Krajicek Academy

What the Krajicek Academy is, and what it is not

If the word academy makes you picture a gated campus with rows of red clay, dorms, and dawn-to-dusk drills, it helps to reset your expectations. The Krajicek Academy was built to produce leaders first and tennis players second. It is the education arm of the Richard Krajicek Foundation, a Netherlands-wide network of neighborhood Playgrounds where local youth, called Scholarshippers, learn to organize safe, engaging sport for children right where they live. The Academy gives these young leaders structure, coaching tools, and recognized credentials so they can run weekly activities that keep kids moving and coming back.

Tennis runs through the Academy’s identity thanks to Richard Krajicek’s legacy, but this is not a residential performance factory. The emphasis is practical leadership in the real world. Scholarshippers typically commit for an academic year, log around 100 hours of practice on their home Playground, and complete a focused set of Academy learning sessions that total about 20 hours per year. The rest is lived experience. They design sessions, welcome newcomers, handle small conflicts, and create the kind of upbeat environment that turns a local court into a small community.

Founding story and purpose

The Richard Krajicek Foundation emerged in the late 1990s with a straightforward idea: give children in Dutch neighborhoods a safe, well-maintained place to play close to home. That idea quickly became a movement as municipalities and partners helped install and activate Playgrounds across the country. As years passed, one insight kept surfacing. Places alone do not build active communities. People do. The Foundation began awarding scholarships to motivated local youth who wanted to help run activities on their neighborhood Playgrounds. From that stream of practice grew a more structured curriculum, and by 2020 the Krajicek Academy had become the formal training pathway that turns enthusiasm into professional skill.

Today the Academy exists to do two things well. First, it equips Scholarshippers to lead weekly sessions that are safe, welcoming, and fun. Second, it opens doors. Participants can stack recognized credentials, build a track record of responsibility, and step confidently into jobs and further education within sport, recreation, and youth work.

Where training happens and why the setting matters

Unlike a single-site institution, the Krajicek Academy operates wherever there is a Playground. As of 2025 there are roughly 135 such Playgrounds across about 43 municipalities. They are open-air, open-access spaces that often combine lines for football, basketball, and small-court racket games. Portable tennis nets and adapted balls transform a corner of the surface into a mini court within minutes. Scholarshippers do not relocate to participate. They build skill right in their own community, which means their learning is immediately relevant.

The Dutch climate also shapes the experience. A maritime climate brings plenty of mild days and some rain, so Scholarshippers plan with adaptability in mind. They learn how to pivot to small-space footwork games when the wind picks up, how to rotate short stations so kids stay warm, and how to keep energy high when a drizzle threatens to cancel a session. This is tennis and sport leadership as it truly happens in cities, not in idealized conditions. That builds resourcefulness fast.

While the Playgrounds are the daily classroom, the Academy periodically gathers Scholarshippers for regional workshops and national Academy Days hosted at larger sport venues. These days combine practical drills with scenario-based learning. One session might be about scaling forehand progressions for mixed ages. Another might be a role play on de-escalating an argument at the fence. Scholarshippers leave with concrete tools for the next months on their own courts.

Facilities and resources in a distributed model

Because the Academy is a network rather than a campus, its facilities look different from a traditional tennis school. The strength lies in how each element supports real-world delivery:

• Playgrounds as living labs: Open-access, multi-sport surfaces in the heart of neighborhoods are where Scholarshippers practice planning, leading, and refining sessions every week.
• Portable tennis ecosystems: Lower nets, softer balls, and smaller courts make it easy to introduce rallying to beginners and run games that build confidence quickly.
• Workshop venues: Regional and national Academy Days take place at established sport sites that can host rotating stations, peer coaching, and certification checks.
• Foundation hub: The administrative base coordinates curriculum, partnerships, equipment support, and the recognized pathways Scholarshippers can pursue.

There is no boarding and no need for families to finance relocation. Parents should think of the Academy as a supportive network with many small classrooms that are embedded in the daily life of Dutch neighborhoods.

