Where have all the coaches gone?

Finding volunteer coaches is like trying to find a teenager at a Rolling Stones concert these days; we know they’re out there but often few and far between.  Whether it’s due to busier schedules, lessened sense of community or an increased commitment required from teams, parents seem less inclined to help out with their kids’ sports team today.  What is needed in this case is a little creativity on our end to find other ways to recruit new coaches.  Below I’ve listed some successful tactics used by some of the club administrators on TeamPages.

1. Mandatory in-person registration: if feasible, this method gives you some face time with each parent.  This is a great time to build rapport, get to know their background and find out whether they’re a candidate for one of your vacant positions.
2. Recruit from your senior leagues: Many of you are going to either belong to or have a connection to an adult league with young men and women athletes.  These leagues are ripe for the picking when it comes to potential coaches.  Today’s generation of 20-somethings are always looking for ways to give back to the communities that raised them while also sharing their knowledge and love for the game.  Just make sure you approach them correctly, ensuring them the schedule and their commitment level are flexible.
3. Volunteer opt-out check boxes: psychology at its finest.  By making volunteering (whether it be coaching, field maintenance, fund raising, etc.) an opt out duty, you’re sending the message that it is expected of them.  This leaves parents feeling personally accountable and will increase participation across the board.
4. Never turn people away: One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen organizations do is turn away enthusiastic parents who are keen to give their time.  This often happens because a particular parent does not possess the skills yet to coach a team.  In this case, get creative , find something they’re interested in and let them help out any way they can.  Who knows, give them a couple of years around the game and some added training and they could be one of your best coaches in no time.
5. Treat your people like the rock stars they are: Let’s face it, volunteers are what make the amateur sports world go ’round.  Without them no one would play anything other than pickup basketball (assuming the courts were maintained without volunteers).  So why don’t we openly show our appreciation more often? Is it so difficult to recognize a person’s contribution either publicly or in private?  An example of a small yet power gesture is a personalized thank you card, hand written by the president of a club to each coach who graciously volunteered their time all year.

These are just a few approachesI’ve seen work over the years (many of them used directly on me).  I know our community of coaches are organizers are always looking for new ways to fill those vacant positions, so how are you doing it?  Any creative ideas? Please let us know either by commenting below, posting in our forums or emailing talk-to-us@teampages.com.

Tags: Administrators, Coaches, Recruiting, Volunteers

This entry was posted on Friday, July 18th, 2008 at 7:45 am and is filed under TeamPages, Tips and Drills. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.