Player of the month – HENDRIK KOKS: “I think the hardest part in handball is to keep your mind cool and make good decisions.”
BALTICHANDBALL
Last week there was a player of the month of October announced. Hendrik Koks – centre back player from the HC Viljandi team. He has made 54 goals out of 88 shots and that lands him in 3rd place in top scorer list. Not only he has performed a good game, but also his team has not lost any game in BHL this season – 9 games 9 wins.
We asked Hendrik to tell us a little bit more about himself and answer to few questions. Hendrik is only 17 years old, he is at the beginning of his handball journey and we wish him nothing, but a smooth road to his goals.
- Although his father, Marko Koks, is a coach of HC Viljandi, Hendrik says: “I chose handball all by myself. I started playing handball very early – I was 5 years old. I didn’t even think about going somewhere else.”
- He also comments how it is when your dad is also your coach:
“For me it doesn’t give me additional tension when my dad is a coach. He is as much as a coach to me as to others.”
- Speaking of handball Hendrik thinks that it is quite hard to be a good handball player:
“I think the hardest part in handball is keeping your mind cool and making good decisions. As a young player I think I need focus on training regularly and be brave enough to make decisions on the field.”
- He also remembers some interesting fact about his career so far:
“In the 2018/2019 season I scored 439 goals for different leagues.”
- When he is outside the handball court, he is studying in Viljandi Gymnasium, in his free time he likes to play video games or disco golf and spend some time with family and friends.
- About his future in handball he aims high:
“I would like to play in the Bundesliga or somewhere in Scandinavia – like Norway.”
- To the question – do you have any idols in handball, Hendrik is short: “My idol was Nikola Karabatic for a long time, but now it’s Jim Gottfridsson.”
- About his team’s performance this season, he is sure that it’s because their defense and goalkeeper are reasons why they have stayed perfect so far. When they do well at defense then there’s opportunity to get easy goals with fast breaks and that is their key.
- At the end he comments also his MVP award:
“I’m surprised that I got this award. It’s really important for me. But a big part of this award is my team.”
Kristo Voika, player and coach of HC Viljandi about Hendrik Koks:
“Hendrik is a young player, sometimes he is reckless, but he always has a goal scoring in his mind – a goal scoring machine. He is a good kid, a talent of Viljandi and we wish good things to him in the future.”
