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2021 Program Model
Coach for College will run a hybrid virtual/in-person model in 2021, tested successfully with a group of Duke and Stanford student-athletes and Vietnamese university students in January (listen to participants' perspective). Youth will to take part in camps at the schools we work at in Vietnam, with Vietnamese university students teaching them in person, as usual. American student-athletes will will join virtually each day to help plan activities to make the next day's lessons interactive and engaging. American participants will also record videos to be used in class and in sports for the kids. As in previous summers, each participant, along with their Vietnamese and American teammates, will focus on one subject and one sport, while sharing life skills lessons for one team of kids. Camps last 3 weeks, with a handful of pre-recorded and live orientation activities the week prior.
Americans and Vietnamese will also take part each day in a new cultural exchange activity or conversation, to get to know each other and learn about each other's culture. This was a universal highlight for the participants in the trial run of the program in January.
Daily schedule
Participants from American universities will have an offline component reading through provided lesson plans, taking notes on ideas they have to make the lessons interactive for the kids, and preparing video clips of themselves explaining and demonstrating concepts and techniques for the kids.
Each evening, Sunday through Thursday US time, the American and Vietnamese participants will meet in small teams to share their ideas for the next day's lessons, review how the day went with the kids and end the day by taking part in that day's cultural exchange activity.
During the day, the Vietnamese participants will be with the kids at the school, leading the academic, life skills and sports classes planned with the input of the Americans. The Vietnamese coaches will teach directly in-person, while also incorporating the video clips contributed by their American teammates.
Listen to Rachel (Stanford) and Huy (Cần Thơ University) explain more below. They were coaches together in camp in 2016. They have remained good friends, and have been closely involved in planning and testing our 2021 program model.
HIGHLIGHTs
Make a difference and have a sense of purpose this summer. Americans will contribute a lot to the lessons and to the kids, even at a distance, particularly with their experience with creative and hands on approaches to learning, common in the American school system. Leading the planning for sports classes, and demonstrating proper technique is another area in which the Americans contribution is key. Even at a distance, the kids will find contributions from a foreigner fascinating, and the fact that someone on the other side of the world takes time to contribute to their learning and follows their progress will be meaningful and motivating for them.
Make new friends. We have been excited to see how much participants bonded and got to know each other in the trial run held in January. The feedback was that they quite enjoyed working and having fun together, and Zoom was not an impediment. In fact two participants from January who didn't know each before other are planning to meet up in person over spring break.
Make it possible for kids to take part. Joining a CFC camp is one of the top highlights of the year for the kids, and has a long-lasting positive influence on them (motivation to do what it takes to stay in school, building self-confidence in their individual value and potential life, improved academic performance, etc.). In addition to your direct contributions to what they learn in camp, the funding for each participant will make it possible for more kids to take part in the first place.
Have an authentic cross-cultural experience. While it is not possible to travel to most countries around the world due to the ongoing pandemic, CFC's long-standing model of close collaboration between American and Vietnamese university students is a great advantage in a virtual model. You will be getting to know peers from Vietnam in authentic and fun ways, while working closely together day in and day out toward a common goal. You will get a real glimpse of Vietnam, and grow in your tangible cross-cultural skills as you all learn to come together as a team, much like you would in-person.
Please visit our PARTICIPATE page for more information or to apply.
Carly Perri (Duke Swimming) and Ellie Winslow (Duke Diving) took part in a trial run of CFC's 2021 model, in January. They shared their perspectives in recent info sessions for Duke and Stanford student-athletes.
Describes what you did in the program and your overall view of the experience.
A question many students are likely asking themselves: why would I want to spend more time on a computer over the summer, why do I want to engage in a virtual program? What were your thoughts on engaging in a virtual program before and after taking part?
What would you say to a student-athlete who is on the fence about joining a virtual program this summer? Multiple student-athletes answer, including ones who helped test a similar program.
