South Africa Sports Coaching

Welcome to South Africa, your home for a while! Once you touch down at Port Elizabeth Airport, the local team will be there to meet you and take you into the city, where your new South African home and volunteer family are waiting. Drop your bags, settle in and start getting to know the group you’ll be sharing the experience with. Over the days ahead,your time will be filled with local schools, sports sessions and plenty of exploring in between, but today is all about settling into your new surroundings and getting excited for what’s ahead. You’ve got weeks of coaching, new experiences and South African adventures in front of you. And it all starts right here!

Your first couple of days are all about finding your feet before the coaching begins. You’ll meet the United Through Sport team, get the lowdown on how the programme works and learn more about the schools and communities you’ll soon be spending your days in. There’s plenty to get involved with too, from team-building with your fellow volunteers to workshops and practice coaching sessions where you can test out ideas and start planning for the weeks ahead. You’ll also head into a local township to experience more of the culture and get a better understanding of the community around you. Consider it your warm-up before the real coaching begins!

This is what you came for! From Monday to Friday, usually between 9am and 2pm, you’ll head out with your fellow volunteers for a full morning of coaching in local schools. You’ll normally visit 3 to 4 schools each day, spending around an hour and a half at each, and coach in groups of two or three. So you’ll always have someone alongside you to bounce ideas off, join in with the games and probably get a little competitive with! No two sessions have to look the same either. One day could have you coaching football or rugby, the next might be basketball, tennis, dance, swimming or even ultimate frisbee. You’ll work with boys and girls aged around 8 to 14, with abilities ranging from complete beginners to the next sporting superstar. And don’t worry, nobody’s expecting you to arrive as a professional coach. Sessions usually start with a fun warm-up and a few games, before moving onto skills and finishing with a match or two. Facilities and equipment can be different at every school, so being able to think on your feet is all part of the experience. By 2pm, your time is your own. Cool off in the pool, get a game of ping pong going or hang out with your volunteer family back at the accommodation. Or head out and make the most of being in South Africa, whether that means the beach, surfing, exploring the city or a bit of shopping. Then get some rest, because tomorrow you get to do it all over again!

Five days of coaching done, now South Africa is yours! Your weekends could look completely different from one week to the next. One might have you on an overnight trip to surf-famous Jeffreys Bay, another could mean wildlife spotting at Kragga Kamma Game Reserve or cruising along Sundays River before a BBQ. Depending on the length of your programme, at least one weekend activity is included. You could also find yourself visiting Bloukrans Bridge or heading off to bushcamp for dinner under the stars and a traditional African dance performance. What’s lined up will depend on the schedule and availability, with all the details confirmed once you arrive. Then there are the weekends where you get to make the plans. Fancy throwing yourself out of a plane? Skydiving is on the list. Rather jump from a bridge, go shark cage diving or take on the dunes? You can do that too. There’s also surfing, zip-lining, canoeing and safari drives if you’re looking to squeeze even more into your time here.\* And if your body is asking for a weekend off after all that coaching, listen to it! Port Elizabeth has plenty of coastline for a lazy beach day, or you can go shopping, grab your volunteer family and explore, or stay home and spend the afternoon by the pool. However you spend it, Mondays might start coming around a little too quickly! _Optional activities come at an additional cost._

One week down and by now, things are starting to feel a little more familiar. You know the routine, you’ve met some of the kids and you’ve already got a few coaching sessions under your belt. Now it’s time to head back into the schools and build on everything you started last week! This is where you can start having a bit more fun with your sessions too. Bring back the games that went down a treat, try out new ideas and get to know the different personalities and abilities within your groups. The more time you spend coaching, the easier it becomes to think on your feet and make each session your own.

This weekend is yours to fill! Get a group together and head to the beach, spend the afternoon shopping or see what else is happening around Port Elizabeth. Fancy doing something a little bigger? Have a chat with the local team, who can recommend plenty of activities and help you figure out what you’d like to do with your free time. A whole weekend to play with, so what are you picking?