On March 1st, 2026, the B‑youth ranking tournament in Soest took place once again. The main prize at stake was an A‑license. Two players represented Veldhoven: Samuel and Lars. Only two players? That may sound unusually few for Veldhoven. The reason, however, is very positive: this season no fewer than three Veldhoven B‑license players have already earned their A‑license — Noa and Jelle (both champions at the ranking tournament in Tilburg) and Jasper (who reached the finals of the National Youth Multi‑Events). This meant that almost our entire first youth team (with Charlotte included) now held an A‑license. Lars couldn’t stay behind and wasn’t about to let this final opportunity of the season slip away. To make sure he wouldn’t have to fight alone, Charlotte joined to cheer him on, and I offered to coach Lars this time.
As usual, we had to get up early and left for Soest at 7:30. We arrived well ahead of time; Samuel and his father Micha were already there. Plenty of tables were free, so Lars could warm up thoroughly. After two weeks with hardly any training due to vacation and school activities, it was uncertain how his form would be. On paper, he could go far — he was seeded second — but at this level every opponent is strong, and success is never guaranteed.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch much of Samuel’s matches. Facing opponents who were all seeded higher, Samuel couldn’t break through today and was eliminated in the group stage after four matches.
Lars found himself in a group with several unfamiliar players — opponents he had never faced before. That actually worked to his advantage, as he could fully exploit one of his greatest weapons: his service. Lars’ enormous arsenal of serves regularly drives opponents to despair. But that’s not his only strength. In my opinion, Lars is our most creative youth player, capable of producing unbelievable magic balls with shots like chop‑blocks and snake shots. He made it through the group stage without major problems and was never really in danger. Only one match — against familiar rival Kylian Minnaar — went to a 2–2 tie in a true battle of service titans, but Lars recovered convincingly in the fifth game. As group winner, he advanced to the quarterfinals, where Sem Keij awaited him. I had already watched Sem out of the corner of my eye and thought he was a strong player, so it wouldn’t be easy. But he had no answer to Lars’ excellent play, and Lars won in three straight games.
In the semifinals, his opponent was Hugo Gerritsen from Ede. It turned into a tense match, but Lars again came out on top in four games. This set up a ‘dream final’ between Lars and top seed Ivar Neijssel — the number 1 and 2 of the seeding list. It became an exciting final. While Lars could capitalize on his serve, Ivar possessed a devastating forehand that Lars often struggled to counter. The first three games were extremely close, with Lars narrowly leading 12–10, 10–12, and 12–10. At the start of the fourth game, Lars received a few free points due to service errors, which boosted his confidence and allowed him to play more boldly and aggressively. He secured the victory with an 11–4 win. Mission accomplished — A‑license achieved.
Lars can now join the other four Veldhoven A‑license players and prepare for the A‑ranking tournament in The Hague and the NJK‑A. Another fun fact: this is already Lars’ third tournament victory in Soest (two B‑titles and now an A‑title). This unique hat‑trick naturally had to be celebrated at McDonald’s on the way home.
Final note: to strengthen the group of B‑license players, four Veldhoven players competed the day before for a B‑license at the C‑ranking tournament. Unfortunately, they didn’t succeed this time, but Sem did reach an impressive semifinal. Given the development of these players, they will certainly break through next year and earn their licenses as well.
With sporting regards,
Jeffrey Kang