Head coach Dan Birkey along with students from a local elementary school during a previous visit to Costa Rica.
Concordia Soccer Travels to Costa Rica for Spring Break Football, Philanthropy
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Concordia University men’s soccer team will have plenty of time in the sun this 2008 spring break. The team has received approval from the NAIA national office to play two international soccer matches against Costa Rican league teams during their time in the Central American country and will also be involved in several community service projects.
Concordia men’s head coach Dan Birkey, who has traveled and coached in Costa Rica previously, arranged the trip. To field a complete squad, several members of Springhill College’s (Mobile, Ala.) men’s soccer team will join the Concordia students. Springhill is coached by 2000 Concordia graduate and former Cavalier assistant coach, Adam Pierce.
“It will be a fantastic experience for the guys,” said Birkey. “We are staying in a very friendly, warm culture where farming and fishing are the daily business. The Costa Ricans and community of Garza love football (soccer) and from what I hear from my contacts down there, the word is out that the American team is coming so I expect spectators for even our training sessions.”
Concordia will play one of their matches in the Nicoya Stadium and the other in the town of Nosara, both of which are on the Pacific Coast of the country.
“Any time you travel in to another culture and get away from the routine I think it’s a great learning opportunity,” said Birkey. “The guys will be doing some English teaching with the youngsters in the Garza School and I have in mind a beach clean-up project that would be a positive impact for the Garza village.”
Birkey stated that the group will take time away from the soccer and the surfing to crawl through the mango trees at the high tide line and pick-up plastic rubbish, an opportunity to roll up the sleeves and show their respect for their environment.
“Anytime you can provide opportunities for people to get outside what is the normal cultural boundaries is a good things,” Birkey said. “They have been informed it’s not an 18-story hotel. This is a working fishing village in an agriculture community, outside their comfort zone see how another culture lives.”
The team will train in the mornings and try to avoid the hotter portion of the day. It has been near 100 degrees recently in the area. Both the matches are scheduled in the evenings. They will want to prepare for quality competition both in Costa Rica and when they return as they have Oregon State University to deal with the following week.
“We will focus on that later,” said Birkey. “I just want the guys to have a great time, enjoy the people and beauty of Costa Rica. I just hope they won’t do too much damage to themselves trying to learn to surf.”