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Kevin de Keijzer has enjoyed a fast start to his time as First Team Physical Preparation Coach with London City Lionesses.
The Italian arrived at Princes Park just days after London City’s painful loss to Sheffield United and immediately set about his work at the junction between the Club's technical and medical departments.
“I’m really passionate about helping players and staff with their performance, health, and developing practice to work together as efficiently as possible,” he said when asked to explain the nature of his role. “I also work on GPS tracking, training load management, and everything like [injury] rehab protocols.”
de Keijzer, who was born in Singapore and spent his childhood in the Philippines, joins London City with a wealth of experience in sporting and academic environments but always dreamed of working in football.
“I’ve had a few experiences at various universities and different football clubs,” he explained. "I worked across the whole pathway with Ipswich, from the youth system to the senior sides, and also spent a couple of years at the Essex FA’s Regional Talent Centre.
“I was at Liverpool John Moore’s for six months, focusing on a specific female training study and a lot of research-based tasks. I’m completing my PhD at the moment with the University of Suffolk, which involves a lot of work around strength training interventions. I recently worked with the academy at Everton, looking at different strength training methods and why they produce different results.”
de Keijzer moved to the United Kingdom for his studies and has never looked back, always advancing towards his long-term goal to join the coaching staff of a professional football team.
In London City, he found his match and has hit the ground running. The Lionesses are unbeaten since de Keijzer joined the Club, with back-to-back wins over Lewes F.C. and Bristol City.
“I’d never been to England before but I wanted to become a football coach,” de Keijzer said of his decision to move halfway around the planet aged-18. “It was my dream to work in football, so I just moved hoping everything would be okay and it has.
“I’m really looking forward to playing my part as a member of the team and contributing in whatever way I can. As I said, I really want to help the staff and make sure everyone is on the same page and giving the best support possible.
“This is the best team – in terms of players – I’ve ever had the chance to work with in terms of how they manage themselves and the passion they have, so I’m really excited to see what happens.”