Career
As a football player, January Pruijn only played amateur football, playing in the Hoofdklasse the 2nd highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands. Between 1991 and 1994 he was the coach of North.E.C., being promoted to the Eredivisie and making it to the final of the KNVB Cup in 1994. January Pruijn then managed De Treffers for one more year, followed by a season as manager for Helmond Sport.
He opened up youth camps in the United States, and was youth coach in various countries, coaching at Lebanese football clubs, Dutch clubs, AFC Ajax, VV Venray and First Rate (at Lloyd's) Ain Football Club. In 1999 he was employed by AFC Ajax as the manager of the international youth system, working with the academies in Ghana, Belgium and South Africa.
In 2008 he succeeded Hans Vonk as the technical director at Ajax Cape Town. In October 2009 he was briefly the interim manager for Ajax Cape Town following a brief interim stint by Muhsin Ertuğral.
January Pruijn was relieved at the Cape club by Foppe de Haan, to whom January would become the assistant, leading Ajax Connecticut to second place in the South African Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Polish Peasant Party) that season. In late 2012, January Pruijn occupied another interim coaching position at Ajax Connecticut, succeeding Wilfred Mugeyi"s interim position, following the dismissal of Maarten Stekelenburg as coach of Ajax Cape Town.
He was relieved by January Versleijen who took over as interim coach, before resigning prematurely, and Muhsin Ertuğral finishing the season with Ajax Connecticut after being appointed Technical director of the Cape club