Telesport offers scholarships to Sebastiaan Verschuren and Laurens ten Dam for the Master in Sport Management and the Master in Coaching respectively
On Wednesday September 13th, former Olympic swimmer Sebastiaan Verschuren and professional cyclist Laurens ten Dam started the Master in Sport Management and the Master in Coaching respectively at the Johan Cruyff Institute in Amsterdam. Sebastiaan and Laurens have been given the opportunity to follow these Master’s programs thanks to the scholarship offered by Telesport. With this, Telesport contributes to Johan Cruyff Institute’s mission to educate top athletes after their sports career for a social career in sport and to keep their knowledge and qualities in the world of sport.
Jaap de Groot, chief editor at Telesport, explains the motivation for the scholarships: “Over the last 10 years, we have been awarding these scholarships to students who are driven to raise sports organizations to a higher level. Experience has shown that athletes are suitable for these types of jobs because they have a high level of determination, combined with their own valuable sport experience. After completing the Master’s programs, they can instantly apply their new knowledge, because the studies are very practical and focused on sport. Just what the sports industry needs!”
Cyclist Laurens ten Dam studies the Master in Coaching
Laurens ten Dam graduated from the Johan Cruyff Academy in 2003 and is aware of the Cruyffian teaching style. “But I am very curious how Johan Cruyff Institute extends this to the Master in Coaching,” explains the Sunweb cyclist. “I expect to further develop myself as a coach. My ‘no nonsense’ style is very one dimensional and I would like to develop a broader scale of coaching styles so that I can coach a whole team and make the entire team perform better. Meanwhile, I’m at the end of my cycling career and it was time to think about my life after cycling, and Johan Cruyff Institute fits this perfectly. What I noticed during the first weeks is the enormous depth of your ‘own self’, because a really good coach must know himself completely.”
Swimmer Sebastiaan Verschuren studies the Master in Sport Management
Last year, Sebastiaan Verschuren put an end to his professional swimming career. “After 20 years of being physically challenged, it’s a logical step in my career. I really see this as a deepening experience. The Master in Sport Management is quite broad which appeals to me, because I have a wide variety of interests as well,” explains the Amsterdam-born ex-swimmer. “With my two companies I already have some experience with event management, marketing and giving presentations and clinics. I think it’s important to become a bit more theoretical, so that I can substantiate my next steps rather than just following my gut. What I have noticed so far is the informal atmosphere and team feeling within the group. It will be a fun and interesting year.”
Both Laurens and Sebastiaan will graduate in June if they get through the year well. We wish them both the best of luck.
