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Utrecht | July 1, 2021

Neighborhood sports coach Simonetta: "Seeing a child shine, that's what it's all about for me."

Simonetta van den Berg has been working as a community sports coach for Heuvelrug Sportief & Gezond for three years. She is passionate about raising awareness among children and adults about the importance of sports, exercise, and health. For the past year and a half, she has been the local contact person for the Youth Fund for Sports & Culture in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug region. "I'm especially passionate about supporting the children who are struggling to keep up."

What do you do as a local contact person?

Simonetta: "As a local point of contact, you're the connecting link. You're not only the point of contact for intermediaries, schools, and local residents, but you also help raise as much awareness as possible for the Youth Fund for Sports & Culture and organize activities to raise money for the fund. For example, last year we held a fundraising campaign at eight supermarkets in the Heuvelrug region. Customers could donate their deposits to the Youth Fund. Supermarkets are also enthusiastic about participating in this campaign."

What drives you?

Helping families and children who are struggling. They deserve some extra help, and to have someone actually arrange something for them, and to see it work out. It's truly about the children. Seeing them shine. Every child deserves to be able to enjoy sports or culture. I'm happy to champion that!

How did you come into contact with the Youth Fund?

I'd known about the Youth Fund for a while from my work as a Community Sports Coach. In October 2019, Heuvelrug Sportief en Gezond was looking for a new local point of contact for the Youth Fund for Sports & Culture. It didn't take me a second to think about it. "Sometimes you just instantly feel: yes, this is what I want to do. I especially want to work with children who aren't keeping up."

What is your strength?

Simonetta: "I won't stop until I succeed. I feel a tremendous drive to help people. Sometimes things don't always go smoothly for a family or organization. But I don't give up easily and I keep trying: a phone call here, an email there. Until it works. It's a challenge for me to keep going until things are well-organized for that family."

What do you like about your job?

"The grit and the solution, as I just mentioned. But also the connecting of people. You can truly make a difference for children. Unfortunately, there are many vulnerable families with children who can't keep up. That's why it's fantastic that the Youth Fund exists. Not only sports and exercise, but also culture is incredibly important in children's development."

Why are sports and culture so important?

Sports are, of course, healthy, especially outdoors. Children are already spending more time indoors than ever before. And every child can win at sports. But they can also learn to lose, which is just as important. Sports and culture should be much more integrated into education. "Children should be focused more on their talents instead of their grades at school," says Simonetta.

Where lie the opportunities?

Education can play a significant role for families who aren't so familiar with the social village teams. Teachers have a better understanding of what's going on within a family. They can also easily discuss with the child what they want in terms of sports or cultural activities. "But," Simonetta explains, "the pressure in education is immense, so you have to make it as easy as possible for them. Ideally, every school should have an intermediary. Then we can help so many more children."

What is your dream?

Simonetta envisions an inspiring place in every village where children and adults can find information about healthy living, sports, exercise, and culture. And where all sorts of accessible activities are organized around these themes. "A health information desk, just like the tourist office, but a bit different," Simonetta laughs. "Another dream is for all sports clubs here in the Heuvelrug to soon have a water tap. That would make me very happy too."