Sports Coach for Community Kids

Make a difference in the lives of Jamaica youth with a volunteer sports coaching abroad project. Train and mentor children who dream of becoming the ‘next big thing’ following in the footsteps of local Track & Field legends Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Many Jamaicans struggle with poverty and many children view and use sports as a way to rise above their circumstances. On your project, you’ll help these children to sharpen their techniques as you set them on a path to achieve their goals and change their lives.

Aside from Track & Field, another popular sport in Jamaica is football (soccer). Almost every community in Jamaica has a field where you will often find children kicking a ball or playing Netball, Basketball, or even Cricket. Other sports like swimming and tennis are played but mainly reserved for the rich and upper-middle class.

Children who live in orphanages and many poor communities, although rich in talent, have limited to no exposure to sports. You’ll have opportunities to make a difference by teaching them a new sport.  

If sports coaching is your passion, then Jamaica is the place for you.

When you volunteer as a coach you will be placed in a school and have the opportunity to work with one sport or a combination of several. Whatever sport you specialize in, you can work alone or with the physical education teacher to build the skills of the students.

Jamaica also has several sports clubs in many communities for mainly football, basketball, and track & field.

If you are looking to offer your coaching skills to young people who are dedicated to a particular sport, the clubs in poor and impoverish communities would offer the best opportunities.

If you want to work with a special sport but do not have coaching experience, you can still be a coach.

All you need to have is a good understanding of the game and enthusiasm.

If you’re interested in coaching children who live in homes and institutions, you’ll have opportunities to combine your volunteer coaching with volunteering at an Orphanage.

Come coach sport in Jamaica and help kids build skills and develop a winning attitude. 

Essential Program Information

Program Times

Our programs are usually run Mondays – Fridays from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. However, we can arrange shorter days for those who require it. Some programs might have activities on Saturdays which are normally pre-planned. We will help you to make the necessary arrangements.

Safety

At JVP, our mantra is “Your safety is our number one priority”. This means that our job is not completed until you arrive home safely. 

To ensure this, when you are in Jamaica you will never be alone. A Jamaica Volunteer Programs representative will always be available to you. In addition to this, on your arrival, we'll give you safety tips and strategies to use during your orientation. 

On your arrival in Jamaica, we never send taxis to pick you up. You are always greeted by our smiling representative/driver.

JVP does not accept volunteers without a  background check/police report which states that the applicant does not have a criminal record. Applicants are also asked about mental health and medication. We do this to provide support for the volunteers in our program.

Like most other countries, Jamaica does have crime. However, our programs, routes, and destinations are designed around and away from those areas so you will always be safe. Even further, our volunteer home and program partners are located in some of the safest communities in St Andrew.

Our accommodation is located in a safe neighborhood in the hills of St. Andrew overlooking the city of Kingston. The organization’s founder and her family also live on this property. For safety and security, only authorized persons can enter the grounds.

We provide 24/7 in-country support where our dedicated team members are always there to support you with any emergencies or other needs. This means that when you book with us you will be treated as if you are a relative visiting from overseas and provided with a safe home away from home. 

Therefore, at all times you'll be surrounded by caring and trusted people to keep you safe.

Application 

You can apply at any time for all of our programs. However, we advise you to apply as soon as you can to ensure that you lock up your space.

Once you have paid your deposit and confirmed your place on the program, we will send you an email confirming your payment. This email will also include a link where you can download our Registration Handbook that will provide you with pre-departure reference and support information.

If you require any further information not covered in the handbook our staff is always on-hand to assist you.

Volunteer Experience Value 

If you are wondering if you can use your volunteer experience to boost your professional profile, then yes you can. At your request, we can provide you with a letter or certificate of completion detailing your volunteer activities and accomplishments. 

A volunteer experience abroad is a great resume booster and can be of great value when applying for college or a job. We’ll be glad to assist you to make it happen. 

Your coaching will be during the regular school days Monday – Friday between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. Many teams practise in the afternoons after school.

If you’re looking for a project at a coaching club, you would be expected to do this in the afternoons.

Competitions are held on Saturdays and are usually pre-planned so if you want to attend any of these, we’ll help you make the necessary arrangements.

Most evenings you’ll go back to your volunteer home to hang out and plan for the next day.

Outside of arranged cultural immersion trips and excursions where you’ll have opportunities to experience some of Jamaica’s most amazing attractions, we continually look for eye-opening cultural activities for you to do in your free time.

Because of this we sometimes offer you opportunities to attend local events in the afternoons organized by our cultural ambassador/project coordinator.

For the volunteer sports coaching abroad project, your project coordinator will look out for any sporting events or celebrations that you may be interested in. And if you plan your trip carefully, you can travel at a time when Jamaica is having a major sports event for a better experience with how sports is deeply embedded in our culture. 

Activities such as Jamaican dancing lessons, patois classes, and Jamaican storytelling are designed to keep you entertained, but more importantly, to further help you learn the Jamaican culture.

On the last Friday night before your departure, we have ‘Jamaica Night’ – where we will display some of Jamaica’s most popular food, play popular Jamaican music and also give volunteers the opportunity to showcase what they’ve learned about the Jamaican culture as well as showcase their own culture.