One year ago, we had the privilege to be in Amsterdam
at the International Course Weekend promoted by Ajax AFC. In three days we made
workshops, we saw training sessions, we saw few matches – “Twin Games”, U8,
U11, U17 and the senior squad - and we learnt a lot from one of the best
football academies in the world.
With this post we want to expose the ideas and
believes of the Dutch club, their particularly philosophy that helps them to be
one of the most profitable academy in the world.
Besides the development of the players by itself, Ajax
it is also known and recognise to have the ability to make a fantastic work in
the Scouting area. In the first
workshop of the curse, they show us their ideas about the process of talent
identification and recruitment.
Ajax younger team – the U8 class – is made up only
with scouted players in schools from Amsterdam and surroundings. Everything
starts with scouting work!
However, to structure, it is very important that
scouts know the level of skills of their players before making an efficient
rating of players from the other clubs.
The mainly things that a Ajax Scout search in a
football player are the ball mastery, the focus and commitment to the Game, and
the fun and joy that the player express when he is in the field. Also, Ajax
Scouts gives preference to younger and national players. Beyond this specific
profile, talent-searchers seek players that can be capable to play in more than
one position on the field.
However, in younger teams, club does not give much
importance to playing positions. In that age group, Ajax uses volleyball system
to rotate playing positions, giving the children opportunities to experiment
different tasks in the field.
The Ajax Scouting system gives a lot of importance to
their network. Scouts receive information about talented players and sometimes
clubs approach themselves to the scout to present their “wonderkids”.
Grassroots clubs linked with Ajax use their training
methodology to help the progression of their wonderkids.
Ajax Scout makes them observations even in training
sessions, during the weekly practice.
One of the most beautiful challenges to an Ajax Scout
is the ability to predict and to imagine how the player will play in the next
three years - period of time determined by scouting department. In
other words, Ajax Scout needs to be able to divine the development and capacity
in the near future.
One interesting curiosity that Ajax notice in the last
few years is the fact that most young players came from poor social background.
In their system, they have a lot of players which came from immigrant
community, especially from Surinamese, Moroccan and Ghanaian communities.
In this way, club has much concern with parents,
giving much importance to the moment of their approach when they are trying to
recruit their children. In this particularly point, usually, Ajax has a
fantastic relationship with African parents when they want to brought them
children to the club. However, when bigger clubs tries to “fish” this Ajax
wonderkids, normally the club looses them too. It seams that African parents
are very easy to persuade. In the last years, Bobby Adekanye (Nigerian
descendent, to Barcelona) and Timothy Fosu-Mensah (Ghanaian descendent, to
Manchester United) are good examples of this.
When everything goes well about the identification of a
good player and he is invited to go on trial, he needs time to adapt to the
greatness of Ajax. Especially, when he comes from a very small club.
The core business of Ajax is its Youth Academy. Most people in the club work for its success, trying
to improve and develop it every day. That is why if players don’t reach the top
and/or first team, something fails in the process. Not players but the
programme, coaches or scouts are responsible for that fails.
Academy’s staff helps its players to create a path for
the case of club released them. They are the first to worry about the players
future when they leave the club.
The organizational structure of the club is based on a
horizontal model and is divided in three age groups: U8-12, U13-16 and U17-19.
At the time we were on the course, Ajax had the
following directors:
U8/U12 – Michel Hordijk; U13/U16
– Patrick Ladru; U17/U19 – Said Ouaali;
Head of Talent Development –
Ruben Jongkind;
Data Analyst – Patrick Oudejans;
Scouting – Jesper van Leewen
Study – Ger Boer
Physical Performance – Gavin
Benjafield
Mental Performance – Derk de Kloet
Children recruited to the younger teams - U8 and U9 classes
- are the ones who gave more profits to the club when they are sold. Normally they
achieve higher performances compared to later recruited players.
Ajax considers the U13-16 stage as the most difficult
to work. Parents decide in earlier ages, but at this stage players start to
build their personality. Beyond psychological side, body begins to change too.
Coordination, flexibility, agility needs to be worked on to adjust body
transformation.
At Ajax Academy, when we talking about U8 to U14 teams
it is believed that development of players is more important than results. The
means to come to an end it’s always the most important. That’s why U17 and U19
teams are based and have their focus on the performance.
However, U18 team is formed to give some players a
second chance. To prove they are good enough to continue in the development
programme. Players who are recovered from injuries make part of this specific
team, too.
Coaches are chosen taking into account the
specificities of each group. They don’t work in different age groups. However,
every six weeks coaches rotate inside the age group, being responsible of one team
during a six week block.
All teams from the academy uses size 5 footballs. Even
the younger teams use size 5 footballs, but in that case it has height
adjustment. However, footballs characteristics are so specific even the
official sponsor can´t build it for younger teams. For them, instead of Adidas,
Ajax uses a brand called Derbystar with unique weight and size adjustments.
Quality of the ball is so relevant that only some
models are picked up to use in training sessions: Derbystar, Adidas Passadena
and Adidas Rosario.
Youth players train in different surfaces. They have
training sessions in greenfield, sand, concrete and artificial turf. With this
choice, coaches aim to stimulate neuronal plasticity of their players, in
particular on the younger ones.
