March Madness has swept the nation. Even the passive fan of college hoops finds it hard not to get whisked away in the flurry of brackets, player pools, and athletic rivalry. For a soccer club, there are a handful of lessons which can be learned from the phenomenon know as March Madness. So take a minute to turn away from the TV and read the following article.
The Value Of Productivity / The Cost of Being Unproductive: It has been estimated that American companies will lose around 1.7 billion dollars through decreased productivity in the workplace during the college basketball playoffs (Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc). This figure clearly highlights the fact that there is a real cost associated to being unproductive.
When applied to your youth soccer program, it underscores the need to find the most efficient way to manage your organization. This means utilizing an online system that eliminates unnecessary work for your administrators, while integrating all aspects of your registration and management process. Otherwise, the club is wasting its time, its parent’s time, and everyone’s money. The key is finding the provider which fits your organization’s needs, first and foremost. If not, the club stands to lose additional funds through an online, yet still inefficient process. Remember, you get what you pay for.
Event Promotion Possibilities Are Endless: Every year, the college basketball playoffs find new ways of 
reminding us that March Madness is at hand. From Facebook to Pizza boxes, ads are everywhere!
While your club must operate on a slightly smaller budget than that of CBS (which has the rights to NCAA's championship), there is no reason why your organization should have any problem promoting its next fundraiser, tournament, or club-wide event in a similar fashion. Let’s look at a few creative ideas which your club can use to spread the word:
1. Inside The Club - YouTube and Your Newsletter: Its time to get creative… instead of simply sending out an email for your next club-wide event, get the board together and design a video promotion (a la 85’ Chicago Bears Super Bowl Shuffle, or 07’ Blue Sombrero Website Promotion). Add the link to your next electronic newsletter, as well as your club website. The video is sure to get a ton of views and laughs from all your club members. Additionally, YouTube has a program specifically designed to help nonprofits raise funds through their online video medium. To learn more, read YouTube For Youth Soccer Organizations
2. Inside The Community: Take ten minutes and set up a call with the local pizza joint to discuss the 
possibility of an ad swap. The details can vary but the concept is simple. The club places an advertisement (and perhaps a coupon) for the pizza restaurant on your website in exchange for a printed advertisement attached to each pizza box delivered. This type of exposure is great for spreading the word regarding the upcoming season, or even highlighting a corporate soccer tournament fundraiser for all companies within the community.
3. Across The Globe: While your club website will always be an invaluable tool for spreading the word regarding your club’s next big event or upcoming tournament, the organization should also consider creating an online community account for the club. Companies like Facebook and Myspace among 
others, offer an unmatched platform for communication outside of the organization. Chances are, a number of your players and coaches already own at least one account, so if you need a little help getting started, just look into the organization.
The club can link directly to its community accounts from their website and vice versa. Meanwhile any and all community members can become “friends” with the club, allowing them to be informed of breaking news which the club chooses to release. Finally, with enhanced security protection within these online communities, the club realizes significantly less risk then in previous years. The risk to return ratio is undoubtedly in the club’s favor as the organization can promote its next event (and all subsequent events) to the world at little or no cost to the club.
The Administrator wants to know what you think about this article. What do you think about choosing an online registration provider and the effects on your club’s productivity and efficiency? Post a comment below, send an email to Jon@bluesombrero.com or call 404-835-0305.
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