Members of the Elon football team are spending spring break in Costa Rica as part of Elon's commitment to diversity and global engagement for its students. Below are photos and blog entries of the team's trip.
Arrival
by Davis LeDoyen, Luke Duska, Harry Peters
First, we arrived to the Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose. The airport is named after Juan Santamaria, a Costa Rican army drummer known for his actions in the 1856 Second Battle of Rivas, of the Filibuster War. He was the leader of a group that burned down the enemy stronghold of William Walker and his forces and secured a victory for Costa Rica. The airport was inaugurated in 1958 and is the busiest airport in Costa Rica.
After our dinner, we hopped on the bus and made a short trip over to the fields next to the national team stadium in San Jose. There we were greeted by people of all ages that played or were interested in American football. It was truly incredible to see the knowledge of football that the local Costa Rican citizens had. After meeting the group, we split up by position and started running through a few position specific drills to develop skills and techniques. We then finished off by doing some 1-on-1 competition between offensive and defensive players. This was a fantastic experience getting to see citizens from two countries with different cultures unified by something as beautiful and simple as football.
Overall, day one was awesome. It was really cool seeing the Costa Rican national soccer stadium when traveling to our lunch destination. The clinic was also super enjoyable for both us and the clinic participants. We were surprised at how much some of them knew about football and it was great how excited they were to learn. The language barrier was a little hard to get over but using body language helped a lot. The hotel was super nice. The Costa Rican food was great and the facilities were top tier. Also, everyone has been extremely nice in Costa Rica. All around day one was a great experience.
Sightseeing Tour of San Jose
by Donovan Everette, Parris Lowery, Jonathan Robinson
When we arrived in the city, the people of San Jose were celebrating Palm Sunday. There were hundreds of people all holding palms celebrating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. It was amazing to see everyone gather around for this celebration.
After this we went further into the city where we visited the Central Market. This market has been in San Jose since 1880, it was a sight worth seeing. Outside of the market were various entertainers, shops and stands with people selling all kinds of different things.
We finished our day at a Costa Rica Football League game. The Leones played the Dawgs and the Toros played the Knights and there was a good crowd to cheer on the two teams. Both teams played very hard and there was great energy around the game and lots of touchdowns as the Toros scored 54 points. They played by the same rules that we do in the United States. We saw some of the same formations, coverages, and plays that we use. It was great to see how our sport is trickling its way into different countries.
For it to be our second day in Costa Rica, we got a lot of stuff done on the day. Seeing the different types of people and the different scenery was a great experience for all of us. I’m excited to see what else this great country has to offer.
Coach Trisciani: Daniel Solano is a player for the Leones who participated in our youth camp in 2018. Daniel talked about the skills he learned from Elon linebacker Warren Messer, who has since been on coaching staffs at Liberty, Elon, SMU and currently Indiana. It was great to see Daniel again. I remember him as a passionate young player and now he is a talented linebacker competing against the best players in Costa Rica.
Day Three
by Cole Schilling, Jake Louro, Spenser Cola
Day three of our Costa Rica trip consisted primarily of a 5-6 hour bus ride from San Jose to Liberia. However, throughout the trip we took a couple detours that allowed us to view and enjoy the beauty of Costa Rica.
To start the journey off, we took a quick little stop at Casita del Cafetal where we got to see a coffee plantation and were able to try some of Costa Rica’s amazing coffee. It was interesting to be able to view their sustainable agriculture in action. Alongside being able to look at the plantation, there was also a little gift shop where we were able to buy some local coffee and goods.
After the quick stop at the coffee plantation, we hopped back on the bus and went to the main stop for the day, La Paz Waterfall Garden. Before we made it to the waterfalls, we got to enjoy an amazing animal sanctuary. Walking through the animal sanctuary and seeing so many different types of birds, and animals like; capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, Pumas, Jaguars, and snakes was very different then a typical zoo. Traditional zoos are outlawed in Costa Rica. That means that all the animals at La Paz Waterfall Gardens have either been confiscated as illegal pets or injured and are unable to return to the wild.
