How FC Twente Youth accelerates their player development with Mingle Sport

At FC Twente Women’s Youth, everything revolves around development. Helping players grow, giving them direction, and preparing them for the next step to the first team. But how do you ensure that development is not only discussed, but also made truly visible? Head coach Rick Scherp explains how Mingle Sport supports that mission.

Player development requires structure — and insight

From the beginning, Rick was looking for a way to not only guide development but also monitor it in a structured and accessible manner.

“We wilden spelersontwikkeling vastleggen en daarvoor waren we op zoek naar tools. Via Sanne kwamen we uiteindelijk bij Mingle Sport uit.”
(“We wanted to document player development and were looking for tools to do that. Through Sanne we eventually found Mingle Sport.”)

With a large group of players — not all of whom consistently play league matches — clarity and direction are essential. Early in the season, Rick speaks with each player individually:

“We vinden het belangrijk dat ze weten wat ze beter moeten doen, maar ook zeker wat ze goed kunnen. Het gaat om hún ontwikkeling, niet om wat wij vinden.”
(“We think it’s important that they know what they need to improve, but also what they are good at. It’s about their development, not what we think.”)

These goals are revisited around the winter break and again toward the next season — a process Mingle helps to streamline.

Giving players ownership — even during training

A key part of Rick’s philosophy is giving players responsibility for their own progress.

“We geven één keer per week ruimte om aan hun eigen ontwikkeling te werken. Dan kunnen ze 20 minuten zelf aan de slag met het doel dat we hebben besproken.”
(“Once a week we give them time to work on their own development. Then they have 20 minutes to work independently on the goal we discussed.”)

With Mingle, Rick can quickly see all goals and where each player stands. He’s also looking forward to one of the upcoming features:

“Het mooiste is als we voortgang in cijfers kunnen zien. Al is het maar goed/voldoende. We willen stappen kunnen monitoren.”
(“It would be great to see progress in numbers. Even if it’s just good/sufficient. We want to be able to monitor steps.”)

Match preparation and analysis: less hassle, more clarity

Mingle is not only used for development conversations, but also to manage everything around training sessions and matchdays.

Lineups and attendance

Rick highlights how simple communication has become:

“Voor mij is het makkelijk om richting staf helder te hebben wie er zijn en wat de opstelling is, zonder dat drie keer te hoeven communiceren.”
(“For me it’s easy to show the staff who is present and what the lineup is, without having to communicate it three times.”)

During the match: real-time statistics

The team manager now handles live match data directly in the app:

“Hij zat eerst gewoon met een boekje te schrijven en nu vult hij alles direct in.”
(“He used to write everything down in a notebook, and now he enters everything directly.”)

And supporters notice the live updates too:

“We krijgen tijdens wedstrijden al reacties: ‘Mooi, het is 2–0!’ Dat liveblog bevalt heel goed.”
(“We already get reactions during matches: ‘Nice, it’s 2–0!’ The live blog works really well.”)

After the match: everything is already logged

Because everything is recorded in real time, the staff saves valuable time after the match:

“Het scheelt enorm dat we na de tijd niet alles hoeven vast te leggen. Dat doen we al tijdens de wedstrijd.”
(“It saves us a lot of time that we don’t have to record everything afterwards. We already do that during the match.”)

He’s also excited about the upcoming improvements to match control:

“Dat is wel weer een mooie. Soms maken we een foutje… zoals laatst: we waren te laat begonnen en toen zag ik in de nulde minuut meteen 1–0!”
(“That’s a nice improvement. Sometimes we make a mistake… like recently, when we started the live blog too late and it showed 1–0 in the zero minute!”)

Playing time and attendance: crucial for a development team

Playing time is essential in a youth environment. Mingle mostly covers their needs, but Rick still sees an opportunity:

“We kunnen geen externe minuten invullen. Veel van onze meiden spelen bij Nationaal of bij het eerste. Die moet ik nu zelf optellen.”
(“We can’t enter external minutes. Many of our players also play for the national team or the first team. I have to add those manually.”)

Attendance is also part of their daily workflow:

“De staf kan meteen zien wie er is. En sinds de invites werkt dat nóg beter.”
(“The staff can immediately see who is present. And since the invites update, it works even better.”)

Strengths as well as improvement points: both need to be visible

Rick emphasizes that development is not just about correcting weaknesses — it’s also about maximizing strengths.

“Ik heb het steeds over kwaliteiten, maar die kan ik nu niet invullen in Mingle. Terwijl die juist zo belangrijk zijn.”
(“I keep talking about strengths, but I can’t enter those in Mingle yet. And those are very important.”)

He gives a specific example:

“Een centrale verdediger die minder goed kan passen, maar wél goed kan indribbelen — die moet juist blijven indribbelen. Kwaliteiten moet je zo veel mogelijk inzetten.”
(“A central defender who isn’t great at passing but is very good at dribbling should keep dribbling. You should use your strengths as much as possible.”)

Strength profiling will be part of Mingle’s upcoming development features.

Video integration: from Drive folders to linked clips

FC Twente uses Pixellot for automated match recording.

“We gebruiken nu Google Drive voor individuele fragmenten, maar als we die clipjes straks direct aan doelen kunnen koppelen, wordt dat nóg sterker.”
(“We now use Google Drive for individual clips, but if we can directly link those clips to goals later, it will become even more powerful.”)

Rick’s verdict

Even with several improvements still in development, Rick is very positive:

“Wij zijn sowieso heel blij zijn met het systeem. De app is heel bruikbaar. De updates die er zijn geweest, maken het steeds werkbaarder.”
(“We are very happy with the system. The app is very usable. The updates that have been released make it more workable each time.”)

And he looks forward to what’s coming:

“Gaaf. Mooi. Ben benieuwd.”
(“Cool. Nice. Curious to see it.”)

About FC Twente Women’s Youth and Mingle Sport

At FC Twente Women’s Youth, the focus is on tailored development, growth, and direction. Mingle Sport helps Rick and his staff:

• monitor player development in a structured way

• register match events in real time

• streamline staff communication

• track playing time and attendance

With new features like enhanced match control, clip tagging, strength tracking, and progress monitoring, Mingle Sport — together with clubs like FC Twente — is taking meaningful steps toward data-driven player development.