Topsport Community Playground: out of your routine, into your playing field
Team HeadFirst Group
Takea break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life withTeam HeadFirst Group . Last week, we joined the Topsport Community Playground, we entered the iconic Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam for an afternoon focused on trying, falling, learning, and growing. Back to the child in yourself.
Playground is not a standard event; it is an intimate session in which you approach your life as a playing field. A safe space where you can experiment and discover what really suits you, both in your work and beyond.
Small choices, big impact
The meaning of Playground became clear in the stories of Nicolien Sauerbreij, Irene Schouten, and Maarten Meiners. They recounted how their drive developed at a young age: wanting to improve, wanting to be the best, and consciously training differently. By trying out multiple sports and disciplines, playing, and experimenting, they maintained their enjoyment and developed more quickly. It was precisely this differential training that laid the foundation for their growth as top athletes, a mindset in which ambition and play go hand in hand.
Small choices, big impact
Together with Ernst-Jan Pfauth, author of Intentional Living, we delved into making conscious choices. Not grand life plans, but rather the power of small steps. With humor, courage, and room to experiment. Because growth doesn't have to be grand or difficult, as long as you make honest choices.
Then it was time for Full Body Thinking with Wouter de Jong. An approach that combines neuroscience, breathing, systemic work, and schema therapy. Not only understanding why you do what you do, but also really feeling it. Through practical exercises, patterns shifted from "thinking" to "doing," step by step.
Making more conscious choices, every day
Aikido coach Johan Lodder brought East and West together and showed how inner strength, vitality, and authenticity reinforce each other. Less forcing, more moving with the flow. A mindset that works not only in top-level sports, but also in the workplace and in everyday life.
Led by Diana Matroos, it was an afternoon full of insights and practical tools. Tools that you can apply immediately, whether you are a recruiter, manager, or somewhere in between. Because at Team HeadFirst Group, we believe that you become better at your job when you also invest in yourself as a person.