During the week, Kaj sits behind a desk; on the weekend, he is on the football pitch

Sitting still is not an option for Kaj Zwerver (24) from Groede. During his childhood, he moved frequently, even living in Switzerland for a while. Until he came to live in quiet Groede with his parents when he was nine. It turned out to be the perfect place for him to grow up. He currently works at the architectural firm Paras Concepts. On weekends, he lets off steam on the football field.

"I was always busy with my hands and wanted to do something creative," he says. From Groede, it was easy to study Interior Design in Ghent. When it was time for him to do an internship, his fellow students looked abroad. Kaj went for his chance in Zeeland. "My father said there was no work for me here. But I ended up at Patricia from Paras Concepts. Later it turned out that she had built our house. So she saw me walking around the house as a toddler. Then it is very coincidental that I work for her now."

Kaj proved his father wrong. After his internship, he immediately had a job. There is plenty of work for him here. "I make a lot of 2D and 3D drawings for companies. For instance, I've been working on the building for the Michelin-starred restaurant Pure C. That is currently under construction."

Kaj plays on the flanks

He always fills his weekends. He can often be found on the grounds of VV Groede. On Sundays, he steps onto the pitch. Then he plays on the flanks for the second team of the Hroese football club. On Saturdays, he stands on the sidelines. Kaj has been a youth coach for two years now. "I play in the second team myself, so I have a bit more free time. Groede and Cadzand started collaborating, so the club had quite a lot of youth players. That requires a lot of youth coaches, and for a club in this region, that is often difficult. It came my way, and I took it on. I do that together with two other young guys. You see the gratitude at the club and among the players' parents. That gives a lot of satisfaction."

Since this season, he has been the coach of the JO17, a combined team of boys and girls. "Training children gives me a lot of energy," says Kaj. "They are super motivated. Standing on the field twice a week isn't enough for them. That is actually quite remarkable in a time when many children are choosing something else." He notices this in his own team as well. "The ages vary a lot. The youngest is thirteen. That is, of course, very young for a team with players up to 17. But it is no different at a club like VV Groede."

In conversation with children

Standing still in his development is the last thing he wants. "I am taking a KNVB coaching course. In it, I am learning really well how to communicate with young people. I am taking that course in Oostburg, and there I talk to children aged nine to eleven. "It's a real switch when I go to my own team," he laughs. "If I talk to those children in the same way, they look at me very strangely."

He seizes every opportunity to do something. I also often return to Ghent to stay up to date with the latest interior trends and regularly attend lectures. I am very satisfied with my workspace, but I always want to keep learning and create more opportunities for myself. Who knows what the future holds.