MONTESSORI

Montessori Sport with Mr. Carel Eiting.
14-26 November, 2022

Mr. Carel Eiting is a professional football player for FC Volendam of the Netherlands. He has played for the national team of the Netherlands as well as the world class team AFC Ajax.

The 24 year old Mr Eiting is the Montessori Sport Ambassador and was honoured to have met with an esteemed group representing government agencies as well as the Montessori Association of Thailand. Participating in this meeting with Carel on November 15, 2022 and Dr.Kannekar Butt, President of Montessori Association of Thailand (MAT), were Mr. Juti Krairiksh, Minister of Social Development and Human Security, Mrs. Jatuporn Rojanapanich, Director-General of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, and Ms. Sunee Srisangatrakullert, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, at the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security.

As a result of this meeting there was agreement to take advantage of this sport star’s presence in Thailand and to use the benefits of the Montessori Sport approach to assist the children and youth against stress and drug-use.

The visiting entourage of Carel Eiting, Luca Van der Vliet and William Eiting inspired the youth and sport student teachers of the Children and Youth Council, Krabi Provincial Education Council, Social Development and Human Security of Krabi, Social Development and Welfare of Krabi at Thailand National Sports University Krabi Campus on November 21, 2022.



Before becoming a Montessori Sport Ambassador, Carel had an interesting journey into football. He shared his inspiring story on how he became a member of the Netherlands national team, one of the strongest football teams in the world. “When I was young, I was just an energetic Dutch boy until I met my trainer at 8 years old, Ruben Jongkind, founder of Montessori Sport”. He used to play with world-class footballers like Donny Van de Beek and Antony Matheus dos Santos.

Montessori Sport has its own story and originates from the Dutch fascination with sports, especially football.

“Wherever you go, people talk about football being a part of our lives. A football player would often start from a very young age practicing and training with intense and rigour.” Once a child is part of a training camp, the rigour was such that trainers who saw a child with no talent would immediately eliminate the child from the training camp. However, Ruben Jonkind had a different approach and has applied the Montessori principles in order to give opportunities to become the best possible player within an individual’s own abilities and talents.

Montessori Football perceives children as human beings. The individuality of each person is accepted. Ruben develops each child in the way that truly suits their nature. Ruben gradually brings out that child's potential and helps them to flourish. Carel Eiting was one who got that chance to become what he is today.

Montessori Sport develops in us both an athletic potential and holistic human development. This approach helps us to understand ourselves through the way of thinking about how we perceive and behave with others. This results in helping one to become a more complete human being.

Carel shares this reflection on his time in Thailand. “This is my first visit to Thailand, and I'm really excited to be here. Today I had the opportunity to show some skills to the children in the Home (orphanage). I witnessed the delight in their eyes and the potential inherent in the children. It's great using sports to make the man. Besides good health, it allows people to become more whole human beings. There are a lot of skills in practicing, such as mind training skills, communication skills, planning skills, teamwork skills, as well as meeting new friends. These skills also improve our self-esteem.”

The purpose of this visit to Thailand was to see what could be done to help Thai children and youth with Montessori Sport. Carel was pleased to spend his only week of holiday per year to be in Thailand where he was able to observe children delighted with their engagement in sport.

Source:

1. An informal screening of conversations and interviews with Mr. Carel Eiting On November 15, 2022
2. Website: https://www.montessori-sports.com
3. Photo credits: Montessori Association Thailand (MAT) and Montessori Sport