Unwilling routine - Book summary

[Amber]

Simone (1991 - 1992)

• The National Championships are held in Den Bosch. Stasja wins first place on all events, Simone places second. Vanessa's arm is in a plaster, she dislocated her elbow doing a Tkatchev. They are on a training camp at Papendal. Vanessa is doing what she can, which is not a lot. Gerrit informs her that when her arm is out of the plaster, they will immediately start working on the Tkachev, Simone sees her sister become very pale and nervous.
• The last day of the season they spent at their home gym in Alphen aan den Rijn. The atmosphere is relaxed, they are all happy to get a break from training. After the training Gerrit pulls Stasja, Simone and Vanessa apart to have a conversation with them. "As you have probably heard, Marja has been offered a job to coach in Germany, we are moving after the holidays and we want to know if you are moving with us" Gerrit explains. Simone and Stasja look at each other, the only thing they are thinking about are the cute boys they met there. Without thinking, or knowing what the move to Germany entails, they agree to go with them.
• The next day they are packing their bags, as they will not return to their current housings. Simone is at Frank's house when the bell rings. When she opens the door Stasja is there. "Vanessa just quit gymnastics because of her elbow" Stasja says. Simone is stunned by the news, she realizes that she will have to move to Germany without her sister, which is not what she wants at all. If her sister is not doing gymnastics anymore Simone sees no reason to continue. She however realizes that now that Vanessa has quit, Gerrit will never let her go!
• During the holiday Simone tries to talk to her parents about not wanting to go to Germany. Her father tells her that it is her decision to make. They do not understand the power Gerrit has over her, she does not have a choice, Gerrit will just make her go. The only way for Simone to get out of moving to Germany is if her parents refuse to let her go. After the break they spent a week on Papendal. Trainings are tough as it is just Simone and Stasja. Gerrit tells them that when they have moved to Germany that they will only attend a few hours of school each week so they have more time to focus on Gymnastics. Simone does not like this at all, she likes school. Stasja doesn't care, her life revolves around gymnastics but for Simone school is important. She really does not want to go. She will have to tell Gerrit but she is scared to. She knows he will be very angry. Gerrit can see the trouble coming and starts teasing and bullying Simone so she is even more scared to tell him, but she knows it is now or never. "I don't want to go to Germany" Simone softly says. Gerrit starts yelling and cussing but Simone stands her ground. Stasja, who is training on floor supports her. "You cannot force her if she doesn't want to go" She tells Gerrit. He walks to the door and orders Simone and Stasja to come with him. He takes them to the office, Simone's heart is racing, she is scared and very happy that Stasja is with her.
• "Sit!" Gerrit orders. Stasja and Simone sit down on chairs across from him. He throws some money at them. "Get out! See how far you come. You both are nothing without me" Gerrit yells. Simone sits there frozen, the bomb of anxiety inside of her is about to explode. She doesn't know what Gerrit expects of her, is he serious? He is still yelling at them and angrily gives various reason why he won't allow Simone to quit. Simone figures that this is the first time that they are having an actual conversation. Simone hopes Stasja will convince Gerrit that he cannot force Simone to go to Germany if she does not want to. She needs Stasja for this, she is no longer able to stand up for herself. She can only repeat that she really does not want to go. Gerrit continues to holler at them and in the end they are no match for him. It is clear to Simone, she has to move to Germany.

Germany

• After an eight hour drive they arrive at the "Haus der Turnerinnen" where some German gymnasts live. Yvonne, who is 14 and Bianca, who is 16 live there. Stasja and Simone will be sharing a room. "Unpack and I'll pick you up in an hour to go to the gym" Gerrit says. The trainings are extremely tough, they now train 40 hours per week. Simone can't handle this, she is so sad and desperate, she has persistent pains in her heart and has to try very hard not to cry. Yvonne and Bianca go to school during the day, Stasja and Simone are still not going to school at all. During the weekends, the German gymnasts go home. Simone and Stasja spent their weekends at Marja an Gerrit who live in a tiny apartment in the "Haus de Turner" . Gerrit took it upon himself to teach them German so that eventually, they can go to school. Every week Simone is looking forward to Saturday, the only day off they have. She prefers to do nothing and just sit on the couch, preserving her energy for the trainings. After a couple of Saturdays on the couch Gerrit gets angry. "Go do something, you sit there on the couch doing nothing all day, go out, go do something". They really don't know what to do. They are in a strange country, they don't speak the language and they don't know the area. "I'll take you to the swimming pool" Marja offers. It is sweet of her but Simone doesn't feel like swimming. The chlorine burns on the irritated eczema spots she has all over her body. Gerrit said that the eczema spots are caused by stress. He might be right as Simone is stressed out 24/7. As they cannot think of anything else to do, they go swimming. The week after, Stasja has a better idea: shopping! Marja explains how they can get to the city center using public transportation and from that day on Stasja and Simone go there every Saturday. It feels good to be by themselves and not have coaches watching their every move. Their only real reason for shopping is: eating! They buy candy and even go to McDonalds a few times.

I will continue Stasja's story now as Simone describes some important events that happen to Stasja.