‘Can we take some shots during one of your sessions?’

I have Enterprising Netherlands on the phone, a Dutch television programme on businesses. Coaching with archery would fit in nicely, they think.

After the first euforia (Wow, nice publicity!) the immediate downer: as a coach I am used to working behind the scenes. Not in the limelight, and surely not with an audience.

That is for a good reason: during a coaching session like this, people are often at their most vulnerable, and at the same time they can reveal more of themselves than they are aware of.

‘Oh, but that’s no issue,’ hollers the voice of the tv-person through the phone. ‘Let’s just have the presenter do a session with you. I bet she will like it.’

I immediately point out that one can disclose quite a lot when shooting with a bow. Not to mention that a camera is meticulously registering each micro-movement for the whole nation to see.

The Yes, but’s are presented with increasing vigour and in a persuasive tone of voice.
It’s enough to make a light-shunning agoraphobic walk onto a stage with pleasure.

And indeed. The production day itself is a piece of cake, from the start. Not only am I free from nerves, it’s just plain fun. Also for the presenter.

Then the cameraman suddenly exclaims to her, ‘Oh wow, I’m getting to know you much better now, Chan. I see things I never knew about you.’
An innocent, well-timed joke, to be fair. But it does touch something. And I see a trace of wariness that I hardly ever see during a coaching session.

The editing takes longer than planned. ‘Yes, we wanted to treat these images with care. Didn’t you ask for that?’

And, in all fairness: it did turn out well, I think. It offers a small peek behind our scenes.

Indeed, our scenes, for I had forgotten about that during the shooting: I am in it as well.
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