Since the end of last season, HBC's footballers from Heemstede have been using FIT's products for their matches and training sessions. Caretaker Hans Joosten massages the players with FIT's massage oil and before each match they lubricate their own legs with the Sports Balm.

Joop Bergman hears it laughingly. The owner of FIT International has been supporting HBC in terms of grooming since this season. "My son used to play football here. He stopped for some time, but I stuck around. I am active at the club and almost always go to watch the first team, including the away games," he says.

Extend effect warm-up

Coincidence or not, that first one is doing extremely well this season. HBC are top of the first division A and took the first period title. Caretaker Hans would not claim that those good performances are due to the use of FIT, but he does make one striking observation. "We have hardly any injuries so far. Normally around this time we would have had at least four, five players with hamstring problems and also some calf and thigh problems. But so far that's not too bad. And the more players are fit, the better the team is, of course."

The players have just finished their pre-match warm-up against SDZ. Back in the dressing room, they all get some FIT Sports Balm. Some use the tube with applicator for that. "They like that. By lubricating with that applicator, they give themselves another little massage, so to speak." The players routinely lubricate their calves and thighs. A few also rub some on their necks. Hans: "We had to practise that for a while. In the beginning you could see a white layer on some of the legs. They used far too much. Now they know how to massage the balm in so that it can really have its effect."

FIT Sports Balm is used to prolong the effect of the warm-up. Joop: "There can easily be twenty minutes or even longer between the end of the warm-up and the start of the match. The players go back to the dressing room after the warm-up. There, the coach holds a chat, and the referee has to check the passport photos. Then the teams are introduced on the pitch, it is the pupil of the week's turn to score, et cetera. And during that time the muscles cool down."

Important ingredient

FIT Sports Balm should counteract that severe cooling. "People used to swear by creams and balms that have a very strong warming effect. They often contain pepper-like substances. Anyone who has ever smeared such a balm on their skin immediately feels the heat," says Joop. "However, the peppery substances warm the skin, but do nothing for the muscles." FIT Sport Balm does; this is due to a unique interplay between the ingredients such as Gaultheria Procumbens, also known as Mountain tea or American wintergreen.

Exactly how the balm works will be of no concern to HBC's players. "Our players just really like it," says Hans. Whether that is due to the physical effect, he does not know. "It's also the mindset. The ritual puts everyone on edge and 'on'. I think it's a combination of both."