Name: Jorik van Baal
Position: Midfield
Currently playing at: Domstad Devils – Utrecht Lacrosse
Previously played at: MDNT ‘12
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where do you live? What do you do in daily life? When did you start playing lacrosse?
I´m a first-year student of human resource management at Hogeschool Utrecht, after studying and working a few years I’ve started a new study and going strong.
I live with my best friend in an apartment in Utrecht, and have been living on my own for almost 6 years now. Next to my studies and sport I work as a waiter/bartender at a restaurant, two or three evenings per week.
I started playing lacrosse when I first moved to Utrecht. I learned about the sport during the introduction days and fell in love with it immediately.
Congratulations with your spot on the team! What was the first thing you did when you heard?
Cheered (I was in the locker room after a practice), and called my girlfriend and mother.
What are you most looking forward to in Denver?
To play without thinking too much about it. During the EC2012 I didn’t play as well as I should have been able to because of all the pressure it brought for me. During the WC I don’t want to worry as much and be the best I possibly can be.
What are your expectations for Denver?
To play on a very high level and give it my all for my country. But also to enjoy the atmosphere and to be able to watch some high-end lacrosse from the blue group.
How do you interpret the 2014 MDNT motto “Destination Denver and Beyond”?
I´ve been involved with setting up the MDNT Program from the start, so for me it´s all about getting to Denver in a financially healthy way, but also to send out the message to the rest of the lacrosse community in the Netherlands that we run a well organized program. By leading by example is how I feel we should set the tone for the future. Destination Denver and Beyond is the way to do that.
