The Administrator

It’s Never Too Late to Catch Up

Let’s play with a hypothetical situation today. What if your club’s sole focus for the past 15 years has been teaching, coaching, and mentoring? Basically worrying about what happens on the field. What if you haven’t given the light of day to the other aspects which make up today’s most successful clubs like marketing, registration solutions, or administration made easy through technology?

You might feel stuck, or like your standing at the bottom of a mountain. You have a great grass roots organization, but barring word of mouth, you probably lack a competitive edge. So what do you do if you decided to catch up…today? Below is a list of top things to consider if you find yourself in similar circumstances (source Seth Godin, tailored by us for you). The tips range from managerial to organizational all technologically focused.  

Use gmail to give every person in the organization their own email address (i.e sara@soccerclub.com).

List your locations and your people (with email addresses) and make it clear you want to hear from club members on your website.

Start an email newsletter using Mad Mimi or Mail Chimp. Give the responsibility for the newsletter's creation and performance to one person and offer them a bonus if they exceed metrics in sign ups and in reducing churn.

Start a book group for your top admins. Read a great online media book a week and discuss.

Offer a small bonus to anyone in the club who starts and runs a blog on any soccer related topic. Have that blog link to your club site, it will increase traffic.

Have the president post their (real) email address in all communication the club sends out, asking people to write to them with comments or questions.

Start a newsletter for your parents. Email them regular updates about what you're doing; what's working and what problems are going on internally that they might be able to help you with.

Get a white board and put it in the break room. On it, have someone update: how many people subscribe to the newsletter, how many people visit the website, twitter quotes, registration numbers for the season.

Don't have any meetings about your web strategy. Just do stuff. First you have to fail, then you can improve.

Refuse to cede your work to consultants. If you're going to catch up, you must (all of you) get good at this, and you only accomplish that by doing it.

The problem is no longer budget. The problem is no longer access to tools. The problem is the will to get good at it.  

Getting on board with these simple tasks allows you to catch up down the road and be ready for the things you really want to accomplish in the future.

~Sam@bluesombrero.com  

2010 SPY Awards

Topdrawersoccer.com holds their prestigious Soccer Products of the Year (SPY) Awards at the end of each year and Blue Sombrero is up in two categories, Web and Software Services and Overall Soccer Product. The awards were designed for members of the soccer community to voice their opinions on their favorite soccer products, based on innovation, design, ease of use, and functionality.

Since Blue Sombrero makes this wonderful blog happen, we thought we’d give our readers a chance to vote. No worries if you haven’t worked with the product before, just don’t vote but if you do happen to interact with it, take a second and give us some love. Click here to voice your opinion. You can vote once a day in both categories until December 15th. It does not leave a lot of time so get to it.

Thanks to all that vote.

Poverty Leagues

Game On and International Alliance For Youth Sports have partnered to organize youth soccer leagues for poor teens around the globe. IAYS helps youths from 12-19 years old develop community in poverty-stricken areas while Game On encourages life skills through positive competition.

It’s a marriage of two organizations with a very common goal, the betterment of youth citizens world-wide. In  a nutshell, Game On provides the structure to rehabilitate these youths through youth soccer, while AIYS develops self esteem, leadership, and a community. The catalyst for this achievement becomes the love of the sport. More developed area teens are lucky to take part in such healthy social and physical interaction, so the goal is to spread that growth to less fortunate.

In a state where many of these impoverished teens would drop out of school and take part in risky behavior, this program encourages teens to take part in a league where they obtain life skills they would miss otherwise. It’s amazing to see these types of organizations partner to create such positive environments. Find more information here.

~Sam@bluesombrero.com  

2010 USYS Grants

The applications for the 2010 USYS grants are available (click here). This year’s offerings have added recreation, TOPSoccer, and Soccer Across America grants. Last year the USYS awarded $85,000 in grants so it’s worth a shot.

Since 1998 more than $2 million has been given out in order to further assist developing soccer programs. The organization is doing a lot to build youth soccer in the US and we are thankful for their efforts.

"We believe these US Youth Soccer programs further our mission of fostering the physical, mental and emotional growth and development of America's youth through the sport of soccer at all levels of age and competition," said Jim Cosgrove, executive director of US Youth Soccer. "With the addition of the recreation grants program, we continue looking forward to increasing the opportunities provided to children across the country."

