Coach soccer, volleyball, basketball, track or your own sport for kids in Esparza, Costa Rica. From 4 weeks, $1,495 with all meals, no application fee.
Volunteer abroad · Costa Rica
Soccer, volleyball, basketball, track, table tennis, senior sports or your own sport in Esparza, on the Pacific side of the happiest country on earth. From 4 weeks, three meals a day included.
Apply to volunteer See the priceAbout Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a small country of five million people with an outsized reputation: rainforest hikes, volcano trails, untouched beaches and some of the best surf in the world. What gets less attention is how well the country does on the things that matter. It abolished its army in 1949 and put the money into education, health and nature.
Costa Rica scores consistently high on the Human Development Index, is the only country that meets all five UN criteria for ecological sustainability, and topped the Happy Planet Index, which measures wellbeing against ecological footprint.
That does not mean every kid gets the same start. In and around Esparza, a town between the capital and the Pacific coast, many children get little organized sport or PE at school. That is where you come in.
The project
You coach at local schools, on our sports fields and in community programs, five days a week, alongside our Costa Rican staff and other volunteers.
The project in Esparza believes in sports as a way to help kids from every social background develop life skills: cooperation, perseverance, discipline and self-confidence. Practices run about three hours a day on weekdays, and you can combine your sport with teaching English, the senior sports program or the community construction and farming projects.
Weekends are yours. Costa Rica is made for it: beaches, volcanoes, rainforest and wildlife are all within reach. The project also organizes cultural and adventure trips for volunteers that you will not find in any guidebook, always in support of the local community.
Fútbol is by far the biggest sport here. If you want to make friends with a Tico fast, ask about his favorite team and do not argue. Surfing comes second, and Costa Rica even has its own bullfights in which the bull is never harmed.
Sports you can coach
Combine two programs if you like, or add English lessons. Every program has local staff and other volunteers around you.
You may remember Los Ticos reaching the World Cup quarterfinals in 2014 and beating Italy and Uruguay along the way. Costa Rica punches above its weight internationally, and the passion for soccer is everywhere. What is rare is structured practice: kids play and argue about soccer all day, but hardly ever get coached.
As a volunteer soccer coach you run practices and games for kids and teens at local schools and on our own fields. The talent is often there; the knowledge of rules and structure is not. Bring structure and fun drills and you will see players develop fast, and you will be a familiar face in town within a week.
Lead practices and games for players aged 6 to 18, five days a week, around three hours a day. Many volunteers add English lessons or the construction, farming or senior program to fill their days.
Volleyball is played by many age groups in Costa Rica and the passion for the game keeps growing. There is plenty of talent, but structured practice and coaching are rare. That is your opening.
You work with students of different ages and levels on serving, passing, blocking and attacking, and on playing as a team. Each day has its own focus: technique, strength, or practice matches.
Coach beginners and advanced players, prepare them physically and mentally for matches, and help organize local tournaments if you like.
Basketball is one of the fastest-growing sports in Costa Rica, played by young and old. Lots of young players have the passion; the project adds regular, structured training.
You run practices on dribbling, passing, shooting and defense, plus teamwork and game sense, with a different theme every day: offense, defense or conditioning.
Coach players of all levels, help them prepare for games, and organize tournaments or assist with English lessons alongside.
Track and field has a passionate but small community in Costa Rica, with athletes who have competed internationally despite little structured coaching. As a volunteer you teach the basics of running, long jump, high jump, shot put and javelin, and you learn plenty yourself.
The club also uses a pool for resistance training, and you will be involved in both the technical and the physical side: functional strength, endurance and technique.
Assist practices for beginning athletes, help run meets and competitions, and bring structure and training methods that are often missing.
Table tennis has a loyal following in Costa Rica and a few genuinely talented players. Many kids play for fun but have not had coaching yet. You teach the basics, from grip to stroke technique and footwork.
You also assist in the top class for advanced players, where experienced coaches show you the finer points of technique and of teaching the sport.
Coach the kids’ sessions, assist the advanced class, and work on the physical conditioning that table tennis demands.
Started in 2023 by a former intern, this is the only sports and activity program these seniors get. Sessions take place in the courtyard of a residence for elderly people. In the mornings you run fitness, boxing and strength exercises; in the afternoons it is games such as bowling, shuffleboard and painting.
A session plan supports you, but your own ideas are welcome. Because it runs two or three days a week, we recommend combining it with another sport or with English lessons.
Lead all sports and game activities for the seniors and bring structure, fun and a bit of social life to a group that gets very little of it.
Over the years volunteers have introduced new sports in Esparza, which the kids love because it varies their program. We help you with the equipment and the planning. The senior program itself started that way. Have a sport in mind? Tell us and we will tell you everything you need to know.
Run practices for kids aged 6 to 18 at local schools and on our fields, five days a week, around three hours a day.
Where you live
You live in the center of Esparza in one of two eco houses, Jaguar House and Toucan House, with room for 22 volunteers in total. Rooms are for four people with bunk beds; two private rooms are available if you come as a couple or want more privacy. Each house has two Western bathrooms with cold-water showers, which is refreshing in the Esparza heat.
Rooms have screens and two fans. There is laundry, a kitchen, a big dining room, a chill-out area shared by both houses, free wifi, TV and a ping-pong table, plus a large garden with coconut palms, papaya, banana and citrus trees.
Pricing
One price covers your program. No application fee, no deposit, no surprises.
$0 application fee · $0 deposit
Not included: flights, travel insurance, visa fees and personal spending.
Apply to volunteerGood to know
No certificates or sports degree required. As a volunteer you support local staff and you are never on your own. What matters is basic knowledge of the rules of your sport and lots of enthusiasm. Spanish is helpful but not required; everyone speaks the language of sports.
It is not a must, but it makes your experience much easier because most people in Esparza speak little English. We encourage you to prepare and we offer an online beginner course, free if you stay 10 weeks or more. Already speak some Spanish? Lessons at your level are possible in Costa Rica.
Any Sunday, preferably between 8 am and 10 pm. Note that there are no sports projects during Easter week, the first two weeks of July and the Christmas break.
Usually between 10 and 15 volunteers and interns from several countries. Ask us how many are booked for your dates, and we add you to a group chat before you leave.
Let us know in advance and the kitchen in Costa Rica will take it into account.
After the intro call you decide whether this is for you. If you go, a second call walks you through your personal dashboard: visa, vaccinations, insurance, flights and packing, written out in detail.
Your team on the ground
Andrew John Hoyle, Andy to everyone, is British by birth but has lived in countries all over the world before making Costa Rica his home. He is convinced that sports improve the physical and mental health of kids, and that better English opens doors for them.
What drives Andy is cultural exchange: volunteers learn as much from the community as the community learns from them. He wants participants to dive into everyday life in Costa Rica rather than the version staged for tourists. His mission: build bridges, create real connections and grow together.
Ceci teaches Spanish at the University of Buenos Aires and runs our online Spanish course for beginners: ten one-hour lessons, twice a year, every Monday evening. Free if you join for 10 weeks or more.
Ready?
Tell us your sport and your dates. We tell you honestly whether Costa Rica is the right fit, and connect you with your coordinator before you commit to anything.
Apply to volunteer Prefer an internship?