By Eric Graves
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RIVERSIDE, Missouri (KMBC) — More than 100 Kansas City metro youth soccer players got coached up on the game by local coaches and learned the Dutch philosophy on their favorite sport.
“What we do essentially is we train people to become football coaches, but learn how to use football as a tool for social impact,” said Jesse Beesems, the manager of the World Coaches program.
The program is an initiative of the Royal Dutch Football Association. The intention is to teach soccer and the social skills that come with sports to coaches and players around the world.
“Basically, what we do is we help them to organize training sessions according to the Dutch vision on football,” Beesems said. “So everything with the ball at your feet, but also to integrate life skills and life skills are skills that are always present in sports. Such as communicating, leading with your emotions, creative and critical thinking.”
Wednesday was the first time the World Coaches program had been taught in the United States.
It all happened on the pitches of the KC Current Training Facility in Riverside after the Netherlands national team had a community training session that morning.
Head of International Program for the Royal Dutch Football Association, Michael van der Star, said they began working on this partnership in the months before the Netherlands arrived in Kansas City for the World Cup.
“I was here in April and connected with the club to see, ‘Okay, how can we create a partnership between World Coaches and the KC current?'” van der Star said. “And, well, within a few weeks, months, we are here with 25 coaches, a lot of kids, and nice momentum with each other. So very happy with that.”
Both van der Star and Beesems have been very impressed with the KC Current facilities and organization.
“I’m amazed by, as I said, by the facilities, I think many professional clubs in the Netherlands would already be jealous of this. Also, the men’s clubs,” Beesems said.
Beesems sees the Current as a perfect partner to continue growing the sport of soccer for girls and women.
“We believe that every girl deserves the opportunity to play, and having well-equipped coaches, especially female coaches, is the way to do so,” he said.
The afternoon wasn’t all about training and life skills, though.
Dutch national team players Tijjani Reijnders, Marten de Roon, Lutsharel Geertruida, and Jurrien Timber joined the training to take pictures with the kids and sign autographs.
As he was leaving the field, Geertruida gave this piece of advice to the young soccer players, “Just to focus, to focus and work hard,” the defender said.
Between trainings, press conferences, and everything else to prepare for the biggest tournament in soccer history, van der Star is grateful for the players’ time.
“We only have a few minutes, but at the end, it’s nice to see that the players were on the pitch,” he said. “They want to sign their autographs and signatures.”
It’s safe to say the KC kids came away impressed from the open training that morning and seeing the players up close during their own training session.
“It was really cool,” said Vivian Crane, one of the youth soccer players. “They were really good on the ball, and they knew exactly what to do with it whenever they got it.”
There aren’t any other planned World Coaches programs during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but van der Star hopes this is setting the foundation for future partnerships with the KC Current and more World Coaches programming in Kansas City in the future.
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