(Source)

~Sam@bluesombrero.com

Social Sidebar

Windows 7 looks to be off to a good start, at least in the eyes of Seattle Sounders fans. Their latest technology mash-up might be a trend to look out for but at the least is a useful way to stay informed up to the second on everything Sounders.

We’re all familiar with the sidebar, you know that semitransparent thing that might give you the weather, but no one really uses. Well Windows stepped it up in their newest release by increasing its functionality.

In this instance the Sounders gadget provides up to date team information, schedules, and local news. Even more exciting is the social element allowing users to get real time updates from Twitter. The News tab provides the latest updates on the club, scheduling, and roster updates. The Local tab provides game day traffic info and players notes. The Social tab gives updates from the Sounders Twitter ID @soundersfc. It also lets you see what your friends and other Sounders fans are saying in real time.

All this is accomplished from the desktop in a smooth looking widget. As this continues to be developed think of the possibilities…a widget for your own club with all the info parents, coaches, and fans would need. (Source)

~Sam@bluesombrero.com    

Teen Soccer Inspiration

When the going gets tough, this teen soccer player gets going. Bree McMahon experienced a life changing accident a few weeks ago and her unshakable resolve has inspired those in her community to even professional athletes.

It happened at the most unexpected of places, a carwash fundraiser for her soccer team. Bree was standing in front of a car driven by one of her best friends and teammates. The driver’s foot slipped off the brake and hit the gas. The car surged forward and pinned Bree against a brick wall. Her lower extremities were crushed (source). Her left leg had to be amputated.

After an accident like that, how would you react? Bree has been the pillar of compassion; consoling those around her, forgiving the driver involved, and inspiring her family and friends. So inspiring that Mia Hamm called her to tell her she was her hero, and Ryan Longwell (kicker for the Minnesota Vikings) sends her daily texts.

She plans on still attending prom, and eventually getting back on the field. "I'm a beast out there," she says with a smile splashed across her face. "and you better believe the best will be back."Things get tough from day to day in the office and the fields. It's nice to see someone who should be angry at the world, be so full of hope. Don't get caught up in all the little things, enjoy your Friday.

~Sam@bluesombrero.com

Seats of Gold

ESPN’s Outside The Lines is an incredible source for sports stories that reveal the behind the scenes of modern day athletics. As with most things today, professional sports have become bloated with media coverage on anything but the actual game. OTL brings some important issues to the forefront, providing the average fan some type of balanced coverage.

Their recent post, Seats of Gold, got us thinking about the future of professional sports and their fans. The cliff note summary of that article is a day at the Yankee’s ballpark, sitting in the swanky Legends Suite. Where tickets cost up to 2 grand, the seating is protected from “riff-raff” (i.e. the other ticketholders), and you are chauffeured back and forth from the game in a limo. The author searches for the answer to how we got to this point, blaming client relations in Wall Street trading.  

He also muses how this will affect future fans. Since there was such a strong bond between the common fan and ballparks in the past, how will these steep prices affect future fan growth.

A recent poll discovered an unsettling trend emerging for the first time. American families whose household income is $75,000 or less now have zero dollars of discretionary income. According to Luker, that means about 75 percent of the country can never responsibly afford to go to a live professional sporting event. Franchises want them to be fans, to buy the gear and pull for their teams and watch the telecasts the leagues are paid billions for. But they don’t need them to come to their stadiums. There are, right now, plenty of rich people who love games. The prices reflect that. The reason sporting events cost so much now, Luker’s research shows, is because they are designed to be affordable only to those making $150,000 or more a year.

I can hear you asking what does this have to do with soccer. Well baseball isn’t the only sport with outrageous ticket prices. The average MLS ticket price was $22.47, the highest of the average being $32.50 for a Galaxy ticket, in 2008. With ticket prices way above movie prices in most places, which is the more convenient and affordable option for a family.

We’re struggling to the build the MLS in the US already, but staying competitive with other sport ticket pricing isn’t helping. It may be melodramatic to assume the next generation won’t inherit our love of sports, but the disparity may drive a wedge between economic classes.

Give us your thoughts by commenting below.

~Sam@bluesombrero.com    

Climate Concerns for the 2010 World Cup

Today is Blog Action Day.  Our article is concerned with climate change in order to be part of the movement. 

The 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany raised a lot of concern about the carbon footprint the event makes. Enough concern to become an integral part of the planning process for the cup this year. In response, an Environmental Forum has been formed to oversee these concerns. The forum consists of representatives of FIFA LOC, national and provincial government departments, the nine host cities, and UN agencies. No matter your opinion on the environment, alleviating the tax it puts on the host country in terms of energy and natural resources cannot be a bad idea. The cup is being staged at 10 venues across South Africa, which allows them the opportunity to set precedence in environmental sustainability for major events like this.

