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Coach Sports Abroad: Coach Soccer in Costa Rica
With a population of around 3.9 million, Costa Rica has a good record for producing talented soccer players and are now widely considered the rising star of FIFA's North and Central American CONCACAF region. Players from Costa Rica have a rare ability to combine strength and power with spectacular skill. The fans always show a great passion for the game, which was highlighted by the traveling supporters to various recent World Cup tournaments in 1990, 2002 & 2006. The future looks bright for Costa Rican soccer.
There are many children in Costa Rica who wish to participate in sports projects, but for some a lack of resources means limited opportunity. Through our soccer project in Costa Rica, young players are given a real chance to take part.
Volunteer Soccer Coaching with Projects Abroad
As part of our soccer project in Costa Rica, you will work within a local school assisting the physical education teachers with their classes. The main focus is on soccer, but you may also assist with improving general fitness and any other activities the sports teachers would like your help with.
The children are aged between about 5 and 13 and the local physical education teachers are eager to have the help of volunteers with new ideas who can help coach the children. A few schools don’t even have a physical education teacher, so please let us know if you have experience and would be happy taking on more responsibility in a school that lacks sports coaching staff.
You may sometimes be asked to help with coaching after school has finished in the afternoons. In the evenings there will often be matches scheduled with the opportunity to coach on the weekends, too. Some of the schools have soccer teams that compete in an after school Little League, which may also be possible to get involved in.
Volunteering Abroad on a Soccer Project in Costa Rica
As a soccer coach in Costa Rica, you will help to develop young soccer players’ basic skills and techniques. Volunteers will work with the local teacher to help co-ordinate and plan coaching sessions to develop different aspects of the game. For example, you may be asked to help with ball control, accurate passing, keeping possession, and moving into space. The age of the children means they are at an ideal time in their life to be taught the basics and learn the foundations for their future.
At the same time, it is really important that playing soccer is about enjoyment and participation. This makes your role easier as these children all have a real passion for sport and are eager to be involved. Your role as a sports volunteer, with the help of your supervisor, is to make sure the fun and the desire both continue.
Other tasks include planning match strategies, taking practice games and probably assisting in team selection too. So if you have sport coaching experience – or just a love of soccer - you can play a major part in this progressive sports experience abroad.