Balk started playing hockey at the age of five at his local hockey club MHC Vianen.[2] When he was 12 years old and wanted to play on a higher level, he switched to Kampong.[2] He made his debut for the first team of Kampong when he was 17 years old.[3] Balk played in all four matches in the 2014–15 Euro Hockey League, where they were eliminated in the quarter-final. In his second Euro Hockey League, they reached the final and won the tournament.[citation needed]
International career
Before Balk made his debut for the outdoor senior team, he played for the indoor team in the 2015 Indoor World Cup, where they won the gold medal.[4] He made his debut for the senior national team in January 2016 in a test match against Argentina.[5] After he was not selected in the 2017 EuroHockey Championship squad for the senior team, he played in the 2017 EuroHockey Junior Championship.[6] Balk played in all seven matches in the 2018 World Cup and scored one goal. They eventually reached the final, where they lost to Belgium.[7] In June 2019, he was selected in the Netherlands squad for the 2019 EuroHockey Championship.[8] They won the bronze medal by defeating Germany 4–0.[9]
References
^"Lars Balk". hockey.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
