View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
astralfrog
Joined: 05 Jun 2010 Posts: 24
|
Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 8:47 am Post subject: Coaching baseball... |
|
|
Anyone here have experience coaching baseball outside of the U.S.? I am looking for job opportunities where I could possibly teach English and coach at the same time. I spent five months in Germany coaching not too long ago and I have ESL teaching experience at a language school in California (with visiting students from Taiwan, Japan, Spain, and China). I also have experience coaching at the high school and collegiate levels.
Any baseball coaches out there? Advice? Thanks. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
spiral78

Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash
|
Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 10:34 am Post subject: |
|
|
That's a query out of left field
Sorry - I have no concrete advice, but oculdn't resist. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
scot47

Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343
|
Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 10:34 am Post subject: |
|
|
Baseball has a pretty limited geographical coverage. US, Japan, Korea, Cuba. Not sure about Latin America. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
johntpartee
Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258
|
Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 10:42 am Post subject: |
|
|
And you can forget China as well (for now, anyway). They've barely heard of it. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
denise

Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish
|
Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 4:03 pm Post subject: |
|
|
scot47 wrote: |
Baseball has a pretty limited geographical coverage. US, Japan, Korea, Cuba. Not sure about Latin America. |
Limited, but you could add to this small list any area that has a high concentration of American expat families/American-oriented international schools.
It is truly an underrated sport internationally!
d |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010 Posts: 1520 Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
|
Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 4:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Baseball is a big deal in Venezuela too. You could always send an email to Hugo Ch�vez and offer your services as a gesture of friendship between his country and yours! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Sashadroogie

Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 11061 Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise
|
Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 9:45 pm Post subject: |
|
|
It just isn't cricket. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Glenski

Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
|
Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 10:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Be careful about what your visa allows you to do. In Japan, if you get a teaching job & visa, you'll have to get permission from immigration to take on other types of work.
Are you looking to coach in HS again? I'd say your odds in Japan are nil. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
jpvanderwerf2001
Joined: 02 Oct 2003 Posts: 1117 Location: New York
|
Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 10:36 pm Post subject: |
|
|
You could get to a new country and teach the locals the sport.
While I was working in Ukraine, I went out to the village close to L'viv and tried to teach the kids baseball. In a cow pasture. Although the multitude of rules in the sport made it extremely hard to teach (especially when the kids I was working with had never seen a game; nor were there translations for most baseball terms), it was a rewarding experience for sure.
Good luck! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
natsume
Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Posts: 409 Location: Chongqing, China
|
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 12:01 am Post subject: |
|
|
Glenski wrote: |
I'd say your odds in Japan are nil. |
Depending on how extensive your experience is, probably not completely nil. My public high school had an English rugby coach for eight years, who was initially hired in the area by Yamaha to coach corporate teams. His Japanese was functional but not exceptional, but he was already an established professional coach in the UK. The JET program has a small number of Sports Exchange Advisors, but again, I am pretty sure they are looking for established sports professionals (the literature says as much).
With more profesional credentials and a few more years of experience, your chances might be "slim". Of course, if you were willing to volunteer your time, you could probably get involved in many different sports, including baseball, if you happened to be working at a junior high or high school in Japan. But you wouldn't be the coach. ( Also, keep in mind the time commitment. In Japan, it is not uncommon for baseball, soccer, rugby clubs etc. to practice 40 hours a week.) |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Glenski

Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
|
Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 4:21 am Post subject: |
|
|
natsume wrote: |
( Also, keep in mind the time commitment. In Japan, it is not uncommon for baseball, soccer, rugby clubs etc. to practice 40 hours a week.) |
Or 7 days a week. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
astralfrog
Joined: 05 Jun 2010 Posts: 24
|
Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 5:55 am Post subject: |
|
|
jpvanderwerf2001 wrote: |
You could get to a new country and teach the locals the sport.
While I was working in Ukraine, I went out to the village close to L'viv and tried to teach the kids baseball. In a cow pasture. Although the multitude of rules in the sport made it extremely hard to teach (especially when the kids I was working with had never seen a game; nor were there translations for most baseball terms), it was a rewarding experience for sure.
Good luck! |
That's sort of what I was looking at. There are teams in the Ukraine that will bring Americans over to help them learn the game. But usually they are looking for a coach/stud pitcher to help them also win the league. Much of Europe has developing baseball and is very willing to bring foreigners over. When I was playing in Germany, my roommate was a Japanese player who was one of the better pitchers in the league. We were the only two players on the team who were "paid" as the rest of the team paid dues to play. In my experience dealing with European baseball clubs, I have found that most are more than willing to pay for airfare upfront. A usual contract includes housing and a small stipend per month -- roughly 200-500 Euros. I was surprised when I started researching ESL teaching jobs worldwide that airfare is usually not part of a standard contract (at least not up front).
I'd have to say my dream job would be Mexico. If I could find a teaching gig, I'm sure I could go around the area and sniff out the baseball scene.
Thanks for the responses.
-AF |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
fladude
Joined: 02 Feb 2009 Posts: 432
|
Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:45 am Post subject: |
|
|
I've seen adds from international schools in South America looking for your very type of person, although.... typically they want you to be a certified teacher and to teach a subject such as English or History and then coach on the side, or to be a full time PE instructor. I suppose that most of the kids at a school like that are advanced to the point that they don't need a basic ESL instructor. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|