Ado Den Haag’s G-STORKS GET MENTAL COACHING FROM SPECIAL GUEST

Ado Den Haag’s G-STORKS GET MENTAL COACHING FROM SPECIAL GUEST

On Sunday 10 October already the third activity for the ADO Den HaaG-Storks was on the programme. To promote G-football in the Haaglanden region and to give players with a disability the opportunity to play football at a professional club, ADO Den Haag has started a team for players with a disability in season 2017-18. This team plays under the name ADO Den Haag-Storks, a number of matches against G-football teams of other professional football organisations.

After the signing of the contract and the first matchday at Excelsior, it was time for the first training. The theme was ‘Mental Coaching’. None other than top sports coach Thijs Rentier was present to give a workshop. Next, the ADO Den HaaG-Storks went on the field for a pass and finish training.

At 10 o’clock, the players of the ADO Den HaaG-Storks entered the field of Sportpark Prinses Irene, where also the ADO Women and ADO Den Haag 1 train. The G-Storks were received in a meeting room where, accompanied by their parents/caretakers, they were welcomed by Thijs Rentier (Sportpsychologie & Coaching), who came to give the workshop as a special guest. Thijs works, among other things, for the youth academy of ADO Den Haag, where he supports youth players in setting realistic goals that bring them a step closer to their ambitions. He also works on the mental agility of youth players.

Thijs had an assignment for the G-Storks together with head coach Ronald. They had to make an individual development plan in which their dreams, ambitions and strengths were processed in order to achieve achievable and realisable goals. During this workshop they were supported by the training staff, parents and caretakers. It turned out that the players had different ambitions. Becoming champion in the ‘Special Eredivisie’, being selected by national coach Louis van Gaal or participating in regular football were examples of the various ambitions the G-Storks had. After this intensive meeting, the G-Storks were unstoppable and were eager to take to the field.

Trainers Ronald and Remco had prepared a training with the theme passing and finishing. As the next round of games is already scheduled for November, the G-Storks want to make big steps in their development during their training sessions. From the first moment you could see this reflected in the training. The players finished very passionate with cannonballs from Keanu and Coen, alternated with shots from Juliëtte and Noah. This finishing style then benefited the game, which was an exciting one, with a lot of goals being scored, while goalkeepers Carlos and Jun also had excellent reflexes to prevent them from scoring.