Who teaches and how they teach

The Academy’s educators come from a blend of sport, youth work, and education backgrounds. Their shared approach is pragmatic and upbeat. Scholarshippers learn how to plan sessions with clear openings, simple progressions, and short, energetic games that make participants want to return. The training covers risk awareness and social safety, communication scripts that reduce friction, and inclusive strategies for groups where ages and abilities do not match neatly.

The coaching philosophy is simple but demanding: be the adult you wish you had at your Playground when you were younger. That means arriving prepared, modeling fair play, greeting every child by name, and using consistent routines that make newcomers feel comfortable. Technique matters, but the deeper goal is a healthy micro-community that moves more, learns new skills, and sees sport as a place where everyone belongs.

Programs and pathways

The Academy does not offer a one-size-fits-all curriculum. Instead it builds pathways that recognize different stages of leadership and responsibility.

• Scholarshipper Core Program, Years 1 to 3: Participants commit for an academic year at a time. They lead weekly Playground sessions and complete Academy learning blocks that add up to at least 20 hours a year. The curriculum moves from assisted delivery to independent leadership, with personal goal setting and reflection built in. A study grant supports participation and emphasizes that the work has real value.

• Senior Scholarshipper Track, Year 4 and beyond: Leaders who want to go deeper can choose elective modules and pursue recognized credentials such as LSR level 2 and 3, which are national leader-of-recreational-sport qualifications. A Fitness A introduction adds foundational knowledge about safe, age-appropriate physical activity. These badges make a difference when applying for jobs in sport and recreation.

• Summer Squad pathway: During the outdoor season, youth can join a structured summer placement of about 80 hours under a national service framework. Many Summer Squad participants go on to become Scholarshippers. It is a gentle on-ramp that builds confidence through teamwork with experienced Playground professionals.

• Events and festivals: The Foundation’s annual tennis event is a highlight. Scholarshippers help organize, coach, and team-manage while children compete in age and level brackets designed to be welcoming for first-timers and rewarding for regulars. Other themed days, including large-scale girls’ festivals and national school-sport activations, give Scholarshippers valuable experience delivering programming at scale.

How development works: technical, tactical, physical, mental, educational

Because the Krajicek Academy trains leaders rather than full-time athletes, its development model looks different from a performance school. Tennis is an important strand, but it sits alongside football, basketball, and other accessible sports that work on urban courts. The skill set is broad and transferable.

• Technical: Scholarshippers learn scaled tennis progressions that fit small spaces. They practice cues for contact point, simple footwork ladders, and rally games that move quickly from drop-feed to cooperative exchanges. The objective is early success that encourages repeat participation.

• Tactical: Planning tools focus on session flow. Leaders learn how to rotate stations every few minutes, how to keep a mixed-age group engaged, and how to adapt on the fly when numbers are uneven or the weather changes.

• Physical: A movement-literacy foundation underpins the games and drills. Warm-ups emphasize coordination and rhythm rather than punishment. Leaders can pull from a library of age-appropriate exercises and, for those on the senior pathway, the Fitness A content adds an understanding of safe load, recovery basics, and simple strength.

• Mental and social: The Academy teaches tone-setting and de-escalation. Scholarshippers practice greeting scripts, conflict steps at the fence, and strategies to include shy or disruptive participants. Role plays during Academy Days make the learning stick.

• Educational and credentialed: A key feature is recognition. Milestones are defined, mentors sign off, and progress maps to credentials that are understood nationally. That translation from volunteering to professional qualification is one of the Academy’s strongest levers for long-term impact.

Alumni and impact stories

Success looks different here. Instead of a roll call of Grand Slam champions, the Academy points to young adults who started as regulars at a Playground, became Summer Squad helpers, moved into the Scholarshipper role, and then took on paid work as club coordinators, after-school sport leaders, or municipal sport interns. Many stay connected to their original Playground, which keeps knowledge cycling locally.

Common arcs include:

• A teen who learned to organize a six-station circuit for 30 kids on a windy Wednesday and later applied those logistics skills in a community center job.
• A former Scholarshipper who used LSR qualifications to secure part-time work with a sport provider while studying, then returned to mentor the next cohort.
• A girls’ festival assistant who helped design a tennis-and-dance session that increased female participation on her Playground for the rest of the year.

