Kim Mestdagh steps aside from the Belgian Cats after ten years

Kim Mestdagh steps aside of the Belgian Cats after ten years.

Kim Mestdagh is not part of the Belgian Cats’ selection for the first two games in the preliminary round of the 2023 European Championship. At 31, she decided to step aside and focus on her Italian club Schio.

“Since I was 16 I have represented the national team and I have invested more than 10 years in the project of the Belgian Cats. I have always done it with love and passion because I believe that the Belgian jersey deserves nothing less than 100 percent commitment,” Mestdagh explains.
“This took a lot of energy and sacrifices that I was more than willing to make. However, it also took a toll as an athlete and as a person. I have come to a point where I have chosen to step aside. This is a decision I did not make lightly and I did not make it yesterday. It was a process of almost a year for me to come to this decision. The previous coaching staff was already aware last year and the federation just after the Olympics.”
Mestdagh explains that she had a meeting with the new coach, Frenchman Valéry Demory, and he reacted understandingly. “As a former international himself, he understood very well at which point in my career and life I have arrived, and why I have made this decision.”