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SPORTS: COACHING FOOTBALL
COACH
FOOTBALL IN SRI LANKA FROM 2 WEEKS TO 6 MONTHS. Sri Lanka is an exotic island, famous for its
1,600 kilometres of unspoilt, golden beaches and diverse climate zones. It is the proverbial paradise island!
You'll work in schools for the poorer children and the
underprivileged section of the community
in JA-ELA, midway between Colombo
and the popular Indian Ocean resort of Negombo, and the football
coaching project is very popular with the children. Sri Lankans are very friendly, hospitable and welcoming, if somewhat laidback
and in no-rush mode to get things done!
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►SUMMARY
FACTFILE |
| Start Dates |
All year round - you choose your
start and finish dates! |
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Duration |
Minimum stay 2 weeks and up to 1 year, subject to visa
requirements |
| Requirements |
No qualifications needed, just a
big heart and a desire to provide care and support. |
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Price |
From £895 /
US$1,345 for 2
weeks, ranging to £1,845 / US$2,770
for 12 weeks.
Full Price List and other
Currencies
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| What's included |
►Accommodation
►Food
►Meeting you at the Airport
►Transfer to your accommodation
►Full pre-departure support
►Local in-country team support
and backup
►24-hr emergency support
►Two free T-shirts. |
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What's not included |
Flights, Insurance,
Cost of Visas (if a visa is required, but we'll provide necessary documents and
assistance). |
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Who can do this Project? |
All our projects are
open to all nationalities.
Unless otherwise stated, you need to be aged between 17 and 70+ |
Also on this
page:
PROJECT OVERVIEW
A few years ago, a group of five Travellers volunteers with lots of initiative
went to Sri Lanka to coach football to the children, the first football
coaching that Travellers had provided the children.
This project was so hugely successfully and the children loved so much
that we've continued it ever since. At the end of their project, the
five volunteers reported that the children showed "vast
improvement" and that the school's under 17s
team had won four out of their last six matches! Your work will help to
continue our football programme.
WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PROJECT:
The enormous satisfaction of helping disadvantaged children and
seeing how your efforts are making a difference to them.
New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding
of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional
development.
An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head
and shoulders above most others in the job market
And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!
WORK CONTENT:
The schools we help cater for the poorer and underprivileged
children and have about 400 to 500 pupils aged 5 to 16 years old. You'll coach at a
number of schools. The facilities are basic but the children are excited
about playing football and being coached by our volunteers. The pitches
in Sri Lanka are typically gravel and dirt pitches, which makes the game
of football very quick and exciting as it is played at a very different
pace and style to European football.
The schools have very
limited sports equipment and facilities, but lots of enthusiasm. You'll work with the teachers to create
and coach school
teams that will play in the inter-schools Travellers Football Tournaments
which you'll organise with the schools as part of your placement.
The tournaments were established to provide the
children with the opportunity to play football competitively, which many of the
children haven't had, so towards the end of your placement, you may be
able to organise a tournament that brings together all the schools you've been working with to
play against each other.
In the past volunteers have organised very
successful football tournaments which have been the highlight of the
year for the children at the school given the honour to represent there
school. We provide
you with a manual on how to run a tournament.
You can combine a sports football placement with a
one-month placement in the
Elephant Orphanage.
FREE COACHING MANUALS
As a volunteer sports coach with Travellers,
you have access to a large number of coaching manuals for each sport -
these manuals have been produced in-house by our Sports Manager. These
manuals are very useful and will help you to plan coaching sessions for
your students. |
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OPTIONAL ADD-ONS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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VOLUNTEER'S
REPORT ON HIS COACHING EXPERIENCE: |
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Firstly, may I thank you for enabling me to have possibly the best six months ever. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country and the people are wonderfully kind and generous. Mr Roshan was extremely helpful and kind, both during our voluntary placement and during our return from travel.
The Coaching in the schools was a huge success and I hope that Travellers will be able to undertake similar projects in the years to come. Myself, Richard Anderson and David Ruddle all concentrated the majority of our time to WP/NG Ekala Maha Vidgalama
School, with Ian and Trevor Snelling concentrating on St. Joesph's School. All
five of us also taught at WP/NG Christ King's National College, Tudella, during the afternoon 2-3 times weekly.