These are not anecdotal trophies. They are the visible effects of a system that invests in people and treats neighborhood sport as a serious platform for development.

Culture and weekly rhythm

The Academy’s culture is positive, practical, and accountable. Scholarshippers work in small peer pods, share plans, and exchange ideas after sessions. Mentors provide check-ins, and Academy Days act as energizers that bring the network together.

A typical week might look like this:

1. Review last week’s notes and set one simple goal, such as greeting every participant by name or adding a new game.
2. Prepare equipment and plan two progressions with clear finishers that feel like a game.
3. Deliver the session, adjust for numbers, and rotate stations quickly to maintain energy.
4. Debrief with a mentor or peer, noting what to repeat, what to change, and which participant needs extra encouragement next time.

All of this happens in full view of the community. Parents see how Scholarshippers manage safety. Younger kids watch older siblings take responsibility. The Playground becomes a place where positive norms are visible every week.

Costs, accessibility, and scholarships

Because the Krajicek Academy operates through municipalities and partners, costs for participants are structured differently from private academies. Scholarshippers receive a study grant that recognizes the time and effort they invest, and equipment for tennis sessions is typically coordinated through local channels. There are no boarding fees and no hidden campus charges. The primary investments are time, reliability, and a willingness to learn.

Accessibility is a core value. The Playgrounds are designed for open access and many are close to public transport or bike routes. The session formats are adaptable for a range of ages and abilities, and Scholarshippers learn to make reasonable modifications so that more children can participate. Families who need additional support often find that the community-based model reduces barriers compared with traveling to a distant club.

Is it the right fit for you

This section is important, because the Academy’s strengths are specific. If a teenager dreams of a residential performance track with multiple daily hits, on-court analytics, and tournament travel, the better choice is a high-performance program. Readers exploring elite pathways might compare options such as the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy profile or the Dutch-centric Amsterdam Tennis Academy overview.

If, however, a young person wants to lead children on their own neighborhood court, gain recognized credentials, and make a visible difference where they live, the Krajicek Academy is an ideal fit. For families who want tennis to be a bridge to responsibility, employability, and community impact, its model is hard to beat.

For players who like a hybrid approach, mixing community leadership with more technical club coaching, it can be useful to explore complementary training at programs such as Tennisschool Groeneveld insights while continuing the Scholarshipper role at the local Playground. The two experiences reinforce each other.

What makes it different

Several features set this Academy apart:

• Networked campus: The classroom is the neighborhood. Skills are learned and applied immediately, then refined through reflection and mentoring.
• Recognized credentials: Progress maps to LSR qualifications and an introductory fitness credential that employers understand.
• Real events at scale: Scholarshippers help deliver large festivals and national days, which builds confidence and logistics experience fast.
• Social safety first: The Academy treats safety and inclusion as core technical skills, not soft add-ons. Leaders learn scripts and structures that make sessions predictable and welcoming.
• Cost structure that favors access: No boarding costs, local delivery, and a study grant for Scholarshippers keep the path open to a wider range of families.

Looking ahead

The Academy’s direction of travel is clear. The network of Playgrounds continues to mature, and more Scholarshippers are pursuing the senior track with added credentials. Partnerships with municipalities and sport providers deepen the employment bridge. The Academy Days model is evolving too, with more peer-led workshops where experienced Scholarshippers teach modules they once learned. That grows leadership in layers and keeps the program grounded in practice.

On the tennis side, the Academy is expanding its toolkit of small-space progressions and fun competition formats that fit urban surfaces. Expect to see even more creative blends of tennis with movement games that build coordination and joy first, technique second. As the community of leaders grows, the national tennis event becomes an annual showcase of what happens when inclusion, energy, and practical coaching meet.

Final word

The Krajicek Academy is a different kind of tennis academy because it puts community at the center. It asks young people to lead, then backs them with training, mentoring, and credentials that carry weight beyond a single season. For families who value local impact, practical responsibility, and a clear pathway into sport and youth work, it offers a rare combination of purpose and practicality. Tennis is both the spark and the structure. The real product is a new generation of leaders who can turn an ordinary neighborhood court into a place where kids feel safe, seen, and excited to return next week.