TNYA Spotlight: Mike Veenstra

Do you know Dutch Mike? No, not the 1930s baby-faced mobster -– the TNYA water polo player. Well, he’s going to introduce himself in this edition of TNYA Spotlight:

Being from the Netherlands (“low country”) where more than 50% is under sea level, and where you can find canals and lakes everywhere, I learned how to swim at a young age. My sister already knew how to swim when I just got the hang of it, and she actually started playing water polo. I started going to the pool to watch her play each weekend, and immediately knew that this is what I wanted to do.

I started playing water polo at the age of 7, and continued to play all through college until I moved to the amazing city of Cleveland about 4 years ago (which I know TNYA loves since the most recent Gay Games!) I tried to play in Cleveland, but did not enjoy it as much. But then I came to NYC for graduate school 2 years ago, and decided to check out TNYA. Yep, I still loved to play water polo and had a great time with all the people in the team.

And this is really what water polo is about for me. I of course love the game, (I mean who doesn’t like to get rid of their aggression in the water) but the social aspect of water polo is the best thing. It takes a special kind of mentality that you find in people that play water polo, and that is just it. At TNYA, I found that again. Thank you all for making me feel at home instantly! The combination of great company, some exercise and some (a lot of) beer after each game, that is what make it complete. So, when do we play our next game?!

November 2014