Amsterdam Sabotage started out early in the year of 2008 with not much more than a dream and a vision of grandeur. The team is made up primarily from three Dutch and Belgian teams which were Provoke, New Order and Budda Bandits.
Season one was going to be a long and tested affair for the team as they started off playing in Division one. With a ton of hard work they had success and failures over the season to finish 10th overall in the points standings. Not bad but no where near where the team wanted to be at the end of the year. So instead of dwelling on their failures on the field they took those let downs and turned them into learning experiences.
Hitting the practice field even harder and with a aggression so as to finish better in the overall placings the team built on the basics and their team work. Through this hard work they became more and more consistent, learned what each player on the field would do in just about any given circumstance and proved to be a factor in each and every event this season.
So how did the team fare this season you may be asking yourself? After stepping up their game they finished in 2nd place overall and thus secured a spot in the SPL (Semi Pro League) next year in the Millennium Series. Besides the Millennium Series the team has played in several other leagues including BPL pro, DPL, X-PSL and the PALM Series managing to end up in the top four in all of the series.
Don expresses what this team means to him in this quote below:
“What the team means to me as a player, well…I’ve always been into sports. Since the day I could walk I’ve always been very competitive and have always loved to play any team sport. I first played the sport of paintball when I was 16. In the beginning it was kind off hard, trying to get some cash together just to buy one bag of paint and try to play every Sunday. Eventually I ended up working for the paintball shop on Aruba, and that gave me the opportunity to play every Sunday.
Paintball just stuck, and meeting these guys a couple of years back just fit. I had a try out what was then The Buddha-Bandits, still fresh of the plane from the island. Still a little new to the sport, I had to learn new skills and be more open as a player.
Amsterdam Sabotage was formed almost two years ago. I’ve been with the team from the very beginning, and I hope to be there in the end, somewhere in the very, very distant future. I plan to be here for awhile. All of these guys are like a family away from my family. Everyone has brought new qualities into the team. I’ve learned a lot from the team, from the guys, and hopefully I’ve thought them some things as well. The people I’ve met, the places I’ve been, the things I’ve seen, all the pranks pulled, all of these experiences I wouldn’t trade in for anything. If I wasn’t part of the team, if I wasn’t playing paintball I doubt that I would have experienced any of these things. The team has always been there for me, these are a couple of my best friends on and off the field.
Next year we’ll be playing a higher division, the SPL in the Millennium Series. Although we’ve played against SPL and CPL teams before, this is an entirely new experience. Everyone in the team is excited, and can’t wait to shoot their first paintballs on an SPL field.
As a player, I want to reach higher with the team and try to grab that CPL spot one day. I think anyone in the team would give the same answer. The past year we’ve fought long and hard, everyone gave their best and it’s paid off. Next year is going to be a big year for us. All of our hard work and all the effort we’ve put into the team….I can’t wait for 2010.”
Roster:
We also managed to secure Kevin Rugaard (Chicago Legend) to battle with us at the Millennium Series, PALM Series and hanging out whenever we don’t play.
Marco Moriconi ( team captain) Roy Postma Greg Meskens Daniel Middelkoop Donovan Tjon-En-Fa Dave de Cuba Adham Laamraoui Niels Umans Hubertus Neuhaus Darren Simon Kevin RugaardSponsors
As for the sponsors, we hope that the list will grow for the 2010 season. Here is the 2009 list.
Paintball Direct Planet Eclipse Tanked Stiffi Go-beyond.nl JE-factory Konekt Apparel Supair Almere Inspirehttp://www.amsterdam-sabotage.com/
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1744336499&ref=ts
We here at the CatShack wish this team a ton of success in the coming season and know they will continue on with their top finishes through their hard work.
Paul Forcier
