Born in Veendam, Ebbinge progressed as a youth player at GVAV-Rapiditas where he played as a midfielder, before being signed by Groningen at age 19 as a defender, scouted by Martin Koeman.
[2] He never managed a definitive breakthrough, and therefore moved to BV Veendam in the second tier, where he grew into a key player in defense, making 106 league appearances during his four-year span at the club.
[4] He made his first start in the tournament on 20 September in a 0–1 home loss to Valencia covering Juan Sánchez who failed to make an impact during the game.
[5] Ebbinge would not remain a starter at the club, however, as he lost out the competition to fellow centre-backs Gérard de Nooijer, Tieme Klompe and Petter Hansson.
[11] He suffered a serious injury on 30 October 2005 after a collision with Tim Cornelisse from FC Utrecht, and was rushed to the ICU with a tear in his small intestine and a bruised pancreas.