FIFA’s mission during the 2010 cup is “Develop the Game, Touch the World, and Build a Better Future”. Below are the initiatives they hope to implement in order to achieve that goal (source).

1. Energy

South Africa's electricity utility, Eskom is considering using renewable energy to supply some of the needs of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The city of Cape Town would get green energy from the Darling Wind Farm; Ethekwini Metro, Durban would use biogas from its landfill sites; and, Pretoria would use biogas from the Ekurhuleni Metro. The Central Energy Fund and Eskom have prioritized the rollout of energy-efficient lighting for residential and street lighting in all nine host cities, and other areas in the Country. Other initiatives include solar-powered traffic lights and cameras on freeways.

2. Waste Management

The Local Organizing Committee is working on a system of separating waste that would be made uniform throughout the host cities. All host cities are encouraged to allocate adequate budget to separating waste. In addition, the LOC for the 2010 FIFA World Cup will encourage the FIFA official affiliates to implement waste avoidance and reduction mechanisms by minimize packaging and reducing waste generation, recycling waste and thus reducing waste to landfill.

3. Transport and Mobility

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) plans to help South Africa with the "greening" of its public transport system ahead of the 2010 Football World Cup. The GEF is exploring ways of ensuring sustainable transport initiatives that deliver greenhouse gas reductions above and beyond those currently planed in a bid to demonstrate the benefits of alternative fuels and green technologies like bio-diesel, bio-ethanol and fuel cells. It would also be looking at cycling and pedestrian routes that could feed into bus networks, offering attractive alternatives to the private car.

4. Carbon Neutrality

According to the Feasibility Study and carbon footprint calculation towards a Carbon Neutral 2010 World Cup, The FIFA 2010 World Cup will have the largest carbon footprint of any major event with a goal to be “climate neutral”. The estimate carbon footprint of the FIFA 2010 World Cup is more than 850,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), with more 1,400,000 tCO2e contribute by international travel, to produce an estimate of 2,171, 000 tonnes of carbon emissions.International travel is more than 65% of the carbon footprint, following by intercity travel and energy use in accommodation at 17% and 13%.The National Greening 2010 Framework and Minimum Environmental Standards for Green Goal 2010 include many measures that have the potential to reduce the carbon footprint. The measures, however, only impact the emission from stadium and precinct energy use, and local transportation, which in total only make up 6% of the domestic carbon footprintOffsetting the domestic carbon footprint of the 2010 World Cup could cost between $6.8 and 12.0 million, while offsetting international travel would, on its own, be double this amount.To maximize the contribution to public awareness, a few of the energy efficiency measures in order to reduce the carbon footprint, will be given visibility during the FIFA 2010 World Cup.

Do you think the increased focus will make a difference? Can you use any of these initiatives at your own clubs? Certainly a simpler effort for each category would make some type of change. Carpooling, recycling, and conserving energy all deserve our attention. What can you think of for each category that would work on a club level?

~Sam@bluesombrero.com

Dalian Football Stadium

China hopes to up the ante in stadium design yet again with their newest design for Dalian Shide FC, the most successful club in the Chinese super league. Set to hold 40,000, spectators will be in awe of the cuju football inspired design with the colorful layering and overlapping in the design. Cuju football is dated somewhere during the Han Dynasty, and believed to have been created for entertainment or military training purposes.

In lines with sensitivity for our environment, the setting of the stadium will maximize existing transport modes and views of surrounding seas and mountains, while giving the population of Dalian a unique venue. Careful consideration is being given to both function and infrastructural means. Meaning they hope to make the stadium aesthetically pleasing while also being a safe and convenient environment.

Unstudio, the winners of the design competition, present an inclusive approach to stadium design by allowing spectators to become engulfed in the overall effect of the design, while still being able to see the field clearly. The plans are impressive, and we can’t wait to see the design in action.

Source and further specs here.

~Sam@bluesombrero.com  

The Art of Goal Celebrations

The Volkswagen Junior Masters created an awesome promotional campaign for their tournament this year. There is a series of eight hilarious videos teaching would be soccer stars the art of goal celebrations.

We put one example above, but if you want to watch all eight click on the video while it's playing and follow the playlist on the right.

No more excuses for sloppy goal celebrations.

Sam@bluesombrero.com