After walking through the animal sanctuary and eating lunch, we finally began the journey to the beautiful waterfalls of the garden. The waterfalls were especially amazing as we were able to see how Ecotourism influences the ways of Costa Rica. We were able to both enjoy the waterfalls, the nature that surrounds them and a safe and clean environment. One waterfall we saw was named “Magia Blanca” because if you stared right next to the waterfall for about 20 seconds and then looked at the mountain, it would cause this trippy effect to your vision and would move the mountain up and down. These waterfalls are special and original to Costa Rica which made it an even better experience.
Even though it is only the third day of our seven day journey through Costa Rica, this trip and all of our experiences so far have been incredible. From our tour through the capital city of San Jose to the nature walk at La Paz Waterfall everything has been amazing. Only three days in and we’ve created memories that will never be forgotten. We all look forward to the rest of the trip where we will experience new things and just enjoy being on vacation in Costa Rica.
Day Four
by Caden Martinez, Jamarien Dalton, Kevin Burkett
Day four of our study abroad trip started with breakfast at the hotel, and it was filled with plenty of wildlife, as we had peacocks and iguanas around us as we ate! After breakfast, we loaded up the bus and went to a nearby river to go tubing. We got to the river and were each given a helmet, a life jacket, and a water tube, and we followed our guides down the mountain to the river. The guides did a great job leading us down the river and through the treacherous water, although a few of us did flip a few times though! After getting to the end, we got on a bus to take us back to the main area for lunch.
After lunch, we got on our bus to take us to Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja, one of the many national parks that can be found in Costa Rica. In the national park, we were able to experience the immensely diverse wildlife and biomes that are in Costa Rica. On our hike, we were able to find hot springs, hot mud baths, and even a miniature volcano! Seeing all of this gave us the opportunity to appreciate the effort Costa Rica puts into preserving and protecting their natural environment and biodiversity.
Our day closed down after we packed up and got on our bus after the hike. We left the national park and drove for around three hours to our next and last hotel we would be staying at. We were very excited to get to the next day of our trip, but after today’s tubing and hiking trips, we were more ready for a nap. The trip up to this point had been a blast and gave us an opportunity we had never had up to this point to appreciate and immerse ourselves in a different culture. We are thankful for this opportunity and ready to continue this journey.
Volunteer Service Project
by TJ Young, Darius Harris, Khalil Baker
On today’s list of activities, we began with a clean up on Costa Rica's Flamingo Beach. This was a cool experience as we were able to witness the beautiful scenery and indulge in cleaning up the ecosystem by picking up loose trash. In addition, it was also nice to witness the mainland citizens enjoying such a view. Flamingo Beach is a breathtaking experience and we enjoyed the opportunity to keep it as such!
After the beach clean-up, we walked the beach to admire the beautiful scenery. We also had a fun time at the pool where most of the players had a lot of fellowship going on. The majority of the team decided to play a little competitive volleyball and football. You can never take football players anywhere and expect them not to turn something into a competition. After this, the rest of the day was a free day where everyone just relaxed and had a good time!
Day Six
by Rushawn Baker, Caleb Curtain, Julian Bumper
After breakfast, we started the day off with a workshop discussing what we have seen and done so far and how it relates to what we learned in class pre-Costa Rica. We focused on global pollution and how well Costa Rica incorporates sustainability into their everyday lives. For example, plastic accounts for 75 percent of beach litter. While being in Costa Rica, everywhere we have gone there has only been paper straws. Costa Rica also has a ban on plastic bags that are not biodegradable. Plastic pollution is a huge issue worldwide, with more than 350 million metric tons of plastic waste per year. not to mention microplastics, which are harmful to us as well as animals. Without changes to current policies, global plastic waste generation is projected to triple by 2060, to an astonishing one billion metric tons. Costa Rica is doing their part, attempting to decrease the amount of plastic waste produced world wide. We need more nations practicing sustainability on a larger scale to decline global plastic pollution.
Around 1:15pm, we made our way over to the beach to catch a ride on the boat for the afternoon. The views and vibes were amazing as we had music on the boat, tasty food, drinks and perfect weather. Once we got to the little shore, we dove in the water and some people just swam around the boat while others chose snorkeling in the clear waters. It was fun to see schools of fish, orchids, birds and more. On the way back to the bus we listened to old school music and danced while the sun was setting. I was able to capture a nice picture of the sun reflecting off the water, making almost a pathway to where I was standing.