The students all seemed to enjoy the coaching immensely and showed vast improvement during the three months. As the program came to an end we
arranged a tournament between the schools which was a
HUGE success!
One important point we realised early on was the
benefit of consistency in the same coaches teaching the same children. We developed an amazing rapport with the children and it made it a joy to teach them. When we used to arrive at the school in the morning the children would literally mob us, it really was an amazing experience, so thank you very very much.
Thanks again for the experience of a life time.
Michael Ecclestone |
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ACCOMMODATION AND LIVING
IN SRI LANKA |
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cannot BEGIN to tell you how beautiful this paradise island is! Nor how
cheap to live and get around. It is almost
too good to be true! But it is true. And
there are so many fascinating places to visit. The tea
plantations are a must, the lace making, monuments and architectural
splendours, etc., but the most appealing is the Elephant Orphanage
at Pinnawala.
Accommodation:
Travellers has
a traditional Sri Lankan house in Ja-Ela. It has marble floors and 13
bathrooms! It is spacious and
comfortable, with a garden, several balconies, two lounge rooms and many
bedrooms. You will most likely share a room with other Travellers
volunteers. There is a TV and DVD player for evening entertainment, in
the upstairs lounge area and with the latest DVD copies just a pound to
buy locally, there is usually something to watch!
A chief will
cook all your meals and we have other staff at the house 24 hours a day
for cleaning, assistance, security and comfort.Teaching, Work
Experience and the Colombo Zoo placements are all based in Ja-Ela and so
the house is often full and offers a lively, sociable atmosphere – there
is usually no shortage of friends to spend weekends at the beach with! Ja-Ela volunteers also have the advantage of easy access to Colombo’s
facilities, major bus stations and also the Airport Gardens Hotel - a
luxury hotel which offers facilities that include a fantastic swimming
pool. The hotel is only a short trip away from the volunteer house:
perfect for those lazy afternoons!
There is a
local live-in cook at the Travellers house who will prepare your
breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, throughout the week. The food is
usually local cuisine which means lots of curry, rice and salads.
Whether a curry fan or not, you will be by the time you return as Sri
Lankan food is delicious! You can buy snacks and treats, including a
growing variety of Western tastes (chocolate!) from the local store.
There is also a KFC in Ja-Ela for those who need a fix of home.The area of
Ja-Ela is an industrialised town and although it is not one of the
paradise beauty spots, it's a good point at which to start your
exploration of the island's many beaches and beautiful inland resorts.
Climate: In the lowlands the climate is
typically tropical with an average temperature of 27OC in Colombo.
In the higher elevations it can be quite cool with temperatures going
down to 16OC at an altitude of nearly 2,000 metres. Bright,
sunny warm days are the rule and are common even during the height of
the monsoon - climatically Sri Lanka has no off-season. |
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TRAVEL: |
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You have the option to arrange your
own flights or we can assist you with your flight arrangements. If you would
like us to do this for you, we will liaise with you regarding available flights
and dates to suit you. All arrangements for your flight bookings/payments will
be fulfilled by Murray Rogers Travel Limited, ATOL No. 6856.
Where possible, we arrange for two or more people to travel on the
same flight and we will let you have the names and telephone numbers of other
volunteers on your flight, so that you can chat to each other or even meet up
before leaving for your placement.
You will fly into Sri Lanka and the airport is
only about 20 minutes away from Ja-Ela. You will be met by our
organiser and taken to your school and your Sri Lankan home.
VISAS:
We'll send you all the necessary forms and information and make the process very
easy for you.
Where possible, all flights we arrange for you have changeable return tickets because many of our
volunteers choose to extend their stay once they are in their destination
country.
Changeable return tickets enable you to do so, within the limits of your visa
and the level of your air ticket,
of course. If you choose to book your own flights, you should endeavour to get
a changeable ticket.
To read about the excellent Support
& Backup we provide before you leave and during
your programme,
please click here.
We can also arrange your flight
dates
to give you additional time at the end of your project for travelling around and sightseeing - this is a
fascinating and wondrous country!
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