Our crews: the heroes behind United

No volunteers, no basketball. Every home game, every practice and every event runs on people who are there out of love for the club and the sport, week in, week out.

They are rarely in the spotlight, yet without them not a single ball goes up. So this is where we put them: front and centre.

volunteers
35
crews
10

The crews

Who does what? The people behind each crew, in alphabetical order.

  • Announcers

    2 volunteers

    They are the voice of the arena: they welcome fans and partners, introduce the players and keep the atmosphere going until the final whistle.

    • Hendrik-Jan Broekhuijze
    • Steven Teunissen

  • Commercial crew

    3 volunteers

    They build and look after the relationships with our partners and the Business Club, so the ambition on the court is carried by a strong business network.

    • Jeroen Naalden
    • Kris Biesters
    • Kunlé Afabioli

  • Marketing crew

    4 volunteers

    They tell the United story through the website, social media, photos and videos, and make sure fans and partners don’t miss a thing.

    • Lisanne de Jonge
    • Roel Joling
    • Steven Teunissen
    • Taco Verdonschot

  • Operations crew

    2 volunteers

    They plan and coordinate everything around games and events: venues, rosters, crews and logistics.

    • Alexander Simin
    • Steven Teunissen

  • Scorer’s table & scouting crew

    9 volunteers

    At every home game they run the scoreboard, the shot clock and the digital score sheet. At the same time they keep all the statistics live, the basis for results, player profiles and our coaches’ analyses.

    • Egbert Broeren
    • Harry Bremer
    • Joris Meurs
    • Marco Leenders
    • Martijn Woonings
    • Minna Selmgrenn
    • Sandra van Noord
    • Theo Sloot
    • Yvette Bremer

  • Strength, conditioning & physio crew

    3 volunteers

    They make our players stronger, faster and fitter, prevent injuries and guide the recovery when one happens anyway.

    • Anne van Vlijmen
    • Betien Baziany
    • Matthijs van Wichen

  • Talent identification

    1 volunteer

    He follows talent all over Gelderland, at clubs, regional training sessions and tournaments, and makes sure promising players find their way to United.

    • Bas Pierik

  • Team managers

    10 volunteers

    They take care of everything around a team, from scheduling and travel to contact with parents and the federation, so coach and players can focus entirely on basketball.

    • Egbert Broeren
    • Hans Poppelaars
    • Kelly Lambers
    • Lars Guelen
    • Michelle van den Wildenberg
    • Monique Ubbink
    • Nathalie Cok
    • Remke Cornelisse Roelse
    • Sander Reumer
    • Wieger Kamies

  • Tech & show crew

    2 volunteers

    They handle the lights, sound, music, the scoreboard screen and the livestream, and turn every home game into a show.

    • Jeroen Guldemond
    • Merijn Guldemond

  • Venue crew

    2 volunteers

    They turn a sports hall into a game-day arena: they set up and clear the venue, keep the floor ready for play and make sure everything is in place for players, fans and partners.

    • Caspar Scholten
    • Leentje Salakory

Volunteers in their own words

Leentje, Marco, Merijn and Wesley talk about what they do, how they started and their best moment. Spoken in Dutch, with English subtitles. The videos were recorded when our teams still played as Yoast United.

  • Leentje Floor manager
    Read what Leentje says

    I'm Leentje Salakory, 51, and I'm from Bemmel. I'm the floor manager. At games, together with the other crew volunteers, I make sure everything is ready for the games. At De Bongerd, as a spectator — that’s where I became a volunteer. As a volunteer I love the contact with the players, men and women, the crew, and not forgetting the supporters. It's just always a party.

    [On screen: What is your highlight as a volunteer?]

    My highlights are the women's championships and the cup finals. The most recent was the Yoast United cup final in Zwolle, where I was there as floor manager.

    [On screen: Which highlights will you experience? Become a volunteer!]

  • Marco Scout (statistics)
    Read what Marco says

    I'm Marco, Marco Leenders, 41, and I'm from Arnhem. I'm a scout. For a few years I didn't do anything in basketball at all. Then there was a vacancy for volunteers for the scouting, and I signed up for it. It's great to experience a game up close: the interaction between the players, the referee and the table. [Marco calls out game actions for the statistics]

    [On screen: What is your highlight as a volunteer?]

    That's the championship, the 2016-2017 season. That's definitely the highlight.

  • Merijn House DJ and tech crew member
    Read what Merijn says

    I'm Merijn Guldemond, I'm twelve and I'm from Bemmel. I'm a stand-in DJ and camera operator. My uncle got me into basketball, back then still at De Bongerd, here in Bemmel. And I actually came to love basketball much more, and after that I also got interested in all the work that goes on behind a basketball game. The best part of volunteering is that I get to stand in as DJ. And being a camera operator is really fun, because you can always watch the games. And yes, you basically get a kind of VIP access.

    [On screen: What is your highlight as a volunteer?]

    Everyone claps and all, all because they like the music.

    [On screen: Which highlights will you experience? Become a volunteer!]

  • Wesley Content creator and social media
    Read what Wesley says

    I'm Wesley Lenting, I'm 28 and I'm from Duiven. I'm the content creator and I run Yoast United's social media. I started as a volunteer after a conversation with Anouk. She was looking for someone for social media, and that’s what I started doing. In the end I also took on some content creation. What I enjoy most about volunteering is the contact with the players. You get to know new players and their stories, and I often find that really interesting. What volunteering has brought me is some really cool assignments as a videographer for Basketball Nederland, including the Dutch national team.

    [On screen: What is your highlight as a volunteer?]

    My highlight as a volunteer is the cup final in Zwolle, but also all the great highlights and dunks I get to see up close.

    [On screen: Which highlights will you experience (or create)? Become a volunteer!]

Want to join our crew?

There is always room for new heroes. Whether you have a few hours a season or want to help at every home game: find the role that suits you.

See the vacancies