On May 19th Michael Tollenaar, 45 years and of Dutch nationality, starts as team leader at the Johan Cruyff Institute Amsterdam. Michael will also be the program manager of the Master in Coaching.
Michael will be combining his coaching activities for water polo team Widex GZC Donk with his new role at the Johan Cruyff Institute. He will be the representative of the Cruyff Institute in Amsterdam for the sports and educational markets, and the contact person for stakeholders in The Netherlands. He will also manage the Dutch (on campus) and English (blended) editions of the Master in Coaching as well as the customized editions, which we are currently delivering at AFC Ajax.
Michael is a former professional water polo player. He started training with the Dutch national team at the age of 14. During his sports career as an active player he played for several water polo teams in the first and second divisions in The Netherlands, temporarily balancing his passion for swimming with his studies in Sport & Physical Education at CIOS. In his business career he was executive producer for John de Mol Producties, where he worked for 16 years and gained extensive experience in complex project management.
In 2002 he returned to water polo, starting his coaching career as head trainer/coach of various men’s water polo teams in the Dutch first division, such as HZC De Robben and Widex GZC Donk. Over the last eight years he has also been the assistant coach of the Dutch men’s team for the KNZB, the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation. Last but not least, between 2009 and 2013 Michael was manager of the NTC (the National TopSport Center) in Zeist, The Netherlands, where he was responsible for operations, marketing and stakeholder management of this swimming facility.
