Following an extensive international search, the University of Strathclyde has appointed Ton Kloosterman as its first ever Director of Water Polo.
Partners involved in Kloosterman’s recruitment are sportscotland, Scottish Swimming and three Community Clubs (Kirkintilloch and Kilsyth, Western Baths and Forth Valley) following an agreement to undertake a collaborative approach to invest in Water Polo in the West District.
He joined the University in February 2023 from the Dutch (KNZB) High-Performance Water Polo Regional Talent Centre in Zaandam, where he coached talented water polo children alongside their school commitments.
However, spread over a 28-year coaching history, Kloosterman has a breadth of experiences in coaching males and females of all ages and abilities, which includes developing youth club programmes, mentoring of coaches and coaching of senior teams
Whilst not exhaustive, his achievements include coaching ZVL – Leiden to the Quarter-Finals of the European LEN Trophy, and obtaining league promotions with SG WZC – Zoetermeer and BZ&PC – Bodegraven.
In addition to coaching, Ton has worked in-and-around Water Polo for many years, including a 5-year stint as Social Media Manager for Waterpolo.nl, and organising Holiday Water Polo camps on behalf of Waterpolokampen.nl
Commenting on the appointment, Dave Sykes (Performance Sport Manager, University of Strathclyde) said, “It’s fantastic to have recruited such a fantastic coach and individual. Not only does Ton bring a wealth of coaching experience, but his coaching philosophy is unique, enjoyable and will challenge players to develop.
“Whilst the University and three Community Clubs involved in the Partnership will obviously benefit most from Ton’s coaching, we also look forward to being able to expose other Club players to his training methods through running Holiday Water Polo camps hosted at Strathclyde Sport.”
Ton Kloosterman said: “I’m really looking forward to taking on this exciting and innovative new role. The University of Strathclyde is a fantastic organisation and I can’t wait to help grow what is an already very successful Water Polo programme.
“Whilst I am very structured in how I operate, I also believe in adapting my approach to the team and individuals you are coaching. Therefore, my approach involves asking players a lot of questions to gauge their level of understanding, and I place a high emphasis on active listening to try to get to know the individual athlete/player.
“Our goal is for the University to become synonymous with Water Polo and attract the best young talent across the country, and even further, to come and study at Strathclyde.”