South Africa

BOXING COACH

In South Africa’s townships, boxing has been an important sport for many years. Not only because of the physical challenge, but above all as a way to give young people structure, discipline and self confidence. In cities such as Port Elizabeth, as well as in surrounding villages and neighbourhoods, many young people enthusiastically take part in boxing lessons – often without access to good facilities or coaching. Through this programme they do get that chance.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

As a volunteer boxing coach in South Africa you help give boxing lessons at schools and community centres in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. You teach young people the basics of boxing: from stance and technique to respect and sportsmanship. They often have plenty of energy and motivation but lack structure and guidance – exactly where you as a coach can make the difference.

In the first phase you support the local coaches in setting up training sessions. You help with warm ups and technique training and supervise sparring sessions. You also help hand out equipment such as gloves, pads and sportswear, so every participant can train safely.

In the second phase you help organise small boxing tournaments or demonstrations within the neighbourhood. These events are meant to motivate the young people and to let the community share in the pride of their progress. You encourage young people to develop not only physically but also mentally.

Although the emphasis is on personal growth and positive ways to spend free time, our partners in South Africa also keep an eye on young talent. Those who excel may move on to a sports academy or local boxing club – with your coaching as an important foundation.

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

You don’t need official boxing qualifications, but a basic knowledge of the sport is important. Enthusiasm, perseverance and an open attitude are just as valuable. You stand firm, but you also know how to create a safe and positive atmosphere.

Are you looking for a meaningful experience in which you use sport as a tool for social change? And would you also like to get to know the culture and strength of South Africa? Then this project is made for you.

HOCKEY COACH

There has always been a passion for hockey in South Africa. The national team has also achieved impressive results at international and Olympic level. Unfortunately, hockey does not get the same investment and attention as other sports such as rugby, cricket and football. As a result, young people in disadvantaged neighbourhoods don’t get the chance to progress in the sport they love most. Through our hockey project, more young players can now play hockey in the hope of developing in the sport. The local hockey coaches of course hope that a new generation of hockey talent will emerge from these neighbourhoods.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

We welcome hockey volunteers of all levels. The emphasis is on building friendships with children from disadvantaged backgrounds through hockey. Your first phase as a hockey coach is to organise hockey lessons for the children and provide them with decent hockey equipment. This is a great way to build relationships with your players and develop your own confidence as a hockey coach. Hockey tournaments are also organised, including both matches and team building activities. Although the emphasis is on personal skills and sports development, you can look out for talented players who may one day play hockey professionally. The sports academies we work with are keen to identify the young athletes who will form South Africa’s next generation of professional hockey players.

As a volunteer hockey coach in South Africa you are responsible for running and supervising all hockey training sessions and matches for your players. The reward is great, because natural hockey ability is often there, but the experience of playing within a team structure is often missing. By introducing passing, positioning, movement and team play, your young players will develop quickly. You also get plenty of support from the other volunteer sports coaches and our local staff.

You can also play for a local team yourself and possibly play a match at the weekend. Together with other volunteers and interns you then join a real South African team.

RUGBY COACH

South Africans are very passionate about rugby and are internationally known as a tough and technical force. Although rugby is a passion for many, very few people actually get to play the game, let alone get the chance to develop in a well structured environment. Promising rugby players live in and around South Africa’s many disadvantaged neighbourhoods, but their sporting talent has not yet been discovered and developed. Opportunities to play rugby in these neighbourhoods are very limited, but you will also see improvised rugby matches being organised in the street. Many children dream of becoming the next international who will bring South Africa the world title again. Sadly, for most it remains a dream, simply because they never get the chance to play the game.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

As a rugby coach you can help turn these young people’s dreams into reality. The emphasis is not on developing Africa’s next international rugby players, but on working with children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Whatever your background, we are sure you can offer something positive to the children and projects you work with.

You work under the guidance of our team in South Africa, and your sessions will mainly take place at schools in and around Port Elizabeth. Your focus as a rugby coach is to help organise training clinics and rugby matches for the children and provide them with decent rugby equipment. This will be great for you and for our young people. Through these sessions you will build friendships that stay with you for the rest of your life.

As a volunteer in South Africa you are responsible for supervising all rugby training sessions and matches for your players. The rewards are great, because the sporting talent is often there, but an understanding of the basic rules and any kind of structure is often missing. By introducing simple drills in skills such as movement, positioning and team play, the players will develop quickly. Of course you are never on your own and you are supported by the other volunteers and our local staff. They have their own training methods and ideas about rugby and are happy to share them with you.

