15, where his two daughters Bridget and Celine play.