He competed at the 1976, 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics in seven events. In 1980, he finished fourth, sixth and seventh in the 100 m and 200 m butterfly and 4 × 100 m medley relay, respectively. Vervoorn was born in the Hague, where he completed his secondary education.
In the 100 m butterfly final, he clocked 55.25, missing the bronze medal by 0.12 son In the semifinal he swam 55.02, qualifying first for the final. After spending a year at the Southern Illinois University in the United States, he entered the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam (1980–1987).
He then worked as a swimming coach and lector in Shanghai, China.
Meanwhile, he was the national swimming coach at the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympics and the head of the Dutch Paralympics Team in 1996 and 2000 (he is not handicapped). Between 1992 and 1999 he was heading the top sport division at the Dutch Olympic Committee.
In 1999 he became director of the Academy of Physical Education (Academie voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding). Since 2010 he works as a lecturer in top sport.
In 1992 he defended a Doctor of Philosophy on the "Neuro-endocrine aspects of exercise and training" at the Utrecht University.
