Kick around the world: Lincoln School from Costa Rica

Welcome back to Target USA CUP 2022! We are as proud as we are excited to be hosting teams from 19 different countries and 21 different states; the celebration and community this brings to our campus is what makes Target USA CUP so unique.

I had the great opportunity to speak to Fabian, who unofficially calls himself a firefighter — “whenever theres a fire, I’m there” — and officially calls himself a teacher and coach, from Lincoln School Costa Rica. I spoke with Fabian to learn a bit more about the culture of his team and what soccer looks like to their Boys U14 team in Costa Rica. Lincoln School has attended Target USA CUP several times, most recently in 2015 and 2017, and are extremely excited to be back this year. Keep reading to learn more about my conversation with Fabian!

LINCOLN SCHOOL COSTA RICA

My conversation with Fabian starting by walking through the boys’ pregame routine. Fabian mentions that organization, order and responsibility are extremely important to their team. The boys must have everything prepared for themselves the day before a game, they must eat two hours before a game and they must arrive one hour before a game. As much as their team culture fosters a learning experience for the boys, they also value fun and tradition. Fabian mentioned to me that their assistant coach, Kenny, brings his love of music to the team and writes new songs for each tournament that the boys play in. The boys love to listen to and sing the songs on bus rides, which helps get them ready and excited for games. They also value fun within their practices, by including games and other activities to boost excitement.

Fabian explained the importance of soccer culture within their school, and how it extends through their team and alumni. Fabian mentioned, “something that is really nice within the students is that they really support each other. Besides being great teammates, they are great friends and they are there for one another. That is something we really appreciate.”

Before Fabian had to get back to his team, I left him with this question, “what is your favorite place you’ve ever competed or coached?” He explained that he has been fortunate enough to travel to various countries to compete, but Target USA CUP is his favorite trip. Fabian stated “this is such a beautiful city, and the tournament itself is really great.” Fabian and the Lincoln School U14 boys are super excited to compete in both the weekend and week tournaments and to have fun and do their best!