Women’s basketball alumna headed to Tokyo Paralympics as assistant for the Netherlands

Former Liberty University women’s basketball standout Irene Sloof (’01) will soon be pursuing Paralympic dreams in Tokyo as assistant coach of the Netherlands’ women’s wheelchair basketball team, which won bronze medals at the 2012 Summer Games in London and again in 2016 in Rio.

Sloof, a native of the Netherlands, also serves as head coach of her country’s Paralympic development program, which she helped start in 2007.

“My passion is to prepare players to become Paralympic basketball players and help them develop as human beings as a whole, to reach their full potential in sports and in life,” said Sloof, who earned her  B.S. in Psychology at Liberty and also holds a bachelor’s in special education and a master’s in international sport management.

The Dutch squad features a 12-women roster, including seven players with previous Paralympic experience. The team is led by Mariska “The Beast” Beijer, arguably the world’s best post player.

“We have girls who are paralyzed from the waist down, one who was a very talented gymnast and she fell from the uneven bars during practice and broke her back,” Sloof said of Carina de Rooij-Versloot, who is featured along with her teammates and Sloof in a video produced by Enorm, a popular band in the Netherlands. “We’ve got amputees. We’ve got girls who were born with their disability, such as spina bifida. All of the girls have had to overcome a lot of hurts, physically, but spiritually and mentally as well. That’s what makes our sport so great because every person has their story. They are the true example of overcoming really bad things in life and making the best out of it. So, I have a lot of respect for them, and I treat them as normal athletes.”

The team won its first World Championships in 2018 in Germany, beating Great Britain in the gold-medal game. It then dominated the 2019 European Championship for Women, played on its home courts in the Netherlands.

Sloof said teams from China, Germany, and the United States are also strong contenders for medals in Tokyo, where the 2020 Paralympic Games are set for Aug. 24-Sept. 5. The Netherlands’ opening round game is set for Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. EST against Team USA.

“It’s always special to play against them,” Sloof said. “Whatever USA team or athlete I see or play against, I always like it because I love the way USA as a whole approaches sports, their attitude. It’s a great example for us, their mentality … and I like the (national) anthem.”

Sloof starred on the Netherlands national team before injuries ended her career. She said her transition from playing with and coaching able-bodied athletes wasn’t smooth at first.

“I put a lot of time into it as a volunteer, learning and falling flat on my face as well, because I’m an able-bodied basketball player and here I come into the wheelchair basketball world and they say, ‘Well, what do you know?’” Sloof said. “So it humbled me and I really had to work hard to get to where I am right now.”

Sloof exceled at Liberty, playing for Rick Reeves her first three seasons and current Head Coach Carey Green as a senior in 2000-01.

“My parents always supported my basketball career, especially my time at Liberty,” Sloof said, though her mom cried when she first moved to the United States. “As soon as they visited for the first time, they were like, ‘Wow, this is the best place you can be, doing what you love, being in such a godly environment, knowing that you’re safe and loved by the people you’re around.”

Green said Sloof emerged in her senior season as one of the most versatile players and fiercest competitors he has ever coached.

“Irene Sloof was a significant part of the success of our women’s basketball program,” he said. “She’s a very talented player with excellent shooting skills, great ball-handling skills, and great passing vision. She was a physical and strong player capable of playing multiple positions. She was an excellent free-throw shooter, and we always wanted the ball in her hands at the end to win the game for us.”

Sloof’s leadership abilities were apparent to Green, who said she is gifted with everything needed to be a tremendous coach.

“Irene demonstrated great communication skills and was always investing in the younger players, taking a lot of heavy work burdens off of them and stepping up when challenges arose,” Green said. “From my coaching perspective, she was a very low-maintenance player who was a coach on the floor. She has a high basketball IQ. She was mentally tough and especially tough on herself. She was a positive influence for her team and emotional leader with a tender heart but a fierce, warrior-tough, competitive spirit.”

Sloof said she drew plenty of wisdom and inspiration from Green and has patterned her player-first coaching style after his.

“I learned a lot from him,” she said. “I was used to coaches who would get on you all the time, even when I was younger. I liked training hard and Coach Green was the first coach who let us do our thing on the court. He gave us responsibility on-court, he gave us responsibility off-court.”

Her players’ two-a-day regimen includes strength and conditioning and plenty of shooting, passing, and dribbling drills as well as tactical sessions. The training model also incorporates a nutrition strategy, physical therapy, and sports medicine for athletes as needed.

“All the experts are around them, and I’m kind of overseeing the whole program with my focus that the player, the human being is the most important thing because when they can grow in their personal life, they become better athletes,” Sloof said. “It’s basically the same thing I experienced at Liberty, combining your education with full-time training … so I really like the position I’m in right now.”