During the May half-term, 36 boys from Year 7-9 embarked on an exciting football tour to the Netherlands. The tour offered a mix of competitive matches, professional coaching sessions, and cultural experiences. The team played against local Dutch youth teams SO-Soest and Sporting Martinus, gaining valuable experience and showcasing their skills. From the six fixtures played St Joseph’s College achieved three victories. In addition to the matches, they participated in a training session led by professional Dutch coaches, enhancing their techniques and understanding of the game.
Off the pitch, the students enjoyed exploring Dutch culture, visiting local attractions and bonding with their teammates. Highlights included a trip to Amsterdam to explore the canals and see the sights of the Dutch capital, visiting the Ajax football stadium and a day at Duinrell Amusement Park and Water Park. The tour was the perfect blend of sport and education, leaving the students with unforgettable memories and improved football skills.
Rowan Year 7
“On the first day in Amsterdam we were coached by some professionals who were very good and in the evening we played a match which we ended up winning 11-2. On the 2nd day we went on a boat cruise around Amsterdam and saw loads of cool buildings and in the evening we played our 2nd football game and won it 6-4. However the 3rd day was by far my favourite. In the morning we went in the Ajax stadium and we saw a match worn De Jong football shirt. We then went down to the stadium which was amazing. There was tens of thousands of seats and some spelled out “Ajax”. Afterwards we went to a theme park where I went on some awesome rides and one had a loop. After we went to a water park which had a slide that dropped off halfway and a slide where the floor dropped.”
Raef Year 8
“The Netherlands Tour was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. On the first day, we were trained by 3 coaches for 2 hours from the club SO Soest, doing different drills and match-like games. One of the coaches, called Kevin Kanu, was an ex-professional. He played alongside Virgil Van Dijk during his time at Feyenoord, a Dutch football club in the Eredivisie. I learnt a lot from that training session, but the main thing I really learnt was being aware all the time and playing quickly and effectively. Later in the afternoon, we played a match against a SO Soest team. Our game was an unfortunate and arguably underserved 3-2 loss.
On the second day, we embarked on a historical canal tour to learn all about Amsterdam. After the canal tour, we were given the freedom during lunch to explore Amsterdam and have food. The food was absolutely scrumptious as we chose to go to the No. 1 voted chip shop in Holland. In the evening, we were ready to play our second and final game of the tour, against a club right in the centre of Amsterdam which we won 4-2.
On the third and final day, we woke up in anticipation of the excitement to begin. We began the day by driving to the Johan Cruijff Arena (The Ajax Stadium). Normally, the worst part of the stadium is the away changing room, but not in Ajax. There were loads of shirts of famous players who’ve sat in that changing room, Messi and Ronaldo’s shirts both being there too. Yet there was one shirt which was match-worn, and that was the Frenkie De Jong’s Netherlands shirt. After seeing the full tour of the Ajax stadium, we drove to the Amusement Park and Water Park, Duinrell, in Wassenaar. We spent 3 and a half hours in the amusement park, and those are 3 hours I’ll never forget, as the rides were extremely fun, the scariest ride was the Falcon with it going up to 70mph. In the waterpark there were slides galore, my personal favourite was the drop slide and the see-through slide.”
Daniel Year 8
“On the first day, we had a pro coaching session to get us all well prepared for our upcoming fixtures in Holland. One member of the coaching team played professionally for Feynoord. After lunch we played our first fixture and unfortunately for us we lost 3-2. Even though the loss was disappointing, we were more motivated to win the next game. On the second day, we went into Amsterdam, where we went on a lovers cruise, which basically toured us around Amsterdam and explained each place in great detail. After the cruise and lunch we had our last match of the tour. At the start of the game we were dominating and played the best football we’ve played of the tour and we ended up winning the 4-2 where I bagged 2 goals and James smashed home a wonderful volley and Harry with a tidy finish. The facilities we played at were amazing. The third was the most enjoyable day. We first visited the Johan Cruyff Arena (the Ajax stadium). The stadium was an experience that I will never forget and one I would recommend to someone else that goes to Amsterdam. After the tour of the stadium, we made our way to the theme park and water park, where we enjoyed the attractions. My favourite part was playing football matches and going to the theme park and also enjoying a holiday with my friends.”
