10th anniversary of Playing For Success at Willem II

10th anniversary of Playing For Success at Willem II

2022 marks the 10th anniversary of Playing for Success (PfS) at Willem II. Willem II is more than football’ and the club is aware of its social position. Willem II Involved wants to connect football and society by using the image, the strength of the club and the footballers to contribute to talent development. PfS is a precursor to many projects such as Scoor een Boek!, the Rabo Willem II Foodtour, Football Memories, the blind stand, the Libra Fit & Fun day and Uitblinkers.

PfS is for pupils aged 9 to 13. In eleven meetings, independence, motivation, self-confidence and cooperation are central. PfS gives an extra boost to pupils who have difficulty doing so. In a challenging environment, the meetings are provided by two teachers and interns from the Social Studies and Pedagogical programmes.

We have to go back to the 2005-2006 season. Pieter was involved in the KNVB’s plans to set up social projects. During a working visit to West Ham United in Birmingham, the PfS project came across his path.

”We were impressed and immediately knew: we have to bring it to the Netherlands. I am still proud that we managed to work on the project and in 2006-2007 it started at PEC Zwolle and PSV. For implementation and support you need partners like education and the municipality and, of course, sponsors. The project became a success nationwide and there are now 21 learning centres where PfS is implemented. I can’t refrain from mentioning a few names that were important to the start of PfS at Willem II: Edo Peterse from Willem II and Marius Liebregts from primary education. In the initial phase, Adrienne Verschuren was important as the first manager of our learning centre.”

Pieter Jansen, chairman of the Willem II Involved Foundation

What does Playing for Success want?

In the learning centre under section J of the Koning Willem II stadium, we speak with Carola Kluijtmans (teacher and successor of Annette Eikenaar) and Armgard van Dongen (centre manager and successor of Engelbert Zoontjes). All of them have earned their spurs in primary education. In carrying out their work, they are supported by the trainees and by Hans Thönissen, who has been a valuable volunteer at PfS since 2018. Carola and Armgard find it an enormous challenge to use their expertise. They are clear about the goal.

‘We want to achieve that the self-confidence of the pupils grows in this inspiring talent environment with a big Wow factor. In eleven lessons, we give them unique building blocks, tips and experiences, so that they can believe in themselves and solve problems themselves. The pupils are chosen by the primary schools for these very points. The strength of this project is that we work in a playful and versatile way and thus contribute to the realisation of the goals’.

[…] ”Independence, self-confidence, cooperation and motivation, we promote these aspects in every activity. The basis is solution-oriented work and discovering within yourself why things work out one time and fail the next. At the beginning of the eleven meetings the children formulate the goals they want to achieve’. Carola continues: ‘We make it clear to them that the person who experiences the problem also has the solution in his/her own hands. You have to learn to find it. It is about strengthening your own strength. For example: a pupil wants to be able to cope better with loss. Then it is up to us to discuss with the child what you can practise in class. We try to make that more and more concrete. Here, they can practice and learn in a safe environment!

Carola Kluijtmans and Armgard van Dongen

Willem II assumes that schools and teachers are aware of the existence of PfS and which pupils it is aimed at. Often, it is the teacher who points out that this project could be suitable for a child. Then, there is a discussion with the parents to come to an application. The teachers focus on those pupils who stand out because they could use something extra in terms of concentration, cooperation, withdrawn behaviour and so on. It is precisely these children that they want to offer an extra chance in this perfect environment. Of course there are critical moments, but they are allowed to practice here. A shy pupil who is allowed to ask questions to a ‘famous’ player has a successful experience. Then it’s up to Willem II Betrokken to broaden that with their motto: if you can do it once, you can do it anytime, and if you can do it here, you can do it anywhere.’

For Armgard and Carola it is clear: they believe in the power of the project, see amazing results and receive enthusiastic appreciation from students, parents and teachers. Suzanne Albregts (coordinator Willem II Involved) is also proud of the results.

”We have succeeded in using the power of Willem II to contribute to the development of at least 1500 pupils. We want to keep working on talent development. We give these children skills that they can put to good use. It’s great if more children can make use of it in the years to come. PfS can also be used in the world of musicals and drama or at the Discovery Station in Tilburg. We also have a dream that PfS will have a modern multifunctional learning centre at its disposal for all the activities of Willem II Concerned’.”