Csorba previously attended an Ajax Coach Education Programme in Inverness, Scotland. He was so enthusiastic about it that he wanted to attend the 2* Ajax Seminar as well. "We had a few good days and learned the basics of the Ajax philosophy. As head coach and development manager of Chelsea Rovers FC, I wanted to know more about what Ajax does and why."
International appeal
The seminar lasted for three days: from Saturday 15 to Monday 17 October. Both Dutch and international coaches had registered. There were participants from Australia, Scotland, Poland, South Africa and the United States, among others.
The three-day event was not only educational but also offered a varied and diverse programme. There was, of course, the programme of content: on Saturday, first there was an introduction: including the core and football values of Ajax, as well as the Foundation phase (U8 to U12). Based on the knowledge gained, the trainers/coaches had to prepare a pitch training session on Sunday and also carry it out on the fieldpitch. On Monday, the training sessions were reviewed with footage from the video analysis.
A meeting with Van der Sar
To get to know Ajax even better, a number of additional activities were also on the programme. There was a tour of de Toekomst, which included a meeting with Edwin van der Sar, Ajax general manager. On Sunday, the Ajax - Excelsior (7-1) match was attended and a tour of the Johan Cruijff ArenA also followed the day after that match. The final day of the seminar also saw the certificate ceremony, in the boardroom of de Toekomst.
Ruben Codrington looked back with satisfaction. The AFC youth coach was already well acquainted with the philosophy and principles of the Ajax training route: he regularly conducts Ajax Camps and Clinics and also teaches at schools in Amsterdam on behalf of the Ajax Foundation. Yet the Seminar also gave him inspiration and new insights again.
"A video was also shown showing how the youth team were training. Very interesting. In it, you could clearly make out what Ajax stands for. In the end, everything is trainable, I firmly believe in that, only of course we don't have the facilities that Ajax has."
There are three pillars in Ajax's training philosophy. One of them is Cruijff quality. During the Seminar, participants were taken through the Cruyff Quality -Maximum ball control. The focus is on receiving and handling the ball in the foundation phase and how you can organize this in a training session
Cruijff Turn
Codrington says he already regularly implements the Cruijff Turn in his training sessions. "But so are other moves, like the reverse Ronaldo step-over, Dominating on the ball and being the boss of the ball is just hugely important.
Csorba also had his own reasons for adopting the Ajax philosophy. In the summer of 2023, he and his Chelsea Rovers FC will be one of the hosts of the Ajax Camps & Clinics in England. During the Ajax Camps & Clinics, youth (boys and girls) get the chance to get acquainted with the Ajax philosophy. They then train like real Ajax players.
The London market
According to Csorba, cooperation can have a positive impact on two sides. In addition to his personal interest and ambition, Ajax will gain insight into what he calls "the London market" and clubs in England will learn a lot about the way of training within Ajax.
"England has many good professional teams, but often there is a lack of organisation. We may be an amateur club, but we actually have a good organisation in place. We want to move forward with that. Ajax stressed the importance of a well-organised youth academy."
Head of Education Bart Logchies looked back with satisfaction. "It was fun to work intensively with this group to make the Ajax philosophy trainable on the pitch and provide feedback to the trainer/coaches individually."
Want to know more about Ajax's current training offerings? Then click here and sign up for the newsletter if you would like to be kept informed of the latest developments.
