That could be the summary of the story of our protagonist, who wanted to take his passion for paddle to Amsterdam. After completing a Master in Sports Management at the Johan Cruyff Institute Amsterdam, he decided to start a project that has led him to found his own company: Padel Dam.
Padel World Press .- Graduated in Sports Science and Physical Activity by INEFC Barcelona, and with the dual Spanish-Dutch nationality, Marc is one of those restless people, who do not know how to stand and who are always looking for new challenges.
That was why, he explained to the colleagues of the Johan Cruyff Institute: "Once I graduated from INEFC, I decided that I wanted to continue training and specialize in sports management. Having been born in Holland I thought about going back to my origins and spending a season there. The Master in Sports Management from Johan Cruyff Institute Amsterdam It offered me the possibility of fulfilling both objectives, so in September of 2014 I moved. "
Now, he is preparing to lead the Sports Center SportPark De Eendracht Amsterdam, which will have a new sports modality to offer to its clients: two paddle tennis courts, which will share space with 6 tennis courts, 1 beach volleyball court, 1 handball court, another basketball court, 7 football pitches, 2 artificial grass, 3 fields and a stadium for the practice of rugby and an American football field.
Great passion for paddle
Marc was a player and a padel teacher at his Tennis Club in La Garriga (Barcelona), a sport he was very attracted to since he tried it for the first time. "The Casino de La Garriga, where I have played all my life, built two paddle tennis courts at 2008 and I took charge of making the tournaments more dynamic and giving life to the tracks".
As he said, as soon as he started studying Master in Sports Management he was very clear that his next step would be to become an entrepreneur. "I put all my energy so that this project would become a tangible reality and without the help of my colleagues and teachers of the Master I would never have reached the point where I am now."
The 'football' origins of paddle tennis in the Netherlands
A very young discipline in the Netherlands, it is said that Guus Hiddink was one of those in charge of introducing it in his country. The coach, upon signing for PSV Eindhoven, asked the club to set up a track to continue practicing a sport that he became fond of during his time on the benches of Real Madrid and Betis ... Ronald de Boer or Roy Makaay are two other clear examples of former Dutch footballers in which paddle tennis left its mark after passing through Spain.
At the institutional level, it should be noted that the Dutch Paddle Federation (Nederlandse Padelbond) was founded in 2010 and, for a few weeks, it has collaborated with the Dutch Tennis Federation (KNLTB) with the aim of organizing the 1st State Competition Circuit .
As Marc Kluft pointed out: "Padel Dam adapts to the situation that padel is going through in the Netherlands at the moment and also to the weather conditions. The tracks are mobile, since I am interested in being able to change their location if necessary, and I can use them as a promotional tool. In addition, from November, when the cold weather arrives and the weather worsens, the intention is to build retractable roofs for the slopes. The great advantage is that in this way I can offer my clients to play 'indoor' or 'outdoor' on the same tracks, always with the same playing conditions and according to the circumstances. "
At this time, there are only 23 places where you can practice this sport throughout the Netherlands. Of them, 18 are members of the Federation and only one is 'indoor'. "My goal is to publicize the padel in Amsterdam and, over time, become the best paddle club in the city, with the best playing conditions. For now I still have no competition, so I can attract a very diverse social mass of players and teach them to enjoy this great sport. "
Ambitious and very active, Marc has managed to attract the interest of two companies that will accompany him in his adventure: "I am the sole owner of Padel Dam BV, but I count on the invaluable active collaboration of Redsport, my supplier of tracks, and of PadelBouw, his distributor in Holland. Redsport is from a good friend of mine from La Garriga and was the first interested in having a 'showroom' in Amsterdam. I offer him the first paddle club in Amsterdam West and he offers me a financing plan that allows me to start without having to resort to external funding. "
Source: Johan Cruyff Institute
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