Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart was born 11 February 1983 in Heemskerk. He started playing for De Kennemers, a small club in the town of Beverwijk, before moving to the Ajax youth academy. After racing through the ranks, he played his first game for the senior team on 19 April 2000, away at FC Den Bosch, but it was only the following season that he established himself as a regular starter, playing 27 league games and scoring seven times.