Storks chairman completes management course to strengthen club governance

At Storks, the most important spring update did not come from the first base line. It came from the boardroom, where chairman Richard van Soest completed the management course Besturen met Impact and gave the club a stronger hand in the work that keeps an amateur baseball club moving.

Storks marked the completion on 19 April 2026 as a practical gain for the whole organisation, not just a personal trophy for its chairman. That fits the role van Soest has already taken on at Haagse honk- en softbalvereniging Storks since the club unanimously chose him as its new chairman on 21 December 2025. At that point, Storks said the 67-year-old brought experience from Laakkwartier, Birds, Adegeest and Wassenaar, giving the board confidence that he understood both the baseball side and the demands of club leadership.

The course itself is built for exactly that kind of pressure. KNVB describes Besturen met Impact as a program for personal development, stronger knowledge and skills, and networking with clubs nearby. Its four modules are Persoonlijk Leiderschap, Strategisch Besturen, Verbinden and Maatschappelijk Ondernemerschap, a structure that points straight at the tasks amateur boards face every week: setting priorities, keeping people aligned and translating sporting ambition into something the club can actually deliver.

For Storks, that matters because a baseball club in The Hague is never just a baseball club. Volunteers carry the load, committees fill gaps, and board members end up dealing with facilities, finances, communication and long-term planning while trying to support coaches and players across the senior and youth program. The Municipality of The Hague says it offers support because board members sometimes take on more tasks than expected, and it lists Besturen met Impact among the tools it provides with the KNVB. Go Go Den Haag has also promoted the course as a free option for sport clubs in the city, not only football clubs.

That is where the real competitive edge sits. A chairman who has just been through a course like this is better placed to make sharper calls on volunteer recruitment, sponsorship conversations, youth structure and the way Storks sets its agenda for the season ahead. If those decisions are handled well, the payoff shows up later on the field, in steadier coaching, clearer planning and a club that can absorb the demands of a busy spring without losing shape.