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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 of producing talented soccer players and is 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 in the majority of positions on the field. The fans also always show a great passion for the game, which was highlighted by the traveling fans to various World Cups (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 opportunities to do so. Through coaching soccer abroad in Costa Rica, young players are given a real chance to take part.
Volunteer Soccer Coaching with Projects Abroad
As part of our sports coaching in Costa Rica, you will join one of the many teams competing in the after school ‘Little League’ in Liberia, a town in the North West of the country, where Projects Abroad is based. Over 400 children aged between 5 and 11 years old and often coming from low-income families, take part in the Little League Soccer program in Costa Rica.
Projects Abroad volunteers coach soccer to all of these children through a structured program. For volunteers with no coaching experience, a soccer-coaching manual can be provided.
During school hours you will have the opportunity to 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.
You are likely to be asked to help with coaching after school has finished in the afternoons and evenings and there will often be matches scheduled during the weekends, too.
Volunteering Abroad on a Soccer Team in Costa Rica
Everyone gets involved when you coach soccer in Costa Rica: teachers, volunteers, parents and coaches. As a soccer coach in Costa Rica you will be responsible for the development of young player’s basic soccer skills and techniques. Coaching volunteers will co-ordinate and plan coaching practice to develop, for example, ball control, accurate passing, keeping possession and moving into space. The children are at an ideal age to be taught the basics and to learn the foundations for their future.
However, at the same time, it is really important that playing soccer is about enjoyment and participation at this age. This makes your role easier, as these children all have a real passion for soccer and are eager to get involved. Your job as a soccer coach, with the help of your supervisor, is to make sure the fun and the desire both continue.
Other tasks include planning game strategies, leading practice games and assisting in team selection. So if you have sports coaching experience – or just a love of soccer - you can play a major part in this progressive sports experience in Costa Rica.