- Jul 27, 2008
- 4,037
- 3,373
Jamie Lawrence: 'The way they train coaches at Ajax is different'
Ajax's Jamie Lawrence left England for the Netherlands as a 16-year-old to improve his football education
Jamie Lawrence spent time with Arsenal and QPR before moving to Haarlem and then Ajax in the Netherlands. Photograph: Guardian
Jamie Jackson
The Guardian, Thu 28 Apr 2011 21.18 BST
"I've been at Ajax now for two seasons. I had been with Arsenal in their under-9s until under‑11s, then I moved to QPR where I was in the under-14 age group. But I left because the standard of coaching at QPR was terrible, I was hardly tired after sessions and it was not enjoyable at all, though I have heard since that they changed all this.
I came over to Holland three years ago and joined HFC Haarlem [then a professional club], which is just outside Amsterdam. My dad, Steve, did some research and then emailed a few clubs and Haarlem were the club that wrote back.
I went over in the summer that I turned 16 and halfway through the following season Haarlem said Ajax were interested. There was a coach from Ajax who was helping out at Haarlem so at the end of my first year there he took me over for a trial, and then I joined.
The way they train their coaches at Ajax is different. I'd grown up in England and seen Arsenal and Dennis Bergkamp. When I went to Ajax he was just starting coaching and they put him in charge of my team for my first game. I was sat in the changing room and the coach walked in and said: 'Guys, here's your trainer for the day.' I looked up as he walked in and I could not believe it. But for all the rest of the team it was just normal, they knew him.
The main difference between how I am coached in Holland and how I was coached in England is that here they focus on possession and they want the centre-backs to play out from the back and control the game. Also, they look to develop all the technical sides of your game – the emphasis is on what you are good at but they also work on technique, and your passing. In England this is less so, I suppose because it's more of a physical game.
This season I've now fully recovered from injury and played my first 90 minutes two weeks ago which went well. I was recently with Tottenham as part of a young team that competed at a tournament. That was a great experience. As I had just come back from injury it was about me getting a few games under my belt and for them to see how I work and for me to see how they work.I was up at Spurs Lodge [the training ground] and they were actually talking to me about how they have adopted the 4-3-3 style that the Dutch teams play and they are now trying to implement the Dutch style into the club."
Wonder if it's the youth team trying to implement a 433 or the 1st team or the whole club.
Ajax's Jamie Lawrence left England for the Netherlands as a 16-year-old to improve his football education
Jamie Lawrence spent time with Arsenal and QPR before moving to Haarlem and then Ajax in the Netherlands. Photograph: Guardian
Jamie Jackson
The Guardian, Thu 28 Apr 2011 21.18 BST
"I've been at Ajax now for two seasons. I had been with Arsenal in their under-9s until under‑11s, then I moved to QPR where I was in the under-14 age group. But I left because the standard of coaching at QPR was terrible, I was hardly tired after sessions and it was not enjoyable at all, though I have heard since that they changed all this.
I came over to Holland three years ago and joined HFC Haarlem [then a professional club], which is just outside Amsterdam. My dad, Steve, did some research and then emailed a few clubs and Haarlem were the club that wrote back.
I went over in the summer that I turned 16 and halfway through the following season Haarlem said Ajax were interested. There was a coach from Ajax who was helping out at Haarlem so at the end of my first year there he took me over for a trial, and then I joined.
The way they train their coaches at Ajax is different. I'd grown up in England and seen Arsenal and Dennis Bergkamp. When I went to Ajax he was just starting coaching and they put him in charge of my team for my first game. I was sat in the changing room and the coach walked in and said: 'Guys, here's your trainer for the day.' I looked up as he walked in and I could not believe it. But for all the rest of the team it was just normal, they knew him.
The main difference between how I am coached in Holland and how I was coached in England is that here they focus on possession and they want the centre-backs to play out from the back and control the game. Also, they look to develop all the technical sides of your game – the emphasis is on what you are good at but they also work on technique, and your passing. In England this is less so, I suppose because it's more of a physical game.
This season I've now fully recovered from injury and played my first 90 minutes two weeks ago which went well. I was recently with Tottenham as part of a young team that competed at a tournament. That was a great experience. As I had just come back from injury it was about me getting a few games under my belt and for them to see how I work and for me to see how they work.I was up at Spurs Lodge [the training ground] and they were actually talking to me about how they have adopted the 4-3-3 style that the Dutch teams play and they are now trying to implement the Dutch style into the club."
Wonder if it's the youth team trying to implement a 433 or the 1st team or the whole club.