During the international break, several Ajax players have commitments, while others take the opportunity to rest. One of those with some time off is Heerkens. We meet him after a goalkeeper training session at the De Toekomst sports complex. "You've got a few days off now?” we ask upon arrival. "Yes, that's right. But it’s not really for me,” he laughs. "I can't sit still."
Learning and playing in the Czech Republic
Sitting still is something he's never done, not in his youth in the Czech Republic, nor now at Ajax. Since joining the Amsterdam club, Heerkens has been living in the Netherlands for the first time, in Almere to be precise. "I'm from a small Czech village called Bozanov – 350 inhabitants, one road running through it, and one car passing every hour. Lots of greenery, mountains, and peace. When I first arrived in the Netherlands, I stayed at the Hilton in the city for a month. I couldn’t handle the bustle, so I chose to live in a quiet suburb of Almere, close to a forest, surrounded by peace and space. That’s how I grew up, and that’s what I was looking for, and found. A little piece of the Czech Republic," he says calmly, taking a sip of his recovery drink.
In the protected Broumovské Steny nature reserve, at Camping Bozanov, Heerkens spent his childhood. "My parents had a dream and gave up everything for it. Their goal was to start a campsite, and they found something in the Czech Republic," Heerkens says with a smile. "It was a completely collapsed house, and my parents paid a few thousand euros for it, including the land. At first, they slept in sleeping bags inside, lit a fire, and slowly built everything up. They travelled back and forth between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic until the house was ready to live in."
Not long after, Heerkens was born, followed by two sisters. "I was an energetic child, sometimes teased my sisters, and played football with the camping guests. Summers were the best – no school, always outdoors. It was fantastic," he says, smiling. "I never played as a goalkeeper on the campsite, though. There's still a sort of cage there, with two iron goals and a concrete wall around it. Nobody can beat me there," he grins.
He attended school in the neighbouring village of Broumov, which was not an easy experience. "You're different, you don't speak the language, but you still have to go to school. They didn’t speak English there. In fact, they spoke more Russian than English." As he reflects on his childhood, he continues in a measured tone. "I always knew what I wanted – in everything. Maybe I came across as stubborn or headstrong to others, but I think that’s a strength of mine."
"My parents often say they didn't raise us 'by the book'," he laughs. "We were given a lot of freedom, in a good way. That was the best kind of upbringing for me. If you always stay within the lines, you don’t really learn. At least, I don't. At twelve, I was thrown in at the deep end, and I'm incredibly grateful to them for that. Every Monday morning at 5:30, they drove me an hour to the nearest train station so I could get to boarding school – for two years."
Boarding school: strict and lonely
Heerkens began playing football at the local club, TJ Slovan Broumov, and dreamed of becoming the best. To chase that dream, he left home at twelve to join FC Hradec Králové, a club eighty kilometres away. "I had to go to a boarding school," he says. "It was tough. Everyone there was seventeen or eighteen and from the Czech Republic. I also had sleeping problems because I'd grown up isolated with my family in that tiny village. I'd never slept anywhere else. So, at boarding school, I was completely out of my comfort zone. I spent nights awake, and on Mondays, when my dad dropped me off, I clung to him in tears. I really didn’t want to go."
Long, lonely days followed, and during the week, little remained of the playful boy from the campsite. "We all attended the club’s school, then trained, and in the afternoon went back to the boarding school. And then I was alone again. All the boys my age went home; hardly anyone leaves home at that age. Except for one other boy, but he only lasted a few weeks before going to his grandmother's nearby."
"Things weren't going well on the pitch either," he continues. "I was small, playing on a full-sized goal for the first time, and everything went in. Off the pitch, I was alone and slept badly; everything was terrible."
Turning point
The change came after six months, back home at the campsite – thanks to his mother. "I was lying in bed scrolling on my phone when my mum came to talk to me. She held a mirror up to me, and then we went running together. She completely outpaced me. I made excuses, but the truth was I just couldn't keep up. That's when I thought: this can't go on. All the time I was alone at the boarding school, I used to improve myself. I didn't get along with the older boys, but there was a gym, a pitch – and I used them. My performances improved, and within a year and a half, I joined Sparta Prague."
He still has that mindset today, from morning to night, even at Ajax. "I have two training sessions a day at the club – on the pitch and in the gym. But outside that, I’m constantly focused on football. In the mornings, I do prep work – walking, yoga, breathing exercises, stretching. Then comes the full club programme, and when I get home, I often watch footage of myself, my opponents, or documentaries and read books."
"I've been obsessed with football 24/7 since I was twelve," he adds. "But recently, I’ve been looking for something to clear my mind now and then. About a year and a half ago, I started playing golf – and it works. It’s outdoors and really helps me switch off from football. I got into it after watching Michael Jordan’s documentary."
Grateful for the Czech Republic
"The Czech Republic made me tough, no doubt," he says firmly. "It taught me to work harder and better than others. That's my philosophy. Looking back, I'm glad I had to go through that tough path. There’s still a communist undertone in the Czech Republic. At school, we always had to stand up and say in unison, 'Good morning, teacher'. In the Netherlands, you can talk with a coach. There, you couldn’t. But I'm grateful to the country. Every step I took in the Czech Republic shaped me."
Without the Czech Republic, there would be no Ajax, he's convinced of that. And Ajax, as the next step after the Czech Republic, came at the right time. "Ajax is a club with the highest standards. Every day, you're expected to give your all. And that suits me. Ajax was the step I needed. I’m glad to be in an environment where so much is demanded of me. That’s the best way for me to develop."
The youth international for both the Netherlands and the Czech Republic takes another sip before looking back at the moment his childhood dream came true, the day he joined Ajax. "I got the call in the car with my agent. It was beautiful, really beautiful. I rang my mum straight away. All the sacrifices I’d made, everything I'd been through, it all came together when I heard the transfer to Ajax was confirmed."
Moving forward
But Heerkens wants more. The first step has been taken; now he wants to keep progressing. "In Ajax 1 training sessions, I try to absorb as much as possible from Vitezslav Jaros and Remko Pasveer, from the coaches, and from the style of play. During matches, I focus on the atmosphere in the stadium and pay close attention to how the goalkeeper behaves. Of course, I follow the game itself, but I’m constantly scanning how the keeper reacts in different situations. And then there are my own matches with Jong Ajax. There, it's all about trial and error, and I learn something new every time."
"I want to be successful with Ajax, that’s my goal. When I make my debut wearing that Ajax shirt I already had as a child, the circle will be complete," he concludes proudly.
