About Mary
Mary Kok-Willemsen is Founder and General Director of Holland Football University. Besides that she works as a Football Consultant, Certified High-Performance Coach and Speaker.
Starting her career as one of Hollands youngest coaches in 1995 she was inspired by Louis van Gaal and Johan Cruijff. From the development of individual talent to building High-Performance Teams, she followed & studied their journey closely.
In 2006, she started (with her husband Jurgen Kok ) FC Twente Women Football, the first club to start a professional Women Team in The Netherlands. From the start they combined it with the launch of a Professional Academy for girls. FC Twente Women is still today the most successful team in the Netherlands...Many of the amateur players and coaches Mary helped develop are now rolemodels, leaders, and Silver Medallists for the Dutch National Women Team, only a decade later!
In 2015, she started Holland Football University, Over the years, her work expanded from Coach to Technical Direktor to a General Manager as well as now frequent asked expert on Talentdevelopment, Leadership and Teamperformance with FIFA and other (con)Federations.
Certified High Performance Coach and Speaker. On and off the field Mary is asked to help ambitious individuals, teams and organisation with their goal to perform on a high level over a longterm. She delivers as a keynote speaker and High Performance Coach/Training sessions all over the globe.
HEADCOACH Womenfootball part 2
In 2024 she was asked back to the field as Interim Headcoach Al Ula. In 2 months she promoted with the team to the Premier League and laid a High Performance foundation for the players and technical staff participating in the highes league.
Mary chooses projects as a Headcoach where she can help develop potential, build prizewinning teams and is interested in building priceless High Performance Environments that attract ambitious players and coaches to be a part of...
Change perspective through Football!
SPEAKER
INSPIRE. EMPOWER. ACTIVATE
Mary loves to be on stage to inspire and challenge progress and does this in a high level game intensity!
Her talent is her use of storytelling which grabs the attention while combining it with Strategies that are proven, and more important: Practical. You leave empowered for taking action, directly...
Previous performances include TEDx, Universities, Corporate Events, Embassies, and Coach's Conventions.
TOPICS:
- Talent Development, Nature or Nurture?
- Team Performance: How to build Legendary Teams
- Leadership? It starts with you, time to progress.
- Equality to the top: But what about the Boys?
- Score Global Goals: Prizes or Priceless?
Organisations Mary spoke for
Football Consultant and (Interim )Head Coach
Talent development, accelerating Teamperformance and creating High Performance environments from scratch.
Mary has build it from amateurlevel to a Dynastie with FC Twente in Holland. From the roles of professional coach, technical director as well as general manager, she adds value and different perspectives to any Club or Federation.
Mary delivered Coach Education around the Globe, as an instructor for US Soccer, Saudi Football Federation and Bolivia Football Federation among clients.
WIth Interim Headcoach roles, Mary also is willing to dive in deep for a short period in a club or Federation to accelerate performance or create a fast turn around.In those cases she is a one woman machine, with a mission to deliver a High Performance culture, but outside the field respecting the country culture she works.
Holland Football University
After working for more than 4 decades in Professional Football in Holland, Mary and her husband Jurgen started Holland Football University.
A professional Training and Education Company with decades of proven experience and expertise in helping coaches and players develop from Amateurs to Professional Clubs and National Team. With the start of 2016 Mary decided to take their Expertise and Experience Global and created their own Total Football & High Performance Framework.
They focus on Clubs and Federations that want to professionalise their Coaches and want to create (or further develop) a High Performance Culture for their coaches and players.
With Accelerators for Coaches/ Players and Teams around the globe they deconstruct in short periods what is needed to perform at a Higher Level and maintaining it.
People Mary worked with:
