First Day Coaching

After a week full of planning and preparation, the real action finally kicked off today with Day 1 of the 10 day program with our Bolivian participants in EL Alto.  As will be the case for the next 2 weeks, we all travelled up the 1500 feet from La Paz to El Alto early in the morning to the ‘field’ (mostly dust and rock) where we will be hosting the training sessions.  We were delighted that 27 of the 30 registered participants arrived, almost on time, and definitely eager to start the program.  The participants come from three different schools in the area, representing a range of socio-economic backgrounds and soccer abilities.

Getting started 

The session was led by our first team of Student Coaches – Kristen (Tufts) and Kayley (GW) – who bravely volunteered to take the lead.  The technical session focused on control and dribbling, with the underlying theme of self-confidence running throughout.   Supported by a team of very energetic and enthusiastic Student Coaches, Kristen and Kayley led a fantastic session that laid the perfect foundation for the coming 2 weeks.  The facilities in El Alto are not quite what these top athletes from the US are accustomed to, however they proved to us all that soccer can be taught anywhere and can overcome any language barrier. 

A little enthusiasm!

Monday evening was the big match (and Futsal debut for our Student Coaches): LPF versus the selection from the La Paz women’s futsal league.  The local team showed us that Futsal is a very different game from the 11-a-side format we are used to!  Despite the defeat the LPF team learned a lot about how to play this game and set a rematch for Thursday night.

Modelling the awesome LPF tee-shirts