I’m going to let you in on a secret. I’ve found the best kids Summer football camp in Europe. It’s in Amsterdam. And rather than keep it all to myself I’m going tell you about it before it gets fully booked up.
Back in dark days of November our thoughts turned to the Summer and I began to think about how to fill the long Summer holiday. As well as play dates and family vacations, the boys usually spend some time at camp, and for our two, football camp is where its at. So I began looking around for options and I came across not just any camp but literally the ultimate football camp for any mini football lover.
You might know by now that our two are huge Ajax fans. For those of you less familiar with the club one of the most important things you should know about it is that its youth academy is probably the most famous and successful in the world and has trained up some of Europe’s most exceptional world-class players.
Want to know more? Read all about the club and its amazing heritage here.
But back to the point of this post – you know where this is going right?….so, the Mighty Ajax have very sensibly taken all that expertise and packaged it up to create the ultimate camps and clinics for enthusiastic young players of all abilities.
Watching the promotional video on their site sent shivers down my spine.
So for Christmas I made the boys photo books and revealed that this Summer they’d be training like Ajax players. Needless to say it was the best present the boys received – by miles! They are incredibly excited as any young football fanatic would be.
Here’s everything you need to know if you’re considering signing up your future champion:
- Camps are open for kids from around the world aged between 6 and 16.
- All camps are run in both Dutch and English
- The day runs from 9.00 to 17.00 with a half-day on Wednesday
- The camps and clinics are based on the training methods followed by the Ajax youth players.
- The skillset is diverse. They’ll take kids who are just beginning to enjoy the game through to promising young future professionals. Teams are formed based on age and skill giving everyone a chance to learn, train and improve.
- Each group has its own coach and there are a maximum of 12 participants per team.
- There are four one-week camps in Amsterdam (with four very special goalkeeping camps running in parallel though these have VERY limited numbers) and 8 one-week camps at locations around the rest of the Netherlands (see below for dates and details)
- The camps in Amsterdam have more of an international flavour whilst as you might expect, the regional camps are more local. That said international children are welcome at any of them and all camps run in both languages.
- The Amsterdam camps are based at De Toekomst – Ajax’s official training centre which has incredible facilities both outdoor and indoor. And just in case you were in any doubt, De Toekomst has the most inspiring name ever because it means “The Future”!!
- The camps train on a variety of surfaces – from real grass to artificial, street football to futsal.
- Participants all receive full evaluation and test reports; Ajax Camps Adidas training kit (including a top, shorts and socks); an Ajax Camp ball and water bottle; daily lunch (except Wednesday which is half-day) and 20% discount in the Ajax Fanshop.
- Those training at AFC Ajax will also get a full stadium tour of the Johan Cruijff ArenA
- There are prizes throughout the week including individual awards such as MVP (most valuable player) and team awards.
- Parents are invited to stay and watch the first and last training sessions of each day.
- All Ajax Camps & Clinics are based on the inspiring values of Ajax itself.
The camps have been running for a few years and attract kids from as far as China, Australia, Mexico, South Africa and the Bahamas
Last Summer’s cohort was typically diverse with visitors from an astonishing 67 countries.
These camps get booked up – fast! Really fast. So if you’re considering booking in your kids, get a wiggle on and do so before spaces run out.
Full dates and details are as follows:
Ajax Camps in Amsterdam at AFC Ajax:
08/07 to 12/07
15/07 to 19/07
22/07 to 26/07
29/07 to 02/08
Ajax Camps on location:
08/07 to 12/07 VV Kloetinge
29/07 to 02/08 SV DSO
05/08 to 09/08 Be Quick’28
12/08 to 16/08 FC Aalsmeer
19/08 to 23/08 VV Hoogland
19/08 to 23/08 BVC Bloemendaal
26/08 to 30/08 WSV Apeldoorn
26/08 to 30/08 FC Oegstgeest
Click here to book on the Ajax Camps & Clinics site.
KAMPIOENEN!!
Following their wonderful week at Ajax football camp, 9 year old Oscar wrote his own review…
I think Ajax Camps and Clinics is an amazing camp for kids. It gives you so much! From amazing skills to high scoring matches, from a stadium tour to a mixed tournament where every match you switch team, there are so many things that you can learn or improve on. It’s a busy schedule and you have to work hard but it’s really fun.
It is also a really good place to meet new people from around the world and find out what your real talent in football is. One of the other best things is that you get see players walking past and can wave to them!
Ajax is probably the best football training camp in the world and there are many talented players there. The camp has also amazing coaches who teach you how to train like an Ajax player. When you come in, they have an Ajax training kit just waiting there to be put on! I think it feels like you are training like a professional Ajax player but really you are just having fun at camp. The coaches and the other children become like friends and family. I hope you try Ajax out yourself.