TENNIS COACH

Tennis has the image of being a sport associated with people from wealthy backgrounds. Although South Africa has had many top players over the years, such as Wayne Ferreira, David Adams and Wesley Moodie, not one of them came from South Africa’s disadvantaged neighbourhoods. On the one hand that is strange, because there is a great passion for the sport in our programmes, but on the other hand it is not, since there are no good facilities for people in these neighbourhoods. Fortunately, through our tennis project in South Africa you can work with local organisations supported by the Roger Federer Foundation. The aim is to give a number of young tennis players the chance to play the sport in South Africa.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

We welcome volunteer coaches of all levels. The emphasis, however, is not on developing Africa’s next big tennis star, but much more on spending time with young players from disadvantaged neighbourhoods. You quickly build friendships based on a shared passion: a love of tennis.

During the tennis project you are supervised by our team in South Africa and, together with other volunteers, you give tennis lessons to young people between 6 and 16 years old. Your first phase as a tennis coach is to help organise and run training clinics and tennis matches for children. You also support the young players by providing them with decent sportswear. This is a great way to make friends with your players and to develop your own confidence as a tennis coach. In the second phase, tennis tournaments are planned and run, including both matches and team building activities.

Your tennis project will always take place in South Africa’s disadvantaged neighbourhoods, which means there is sometimes a lack of organisation. However, as long as you can accept that things don’t always go to plan, this makes for an exciting and rewarding experience. You are never on your own and you are always supported by dedicated locals funded by the Roger Federer Foundation.

In short, as a volunteer tennis coach in South Africa you are responsible for running and supervising all training sessions and tennis matches. This is great to do, because tennis talent is often there, but an understanding of the basic techniques and rules is often missing. You therefore spend time introducing and developing the basics of tennis. This includes technical aspects such as serving, volleying and backhand and forehand strokes, helping the players improve. You also work on your players’ general health and fitness, usually during fun group sessions.

FOOTBALL COACH

After South Africa hosted the World Cup in 2010, the world could see with its own eyes how football is experienced here. In Port Elizabeth people still remember well how Holland’s Wesley Sneijder headed in the 2-1 winner against Brazil in the Port Elizabeth stadium! The disadvantaged neighbourhoods where we work are also full of enthusiastic and often talented young footballers. Unfortunately, the opportunities for these talents to play football and develop themselves are often very limited. The sessions with the footballers you coach take place at schools in the disadvantaged neighbourhoods and the surrounding towns.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

As a volunteer football coach in South Africa you are responsible for supervising all training sessions and football matches for the players. The reward you get from it is great, because the talent is often there but knowledge of the rules and structure is missing. By bringing structure and running fun sessions, the players develop quickly. You get plenty of support from the other volunteers and our local staff.

In your first phase as a football coach you help organise training sessions and football matches. You also support the young players by providing them with decent sportswear. This is great for building relationships with the players and developing your own confidence.
In the second phase, football tournaments are planned, including matches and team building activities. Although the emphasis is on personal skills and sports development, there will be plenty of opportunity to look for talented individuals. With the right support and training, they may go on to play professional football. The sports academies we work with are also keen for us to keep an eye on our young people, so they have a chance to progress in the sport they love most.

As a volunteer you need sufficient knowledge of the basic rules of football, but no qualifications or experience are required. So are you looking for an adventure in which you can help the local community by giving football training sessions, while getting the chance to discover South Africa? Then this project is perfect for you!

SWIMMING TEACHER

Swimming in South Africa has two sides. On the one hand, the South African swimming team is certainly a force to be reckoned with at international level. But on the other hand, 70% of the population has no swimming experience and therefore cannot swim. That is remarkable for a country bordered by the sea to the west, south and east. This leads to more than 1000 drownings a year, and it will probably not surprise you that these victims are young people, almost all from disadvantaged neighbourhoods. These shocking figures led ‘Swimming South Africa’ (SSA), the national governing body for swimming, to launch a national swimming campaign in 1999. The aim of this programme is to teach every South African to swim, with a particular focus on people from disadvantaged communities.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Our swimming coach project gives volunteers the chance to contribute to lessons that teach South African children to swim. Although there are opportunities to coach swimmers at provincial level, the emphasis is mainly on the government’s swimming campaign. This teaches young people the technique to stay safe in the pool and at the beach. You also receive an official Lifeguard Award (accredited by Life Saving South Africa) as part of this swimming project.

The focus is therefore on working with children from poor neighbourhoods. The government subsidises swimming lessons for township schools so pupils can take lessons at local pools. However, there is still a shortage of swimming instructors and general assistants to supervise the lessons.

Whether you are a qualified swimming teacher or simply enjoy swimming and working with children, there is always a place for you. The swimmers range in age from 5 to 12. You will guide many of these children from the very first time they enter a pool, but you can also coach more experienced children in the sport. So you can take on as much responsibility as you feel your expertise allows.

Of course you work together with qualified swimming instructors. As you assess the abilities and potential of individual swimmers, you can introduce your own ideas for swimming training and even offer one to one lessons. However, qualified local staff will always be present to supervise these swimming lessons.

Please bear in mind that swimming lessons take place in outdoor pools and are therefore affected by occasional bad weather. If a swimming lesson is cancelled, you can join other activities in the area or use this free time to relax.