Hi Everyone , my name is Maddison Dodd and I’m a first year sport coaching student in ATU Galway.

Myself and two others have been fortunate to secure a volunteer opportunity in South Africa, where we’ll be working as sports coaches across several schools. This is a two-week programme which is taking place in October 2025. This offers an exciting chance for us to develop our coaching skills aswell as helping those in need.

Throughout my time in South Africa, I will be making a difference in the lives of young children through the means of sport coaching and English teaching. I will be teaching in 3-4 schools each day, introducing students to a variety of different sports like like football , rugby , basketball, hockey and hopefully in an introduction to some GAA games.

While this will undoubtedly be both physically and mentally challenging, I’m really excited to take on this opportunity and gain firsthand insights into life in these developing communities.

This trip is fully self funded , with donations going towards the programme, the sponsor charity and a smaller portion going towards travel expenses. The Charity associated with this trip is United Through Sport. Any donation, big or small will be greatly appreciated.

I can’t wait to share my journey with you all. Thank you for the support !