NECIS Tournament | One-on-One with AIS Director of Co-Curriculum & Athletics

The NECIS Tournament roars back to AIS in 2022, giving the Griffins and ten other member schools the chance to compete at Antwerp International School. It’s the first time since the pandemic began and the Varsity and JV Basketball teams are ready for action.

Pete Vandebovenkamp, known as Mr V or Coach V by students, is the Director of Co-Curriculum and Athletics at AIS. The Canadian with a strong Dutch heritage is passionate about sports. “I love to compete in, watch and be around any type of athletic event. I am entering my 47th year as a basketball player and my 31st year as a coach,” Coach V explains. 

Coach V oversees all after school activities at AIS including sporting activities, drama, music, Griffin After School Adventures, Griffins TV and the Griffin Student Advisory Board. The list just goes on and on. In addition, he also teaches two elective classes. Coach V says that coaching has been part of his life since graduating from Western University in Computer Science in 1987. 

“Studying in an academically demanding course while playing a Varsity sport was a huge commitment. It meant being incredibly organized and certainly limited my social life,” Coach V explains. “I was proud to be the first Western student to ever combine a computer science degree with a Varsity sport. That of course has really helped me in my current role.”

As a way of giving back, he coached basketball in city youth leagues and moved up to high school teams before joining the AIS community and coaching in Antwerp. “I am still in touch with many former players, many of whom are now starting families. Being part of a team is just plain fun. I love game days and the chess match you can get into with other coaches,” Coach V said.

Growing up, the coach says he played all sports but it’s ice hockey that’s closest to his heart. “To this day my favourite sport is ice hockey but I excelled at basketball and ultimately I was recruited to Western University in London, Canada by a great coach named Doug Hayes,” he explains.

Coach V still remains close friends with his teammates from those years. They recently celebrated their 35-year reunion, but sadly without Coach Hayes who has passed away. Coach V says next to his own father, the coach was the greatest male influence in his life. Coach V has had the pleasure of bringing AIS basketball teams to Canada to compete at Western University in a large boys tournament called ‘Purple and White’. It’s the longest-running tournament in Canada, going on for more than 60 years.

Coach V boasts, “In 2013, AIS won the consolation side of the tournament and in 2018 we did even better, finishing third. The kids will remember those games but they also experienced Canadian culture, really cold days, a Toronto Raptors game, an ice hockey game, we even threw axes for some fun.” 

As NECIS makes its return after a nearly three year hiatus due to COVID-19, Coach V thinks back to 2019 and the last NECIS championships saying, “While we are the second smallest NECIS school, we have won multiple NECIS championships over the years. Recently Boys Basketball and Girls Volleyball have been quite successful. Varsity Boys Basketball won NECIS in 2018/2019, JV and Varsity Girls volleyball won NECIS in 2019/2020. Winning NECIS is not the goal, instead, it is the by-product of good coaching, a positive sport culture and team chemistry.” 

SPORT AT AIS

AIS follows a three-season model for sport, providing opportunities for our students at four different age categories: U12, U14, Junior Varsity and Varsity. There is also a U10 age category in swimming. There are more than 100 athletes and dozens of coaches for Coach V to oversee.

In the fall, AIS offers co-ed Cross Country, Girls and Boys Volleyball and Boys Soccer. In the winter, AIS offers Boys and Girls Basketball and Co-ed Swimming. In the spring, Co-ed Golf, Co-ed Tennis, Girls Soccer, Co-ed Softball and Co-ed Track and Field are offered at AIS. 

Coach V explains that AIS is a small school that punches above its weight and does not cut players at the U12 and U14 levels: “If you want to play and have a positive attitude, we will make it happen for you.” 

The coach believes this results in more talent coming through in the JV and Varsity years. He believes in a coaching attitude where school coaches are professional in their preparation for training and games and their relationships with students, while at the same time ensuring that they all have fun. Coach V says winning is not the goal, it’s just a by-product of how he and his coaches operate. 

He points to the Girls Volleyball team’s 2019 NECIS wins as a recent example. “They were developing their game at the U12 and U14 level with huge numbers of kids. We had A teams and B teams, extra games and extra training. Coach Natasha and Coach Els developed a fun culture that more kids wanted to experience,” Coach V recalls. 

“Fast forward to the fall of 2019 with Coach Vlantis and Coach Flaherty fine-tuning the girls’ skills to a higher level. That fall, Griffin fans in Amsterdam saw the JV girls win NECIS gold and 20 minutes later the Varsity girls did the same thing! Those gold medals didn’t just happen, that took years of enjoyable effort, cultivating a positive culture and facilitating strong team chemistry.”

NECIS RETURNS TO AIS

AIS was a founding member of NECIS which stands for ‘North European Council of International Schools’. There are now ten other member schools that participate from Amsterdam, Netherlands; Bonn, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; Dusseldorf, Germany; Hamburg, Germany; Luxembourg; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Sigtuna, Sweden; Stavanger, Norway and The Hague, Netherlands. 

At the end of each season, all 11 NECIS member schools come together for a big end of season tournament. Coach V explains, “These are always really exciting and produce memories for kids that I am sure last a lifetime. They stay in hotels, hang out with kids from other schools, engage in a sport they love and basically have a blast.”

AIS has hosted the NECIS High School Basketball tournament for more than 30 years and teams love coming to Antwerp. One of those reasons is our Booster Club. “The Booster Club is indeed the face of AIS when we have visitors on campus,” Coach V said. “I frequently get emails from visitors about how friendly and welcoming they are and how good their toasties are, especially at NECIS.  Other schools marvel at how many parents come out to help in the canteen. They often ask how we do it, but to be honest, it is a can-do culture that has evolved over the years,” the coach said.

COVID-19 has challenged all of us to stay positive and flexible, but we’ve managed to keep playing, although in the school’s academic bubbles. “The coaches have done a great job of motivating the kids in practice, improving their skill set and as usual making sport fun,” Coach V shares.

Coach V says he absolutely loves going to work each day: “There are great people here that contribute to a long-standing culture of rolling up their sleeves and getting things done. Not only great colleagues but talented kids and supportive parents. At AIS we have a large percentage of families that stay for a long time. The sports program sure takes advantage of that to develop kids over many years.”  

For example, the NECIS champion Varsity Boys Basketball team of 2019 had 11 players and 9 of them had been in the program since Under 12.  They went undefeated that year, with an average margin of victory at 30 points. On top of that, the final NECIS game was watched by a full crowd, many of whom were alumni.

Speaking of alumni, many of them return to coach. “It is awesome that the Griffin tradition extends into adulthood,” the coach reflects. This year, 5 of our 30 coaches are AIS alumni giving something back to the program that enriched their passion for sport. Coach V also has two sons who are AIS alumni. Walker is a member of the Class of 2014; Sander is a member of the Class of 2020.

The NECIS Tournament runs from 18 – 20 March at AIS.

ABOUT AIS

At Antwerp International School, we celebrate individuality. Together, we can encourage your child’s personality to shine through within a multicultural and fun learning environment. 

AIS offers the globally recognised International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme and Diploma Programme. We accept students from the ages of 2 ½ to 18. AIS is also a proud member of the oldest accrediting association in the United States, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). AIS since 1967. A modern path to success!