Sports coaching
Rugby, Netball, Hockey, Football, Cricket, Athletics..
Sports coaching forms a key part of every expedition and alongside building, teaching and youth aims you will make a huge difference in the rural villages by coaching sports. You will lead grass roots training for junior teams each afternoon and organise PE lessons in the primary schools as well as developing island competitions, leagues and an end of project sports tournament for the whole community.
If you are passionate about Rugby or Netball you will also have the chance to play with the Fijian island teams and compete in huge matches against rival villages, which are always an experience to remember for our sports volunteers!
Rugby and netball are the most popular sports in Fiji and we are working with the Fijian Ministry of Sport to nuture young players and develop their skills further. In the local schools and villages we are creating the first stuctured training, school 'house competitions' and ultimatley a children's inter-island league in rugby and netball.
Think Pacific provides equipment to introduce a variety of other sports. Each afternoon you can also coach football, volleyball, hockey, cricket and athletics to name but a few! These are 'new sports' to Fijian children, but they are growing with immense popularity and hockey and football in particular are hugely popular at the moment.
Fijian sport, especially at youth level, longs for some organisation, structure and the introduction of basic equipment. It's not unusual for kids to trek several miles to a neighbouring village to share a rugby ball, or for island teams to have to bow out of competitions because they don't have enough hockey sticks, boots, a pitch or goal posts. In a country where sport can lift and unite the nation, many of the most talented players are never discovered. For children living in rural villages, your coaching assistance will provide the chance to learn sporting skills for the first time.
What sports can I coach?
The aim is to introduce Fijian children to a whole host of sports, during daily PE lessons and after school clubs. Many of these sports are being introduced to the children for the first time. We provide the equipment to develop Rugby, Football, Netball, Hockey, Rounders, Volleyball, Cricket, Athletics. You will also organise games for younger children (the Kindergarten Olympics!) and an end of project sports festival to bring the training together into structured games and competitions. What ever your sporting interest, let us know and we can use your skills to make the best impact to sports development in the rural communities.
Rugby passion in Fiji
Rugby is a way of life in Fiji, played with warrior like passion and carnival flair on the beaches and in the jungle clearing. Throughout the Fiji Islands you will see kids and adults playing on the beaches with everything from a coconut to an old bottle wrapped in cloth. This is your chance to give something back through rugby. You will coach school and junior village teams, lead structured training practices and organise rugby tournaments for both 7’s and 15’s. If you wish, you may even train and play yourself with the adult 1st teams, although we remind all our guys to be careful playing contact rugby with the Fijians! Think Pacific is honoured to have Fijian International Seru Rabeni supporting our rugby projects as our official Ambassador for Sports Development, and we are grateful for Seru's support as we work with local schools to develop Fiji's first children's league in rugby. When the coaching starts in the villages with our new tackle bags and balls, we look to our volunteers to act as role models for young Fijian players and inspire the local kids to reach their full potential.
Netball coaching and development
By far the most popular female sport in Fiji, Netball is played with unfaltering enthusiasm in the rural villages. If you have a passion for netball, then this is your chance to pass your skills and experience to young girls in the community. We will look to you to lead daily practices in local schools and coach netball as part of our village youth clubs. You will lead structured training and skills practices and organise games and regional tournaments. Netball provides young Fijian women with a real chance to express themselves and instil a sense of empowerment and achievement. From coaching beginners to assisting the more established teams to improve their play, you will play a key role in the development of netball in the Lomaiviti Islands. The young Fijian girls will look up to you and genuinely value your time and effort.
Developing your own sports skills and challenging the Fijians!
Our sports initiatives don't just end with the massive impact you make through coaching children. If you enjoy playing good level sports yourself then you will fall in love with Fijian life very quickly! Fijians are passionate about sport and each day there will games and training especially in rugby and netball. Some of the biggest highlights of each project are the big island rugby and netball matches when you will pitch your skills against local village teams or represent your island in major competitive games. These sports matches create a huge buzz and a carnival atmosphere on the island! Aside from the competitive sports matches, fun games of volleyball, rounders, football and other sports and activities are played in the afternoons in the community are a fabulous and fun way to end a big day on the sports, youth and building projects!
Long Term Impact
For volunteers looking to undertake a sports related degree or make a career in sports coaching and development, this aspect of our projects couldn't be more relevant or hands on, as you work with the Fijian Ministry for Youth and Sports and the National Health Promotion Council to develop grass roots programmes.
Our aim is to increase sports uptake by offering wider sporting opportunities to village children. For every volunteer place, part of your expedition fee is donated directly to pay for equipment and invest in sports related initiatives including sports courses and coaching badges for local people. You may also be involved in the creation of sports facilities, from building store rooms for the new equipment, to errecting goals posts and laying hockey pitches. The aim is to create improved sports infrastructure which is wholly led and managed by the local communities. The children and teenagers you work with will be the next generation of referees, sports coaches, youth leaders, PE teachers, even professional players.
Joe Lawrence, ShropshireI'm so grateful that I was able to be a part of Think Pacific. You have really created a great organisation and I love the fact that it is so small and personal.
