CARTAGO – COSTA RICA ACADEMY
“Escuela capacitación futbolística de “CARTAGO”
This Academy was founded in 1979-80 in the city of Cartago – Costa Rica. It was my first chance to really experience and learn as an Academy coach.
We hosted almost 600 children on only one soccer field belonging to the Deportivo Cartagines football club. They allowed me to use the office and stadium facilities, as I was playing for the club at the time.
The Academy training every Saturday and was divided into 3 groups: 13 to 16 year olds were given the colour Orange, they trained from 07h00 to 09h00; the 9-12 year olds were
given the colour blue and they trained between 09h00-11h00; finally, the 5 to 8 year olds, who were in a different shade of blue trained from 11h00 to 13h00. All players were given white socks and shorts. Each player had his own soccer balls, which they had to bring to training, as well as be present in his own uniform. These were purchased from a sports shop in Cartago.
The academy ran very well, which was made easier by the players discipline. The young players exhibited an unmatched enthusiasm for the game, which was thoroughly enjoyed by my teammates/coaches at the time. These included Falcon , Maldonado, “Pato” Garcia and others.
What I learnt from this experience was that in order to learn the basics, children require good coaching from the start.
I also had the opportunity to meet with many of the parents before or after training sessions. Their involvement and enthusiasm spilled over to the children, who came to love the game even more because of that. The people of Cartago were nothing but helpful during this time, and I would like to thank them for the opportunity. I would also like to extend my thanks to the club and officials for starting my coaching career off in such grand fashion. If it was not for this time in Costa Rica, I would not have achieved many of my future goals.
