Jay Gorter earned a transfer from Go Ahead Eagles to Ajax last summer, the two clubs that compete against each other in the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Sunday. The 21-year-old goalkeeper was sent away from the Ajax training as a youth player and the talented closing post was not brought into line at AZ either. Thanks in part to the efforts of psychologist Bram Meurs and trainer Kees van Wonderen, Gorter became the least passed keeper of the Kitchen Champion Division.
During a training session for the cup match between Go Ahead and IJsselmeervogels, an incident took place with Gorter. The goalkeeper had to speak out about the incident with goalkeeper coach Harmen Kuperus and apologize to the other trainers. He didn’t. “With a dick story”, Alex Kroes, who became a major shareholder of the club in 2019, tells in conversation with the General Newspaper. A reconciliation meeting followed in which Kuperus, agent Bert van Dun, trainer Jack de Gier and technical manager Paul Bosvelt were also present. In that conversation Gorter ‘exploded’. The goalkeeper was then told that he would never have to show his face at Go Ahead Eagles again if he continued in the same manner.
“I said, ‘Jay, this is really not smart of you. You are young and have such a big mouth, while so many signals are green for you here’. Then we suspended him and put him back to youth. Just reset. He first had to show that he could act normally and stay focused,” Kroes told the newspaper. Van Wonderen was subsequently appointed. Together with the club management, the trainer looked at what the best way would be to give Gorter a chance. “Jay said: ‘I think I should be the first keeper and get number 1 on the back,'” says Van Wonderen. “I then said: ‘But on what basis Jay? And is a number or a position important to you? was not even part of the group until recently.”
On Meurs’ advice, Gorter was tested for his mental toughness. “Then he was suddenly completely upset when we put him in the reserves for a training session. We just wanted him to feel that you have to perform within limits. It’s give and take and you have to be able to build on each other. Jay quickly got the feeling that people want to take something from him. Later I always sat down with him. Then I asked if he understood and trusted us,” said Van Wonderen.
Gorter developed in all areas and grew into a reliable closing post. In the previous Keuken Kampioen Divisie season, he scored 25 goals, secured promotion to the Eredivisie and earned a transfer to Ajax. “But Jay did it himself. He really is a winner,” said Kroes. Gorter has to settle for a role as third keeper in Amsterdam. He plays his matches in Young Ajax and has to tolerate Remko Pasveer and André Onana under the bar of the main squad. The latter is eligible to play again after his suspension ended last Thursday.
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