Q&A: Tijn Kruize: ‘You can’t always meet expectations'
In many European countries, a team manager means something quite different to the English idea of a manager. They are in charge of everything that happens off the field, from player care to leading a staff and event management. It’s a full time job, and one that is often forgotten.
At international level that work is squeezed into a few moments during a season rather than spread across a calendar year as is often the case for clubs. For Tijn Kruize, the Netherlands’ U21 team manager and head of national team organisation, the difference is visible in the players.
“Players come to the U21s with very different expectations of player care. As team manager you have to give them an equal chance of experiencing the same conditions,” Kruize tells The Player Care Group’s students.
“You can’t always meet their expectation. We have a certain budget so we can’t do it all.”
There is no formal education for player care in the Netherlands, but the 35-year-old studied sports management and has been working with the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 2011. The role of team manager though, has evolved over the years.
“When I started you had to take care of the hotel and the pitch and that was it. Now it’s really about managing team processes. You are more a manager who has to create a team and work with all the staff. It’s not just about making sure the bus is on time. When I started in 2011 we had seven on the staff. Now we’re 18. It’s a huge difference.”
Eighteen may seem like a remarkable number, and undoubtedly is more of an option for the large football nations, but digging into the complexities of player care on the international level shows perhaps the reason for such a large staff size.
The three stages of onboarding, ongoing and offboarding are far more fluid and fleeting when working with players whose careers are changing all the time and with a team that changes every two years.
“They come in September and you see them two months later and their focus, mindset can change because of their career,” Kruize says. “You have to take that in mind and make sure they’re committed to the team.”
Kruize does this by first considering the individual. When new players are brought into the fold he gives them a call, congratulates them and then explains team culture, rules and expectations so they feel prepared. Contract remains throughout, and even beyond their time in the team with Kruize saying he is still in touch with players from 10 years ago because of the depth of connections made.
Commitment to the team is continued by team building right at the start of a new cycle in September, when external coaches might come to speak or the group might play some basketball so they can feel more comfortable with one another.
Everything is connected to the three core values: inspire, innovate, team.
Kruize makes the hotel the team stays in feel more like a home. Banners with inspiring messages or photos of family and friends are displayed so that the players feel more comfortable, but also grasp what it is to play for their country. Indeed, Kruize is most proud of how he has changed the hotel near the national team complex. Thanks to a player lounge and a table tennis areas, the space is now more inclusive and it has brought players out of their rooms and into a social setting where they can grow as a team.
Given the Netherlands size, it’s even more important to stay two steps ahead of the rest. Kruize and his team were one of the first to produce a documentary about life inside a team. And the concept of the team is presented in all they do and remains a constant throughout. For example, if photos are shared then the focus is on the group not individuals.
Despite all of that, Kruize obviously still faces the existential issue connected to the purpose of U21 teams.
“You want to be a team and to perform but the players are there for themselves, they are individuals who want to take the next step. That’s sometimes a struggle,” Kruize admits.
So is dealing with players who go into the national side and then come back down to the U21s, handling all of the requirements connected to organising football games at home and abroad during a pandemic, and managing the social media of a generation very much aware of their own image.
The biggest challenge though, remains in finding the balance between consideration and administration.
“This is a big challenge for those working in professional football. Clubs are over organising and players don’t have to think for themselves. They expect it when they come to the national team. They don’t think about how things work or what to do, only about football.”
Kruize tries to counter that by asking players questions about how they can solve issues on their own, but he is also aware that he is fighting to develop a culture that largely doesn’t exist in football.
Tijn Kruize was speaking to the students & alumni of the ‘Certificate in Player Care’ on an exclusive live Q&A. For more information or to sign up to the next cohort, please visit our education page here.
Jonathan Harding is a sports writer who cares about the person and the player, the coach and the community. He speaks German, is a father and tries to look after the planet. Graduate of Cohort 3 of the ‘Certificate in Player Care’ and will be writing various articles for The Player Care Group.