The information in the gapyear.com placement database is provided by each individual company. Gapyear.com claims no responsibility for inaccurate, misleading or libellious information. Please ensure that you check all details with the specific organisation before booking or accepting placement.
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This placement would suit... Girls and boys who ideally have a basic level of Spanish and a desire to improve their language skills while living with a Costa Rican family. If you have a passion for football then this placement is the perfect one for you!
 The kids you will coach have an amazing passion for the game. Working with them is very rewarding. You will be attached to local schools (and some club teams) in the vibrant capital city, San José. Here you will become a coach and friend to aspiring footballers, mostly aged between eight and 12.
This placement is predominantly aimed at the grass-roots level. This is a perfect project for anyone interested in working with enthusiastic and energetic kids with a passion and enthusiasm to learn.
Our placements are extremely impacting due to the power football has in crossing cultural boundaries. Your focus will be having fun with these kids. Most come from poor backgrounds, which means that what you bring to them in friendship, coaching and life advice will impact on them and their community in a way you will always remember - and so will they!
Whatever your background or skill-level, be assured that you have something positive and unique to offer the children, and placement you work on.
There will be a whole variety of other activities you can get involved with while you are away. Because we have focused in-country teams, they will be able to inform you of other opportunities in Costa Rica that may interest you. This gives you a unique chance to combine projects and experience the country in a whole variety of ways.
 With a Western education, you will be able to contribute massively to the standard of tuition that the students receive. English language is at the top of the list, but other subject areas include Maths, Science, Journalism, Business, IT, RE and a whole variety of extra-curricular activities. You will soon see that enabling Tico children to speak English will empower them to develop in their studies and seek future employment.
Costa Rica is the traveller's dream - so much to see, and so easy to travel. San José is literally slap-bang in the centre of the country, making it a very easy base to travel out from. And, because Costa Rica is about a fifth of the size of the UK, it makes travelling short, quick and cheap.
Beyond San José, there are countless places to visit. You can enjoy the adrenalin-rush of sliding down a zip-line through the Monteverde cloud forest, or travel north and visit the active volcano of Arenal, or head east to Cahuita beach to swim, surf and snorkel in the clear Caribbean waters, while sloths hang from the trees and the locals play reggae. Or perhaps you might watch sea-turtles hatch from their nests on the shores of Tortuguero. And then there's Corcovado in the south which is home to some of the World's most colourful tropical birds, the majestic jaguar and the deepest emerald canopies you could ever imagine. And with Scuba diving, sports fishing and white water rafting, if you've got a taste for adventure there's more than enough to whet your appetite!
"I attended school five days a week between 8:30am and 12:30pm. We would teach football skills before going into a match and end up with a few general games. I and one other took the class with the usual PE teacher in the background whilst the kids attempted to improve their football and their English. There were 1,300 kids in the school and it was rather small, therefore amazing how much they appreciated it. The kids fall in love with you straight away and you do get an immense amount of satisfaction out of it all. Your presence certainly makes a nice contribution for example the schools managed to buy new balls, whistles and general equipment along the way.
For our free time a lot of exploring went on and having had the most amazing time in Santa Rosa National Park we headed to Nicoya which is also in the Guanacaste region. We also went to the amazing waterfalls of La Fortuna, a night tour of the volcano which was extraordinary and the Canopy Tour in a little town called Monteverde. We also went away from the mountains to the beach in Puntarenas for four days.
To sum the trip up, I would have to say that it was the best experience of my life so far. The Tico children are very special and it is so rewarding when a lesson goes according to plan or a pupil learns a new concept. I've gained the most amazing sense of achievement." - Football & Teaching in Costa Rica, Alex Richardson, 2006
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0845 344 7613 |
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The information in the gapyear.com placement database is provided by each individual company. Gapyear.com claims no responsibility for inaccurate, misleading or libellious information. Please ensure that you check all details with the specific organisation before booking or accepting placement.
