Kinheim invites families to Vriendjesdag, introducing children to honkbal and softbal

Kinheim will open the gates of Pim Mulier Stadium to children and families on 22 April, turning Vriendjesdag into a simple first look at honkbal and softbal in Haarlem. From 16:00 to 17:30, the club will invite newcomers to step onto the field, pick up a bat and glove, and see the sport without any pressure to already know the game.

The Haarlem club says proeftrainingen are open to boys and girls, youth and seniors, at all age levels and all levels of ability. That makes the easiest route clear: come to Vriendjesdag first, then use the first impression to move into a proeftraining if a child wants to keep going. Kinheim is framing the afternoon as an open door, not a one-off showpiece.

That open door matters because the club has a full pathway waiting behind it. Kinheim lists men’s baseball, women’s softball, youth baseball, youth softball, Beeball and slowpitch in its current structure, giving families a route from the very first swing through to organised club play. The club’s mission says it aims to connect people actively with one another and with the club, and to bring innovation to the sport, which is exactly the kind of language that fits a beginner-friendly afternoon in the middle of the spring season.

April is also the right moment in the Dutch baseball calendar. KNBSB runs its youth season in the spring and presents baseball and softball as sports for everyone, with recruitment materials and best practices for clubs that want to bring in new members. For a child who has never played before, that makes a late-April visit feel less like an isolated activity and more like a natural entry into the season.

Kinheim’s scale gives the invitation extra weight. The club calls itself Haarlem’s oldest baseball and softball club, with its home at Pim Mulierlaan 1 and its long identity tied to the Pim Mulier Stadium. Its history reaches back to Bloemendaal and Haarlem, through stops at the Badmintonpad before the move to its current home. The club marked its 90-year anniversary in 2025 and carries real competitive history too, with Dutch titles in 1978, 1994, 2006, 2007 and 2012, plus European Cup wins in 2007 and 2008.

That is what makes Vriendjesdag more than a casual open afternoon. Kinheim launched its 2026 presentation guide on 8 April alongside Dames 1 and Heren 1, and the club has also said it wants to build a stronger softball foundation in Haarlem. The message is consistent: Haarlem baseball still runs on heritage, but it also depends on the next child who walks in for a first try.