Commitment has a crucial role at De Toekomst. It is
instilled from an early age. For example, if the player arrives late, it is he
who must call to the coach, not he’s parent, and has been through telephone
call, not by text message.
Also, was told to us that when a kid needs to go to
the 75th grandma anniversary or some event like that, Ajax doesn’t
allow it. It’s all about commitment.
Anthropometric measures are used in the academy to
know if a kid has a stress situation. Results gave crucial data to technical
staff act on the player and on the environment that surrounds him.
Ajax provides guidelines about nutrition to players
parents with the intention of improving the eating habits of
the player and also his entire family.
Ajax was the first club to introduce “Twin Games”. This concept tries to
bring to the academy a lot of rules from “street football”.
Random team is invited to play against an academy team
who is in league break. There, the players from both teams are divided into two
fields and play each other. It can be a 8x8, 9x9, 7x7 match, depending on the
number of players that both teams have.
There are no referees and coaches can’t step in or
send feedbacks to their players. Players have to self-organize on the pitch
adapting their tasks on the number of players that a match can be.
Holland in general and Ajax in particular are very
well known to generate talented players. Mainly, when we talk about their ball
mastery and their technical ability to “connect” with the ball. In the Talent Development workshop we learned some
peculiarities that make Ajax so special.
Team or Individual Development? At De Toekomst it is
an ongoing discussion. There are pros and cons to favour one view rather than
the other, so it’s better to try to develop both individual and collective
sides.
Again,
there is an age division to facilitate the development process:
U9 – focus in the process of
Individual Development;
U13 – introduction of Talent
Development;
U16 – confusing phase because of
puberty;
U17 – specialization in field
positions. Speed tests are made to help selecting the best position to players.
Internationally known TIPS is an acronym introduced by
Louis Van Gaal to simplify his vision about a good quality football player:
·
T
from Technique symbolizes ball mastery;
·
I
from Insight represents football intelligence and field awareness;
·
P
from Personality is based on creativity, initiative, responsibility, risk taker
of a player;
·
S
from Speed represents acceleration, fast turning and natural speed.
If the player does not show these four areas does not
have the minimum requirements to play at Ajax.
Ajax suggests when your team gets a throw in, put your
best player throwing in. This choice
creates more problems for other players.
All kids “should have an equal opportunity to develop
their talents”. It’s why that just 42 players are registered in 3 different
teams, to give them a chance to play.
To introduce heading technique on younger teams
coaches teach their players to head the ball seated. Then, children practice
heading technique standing on their knees. And finally, with acquired bases,
they train standing up.
In tactical terms, the distance between players is one
of the behaviours most worked at the club. The club believes that this positional
relationship allows players to be more effective in their playing actions either
when you’re attacking or defending.
Department of physical performance have athletics
former world champions among those responsible for the training of motor
skills. Much of the physical train is done in an outdoor space, quite colourful
and enjoyable to train. One of the most valued behaviours in this department is
the running technique. In particular the way as the foot touches the ground.
Studies in the academy say that your speed can increase 2 at 10% just with
changes of running technique.
Apart from the importance given to their players, Ajax
also has a very great concern about their Coaches,
about their role at the club and how they’re helping the programme.
For Ajax, manager needs to dominate training and coaching.
Top managers need to be excellent as at least one.
Ajax believes that if parents aren’t at the school
classrooms, they shouldn’t send feedbacks and talk with their child at the
training sessions and in the matches, too. Learning process is up to the
coaches, not to parents!
Take the changing rooms things inside of changing
rooms, even in the youth teams. It is not healthy to anyone –club, player,
coach - that group’s problems come out of the changing room.
In the match-day, on the side-line, the role of the
coaches is to influence players that have not the ball. In other words, the
coach’s feedback has to be sent on the teammate who is helping the player with
the ball. This behaviour is crucial to not limit the decisions of the player
with the ball who needs to think freely.
Coaches’ behaviour needs to be equal when you’re
winning or loosing. Is not fair that coaches adjust their conduct depending on
match result. It’s essential that they always standing up in a positive
posture.
It is important to be a clown once in a while, and
uses reverse psychology in the training process. Training session has to be a
funny and happy thing. Players need to be smiling and focus at the same time.
At the academy, coaches put funny on the warming up games.
Ajax has preoccupations about social conflicts that
happen between a few ethnic groups. Amsterdam is a very multicultural city with
a lot of different immigrant communities, including some groups that are in war
on their countries of origin. Ajax coaches must be able to minimize any
conflict that may be in the players.
Ajax thinks that KNVB needs to focus on the Grassroots
Football and not only the elite. It is Grassroots
Football who needs more help, not the Eredivisie and Jupiler League teams.
Frank de Boer, the first team coach, knows well every
player from the U17 team. In the match that we’re present, Frank de Boer was
also there in the assistance. He considers essential that the first team coach
has a deep knowledge about the youth players.
Ajax have meeting to discuss the future of youth academy
for the next 5 and 10 years. At De Toekomst they believe in a long term
development approach, always trying to improve their efforts.
Obviously we would rather have stayed in De Toekomst
for an entire season (at least). However, it was undoubtedly one of the best
experiences and stages of learning that we were privileged to experience. We
hope to visit others in the future...
We have chosen to write this post in English because
that was the language used during the course.
