Jan Koster

Dutch footballer

Jan Koster (29 June 1943 — 3 April 2013) was a Dutch footballer, professional volleyball player, volleyball coach and pub owner. During his playing career he played as a libero for 16 years in the Dutch Volleyball League, being a key person for the teams he played with.

Jan Koster
Personal information
NicknameJan met de gouden handjes[1]
NationalityNetherlands Dutch
Born(1943-06-29)29 June 1943[2]
Assen, Netherlands
Died (aged 69)
Volleyball information
Positionlibero
Career
YearsTeams
1969-1970
1970-1973
1973-1978
1978-
Netherlands SUES
Netherlands SFC, Assen
Netherlands Oranje Nassau, Groningen
Netherlands RAAK/SFC, Assen
Netherlands Oranje Nassau, Groningen [2]

Koster didn’t accept the offer to play for the national team.[2] Although not playing for the national team, Koster was named as one of the best volleyball players of Drenthe in the 1970s[3][4][1] and possibly one of the best ever Dutch libero players.[5]

During his best years he was nicknamed due to his good technique Dutch: Jan met de gouden handjes (translated: Jan with the golden hands)[1] or Dutch: Jan met de fluwelen handjes (translated: Jan with the velvet hands).[2]

Biography change

Af young age Koster played both volleyball and football. As a footballer he played with Asser Christelijke Voetbalvereniging and made his debut in the first league at the age of 16. Two years later he didn’t want to combine football and volleyball and chose, also because of his friend, for volleyball.[2]

He played a total of 16 seasons in the Dutch volleyball league.[2] He started playing with SUES and he played afterwards with SFC in Assen. Koster was a key person for the team. [6] After Hans Zaaijer and Jelke Smit left the club, Koster also left SFC in 1973 and became player and trainer with Oranje Nassau in Groningen.[7] He also started studying economics in Groningen.[2] The team was very dissatisfied that he left, also because negotiations had already been done with him.[7] However, he returned as coach at SFC for the women’s team. He trained the women’s team for three seasons until 1977. He was successful with the team.[8][9] He stopped because he couldn’t combine it anymore with his job as pub owner.[10] He was from 1981 coach of Lycurgus, replacing Hilbrand Hartlief [nl].[11][12]

During his career Koster played for the national student team and the national militairy team. He was invited, but didn’t accept the offer to play for the main national team.[2]

Koster worked as a gymnastic teacher.[13] Koster took over pub “Havenzicht” in 1975 together with volleyball player Piet Swieter, but short after it became his own cafe. The cafe was a well known meeting place for (known) volleyball players, basketball players and other sportspeople.[14][1] Koster had a room above Havenzicht but lived somewhere else.[15]

Koster died in 3 April 2013.[16] Koster was described after his death by coach of the 1996 Olympic winning team Joop Alberda as “legendary”.[17] After his death, Havenzicht was closed after almost 150 years in July 2020.[15]

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Jan Koster, volleyballer en kroegbaas op 69 jarige leeftijd overleden". Sport Groningen (in Dutch). April 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Vroeger & Nu Jan Koster". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 18 June 1991. Retrieved 16 June 2022 – via Delpher.
  3. "Volleybal (begrip)". Encyclopedie van Drenthe (in Dutch). 28 July 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  4. "De derde helft van Dick Hevelman, deel 5". Puur Voetbal Online (in Dutch). 28 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  5. "Volleybal-routinier hoofdpersoon bij verovering van Europa Cup III". NRC Handelsblad [en] (in Dutch). 22 February 1982. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  6. "Verdeling van sponsorgelden oorzaak conflict bij Raak/SFC". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 5 June 1973. Retrieved 16 June 2022 – via Delpher.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Jan Koster bij Oranje Nassau speler-trainer". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 7 June 1973. Retrieved 16 June 2022 – via Delpher.
  8. "Koster blijft bij SFC". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 23 February 1976. Retrieved 16 June 2022 – via Delpher.
  9. "SFC trainer Koster tacticus van formaat". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 13 December 1976. Retrieved 16 June 2022 – via Delpher.
  10. "Jan Koster stopt". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 18 February 1977. Retrieved 16 June 2022 – via Delpher.
  11. "Koster volgt Hartlief op als coach Lycurgus". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 17 September 1981. Retrieved 6 June 2022 – via Delpher.
  12. "Lycurgus luidt noodklok". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 26 February 1982. Retrieved 6 June 2022 – via Delpher.
  13. "Borgers en Koster". De Volkskrant [en] (in Dutch). 25 May 2001. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  14. "'Sport zonder drank is een illusie'". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 29 September 1987. Retrieved 6 June 2022 – via Delpher.
  15. 15.0 15.1 "Café Havenzicht sluit na bijna 150 jaar". Algemeen Dagblad [en] (in Dutch). 5 July 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  16. "Een laatste groet aan café Havenzicht: bier, rook, topsporters, primeurs en vozerij". RTV Noord [nl] (in Dutch). 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  17. Joop Alberda at Twitter, 7 April 2013