Tonnie uses his work experience and achieves success with Achilles

I am Tonnie van Rijn, 46 years old, engaged, father of two daughters, and I am from Apeldoorn. I enjoy sports; I started with judo in my youth and switched to handball at the age of 12. Due to injuries, I recently stopped playing, but my passion for the sport keeps me very involved with the handball club FilterCare Achilles. Besides my love for sports, I am also a music lover and play drums in the occasional band No Way with my girlfriend and youngest daughter (both singers) and my father (bass guitar).

Ten years ago, I started as a volunteer at Achilles. My daughter began playing handball, and I became her trainer-coach. It’s fun to experience the sport with her and spend quality time together on weekends. I strongly believe in the importance of members and parents contributing to the clubs they are part of, as these often rely on volunteers.

Over time, I expanded my volunteer duties and saw an opportunity to use my work experience in marketing and communication for the board of Achilles. Initially, I focused on sponsorship, but for the past six years, I have been the chairman of the board of Achilles.

I was inspired by the "Start 2 Play Sports" project from Accres, which uses sports as a means to combat loneliness and promote social connection. To enhance the social involvement of Achilles, I set aside my work outside of Achilles for a year. During this year, I contributed to strengthening the internal and external social engagement of Achilles. This resulted in the project "Heroes in Motion." Achilles served as a pilot, where we developed a social growth plan that the club used in various ways to get both young and old in Apeldoorn moving.

It’s gratifying to see how you can bring people together within a sports club. There is a strong sense of togetherness within Achilles. At the club, I see happy faces; people enjoy coming to the club and sharing the joy of sports with each other.

I am so involved with Achilles because I enjoy working with people. I derive happiness from sharing success and celebrating the completion of projects together. Challenges and obstacles are also part of this. As a marketer, I love the approach: either we find a way or we make one! As an optimist, I get energy from finding solutions for tough challenges and goals or when things go wrong. We face conflicts together, especially because it’s important that we can work together harmoniously. These processes are educational and contribute to my personal growth; in my development but especially in the happiness I derive from collaborating and sharing successes.