SC Telstar’s History
In July 2020 I started playing at SC Telstar in Velsen-IJmuiden. To give my readers some more background information, I dived into the history of SC Telstar. Of course, there is already a lot of information about this football club on the Internet, but, I want to show the club from the player’s perspective.
How did the SC Telstar football club originate?
As the logo indicates, we have to go back to 1963. The sphere in the middle of the logo already gives away a bit more about the name, but more about that later. The former competitors (VSV and Stormvogels) from IJmuiden were merged with their pro departments and were given the name Telstar. Later the club was also nicknamed “The White Lions”. Telstar plays its home games at the Schoonenberg sports park. The first floor of the complex also includes a space called the “White Lion Cage”.
How did the name Telstar come about?
In the year 1963, when it was founded, a communications satellite also went into space. This satellite was named “Telstar 2” and was mounted on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on May 7, 1963. The predecessor of this satellite, the Telstar 1, had already been launched into space a year earlier. The satellite is approximately 876.30 mm and weighs 77 kg.
The satellite is shaped like a football. Nice and round with a few big antennas on top. The name Telstar couldn’t be better chosen; linked to an object in (boundless) space, and communication as a common goal. As a club, we can, therefore, say that we have our own satellite running in space. Although the Telstar 2 has already been withdrawn from service, its successors still orbit the Earth with the name Telstar. The current satellite is the Telstar 18V and was launched on 9/10/2018.
The Stadion
As I wrote before, the stadium is located at the Schoonenberg sports park. The stadium itself is located on an old estate and therefore in a green and forest area. The stadium has a capacity of 3625 visitors. In August 2009, the main grandstand was completely renovated and put into use shortly after. The new building is two stories high. The players home, changing rooms, treatment room and other facilities are located on the ground floor. Above that, on the first floor, are the areas for the business audience. There is also the “White Lion Cage” which I wrote about earlier.
The roof is made of translucent fabric. Very nice, because then everything stays nice and light and clear. Whether you are sitting in the main grandstand, or inside the “White Lion Cage”, light always comes in. From a football player’s perspective, it’s a pleasure to play football with Telstar and have these facilities
Nick Kaaijmolen
