Athletic Skills Model®
A practically and scientifically grounded model for versatile movement. For every mover: from elite and grassroots sport to education, healthcare and culture.
“Good footballers, but not yet athletes.”
“I saw that they were good footballers, but not yet athletes. As if they could play a beautiful piece on the piano, but were not yet musicians.”
With this thought, René Wormhoudt started a different way of thinking about movement at AFC Ajax in 1995. Together with Prof. dr. Geert Savelsbergh (VU Amsterdam) this grew into a talent development model. That vision has since been translated to many domains and target groups: for the talent of every mover.
Thinking differently about movement
Physical inactivity
- Children and adults are less fit and less skilled in movement.
- Less outdoor play, more sitting.
- We move too little and too one-sidedly.
Sports have more in common
- Many elite athletes played several sports in their youth.
- Skills from one sport strengthen another.
- Those insights form the basis of ASM.
Talent development for everyone
- For all movers, at every level.
- Early specialisation increases the risk of injury.
- Better performance, more creativity and more fun.
For every mover
The best development happens when all parties work from the same well-founded vision, with the mover at the centre. That way of thinking is the basis of quality movement programmes, with equipment and environments that fit them perfectly.
- Elite and (un)organised grassroots sport
- Physical education
- Healthcare
- Arts and culture
Fundamental 10!®
Ten fundamental movement skills that together ensure optimal motor development. The Fundamental 10! provides insight into our movement behaviour, gives structure to movement programmes and is a common language for all movement professionals.
The Fundamental 10! is also the starting point for the design of Skills Garden and PLAYCE.
Elite athletes who started out versatile
René Wormhoudt
René Wormhoudt is a physiotherapist with 24 years of experience with the youth teams and first team of AFC Ajax. From 2005 to 2012 he developed and implemented the ASM vision in the youth academy. From 2003 to July 2012 he was the regular conditioning and strength coach of the first team. René has extensive experience as a conditioning coach in various other sports, including basketball, handball, swimming and American football. Since 2012 he has been strength & conditioning coach of the Dutch national football team (KNVB) under several head coaches, and CEO of the Athletic Skills Company.
Prof. dr. Geert Savelsbergh
Geert Savelsbergh is professor at the Department of Human Movement Sciences, VU Amsterdam, and professor of Talent Development at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. He is one of the two scientific advisors for team sports at NOC*NSF and focuses on perceptual-motor learning and the search for key indicators (such as visual behaviour and game insight) for talent identification and development. He also worked as a youth coach for many years and has a particular affinity with sports such as football, tennis, cricket, hockey and golf.
“Practical guidance for better movers”
“Based on his many years of experience as a physical coach, René Wormhoudt has developed a vision for creating better movers, which he underpins with scientific research together with movement scientists Jan Willem Teunissen and Geert Savelsbergh.”
Edwin Goedhart
Head of the medical staff and manager of the Sports Medical Centre, KNVB
