The Administrator

Where Have All The Volunteers Gone?

Running a volunteer soccer organization today can be very challenging.  The old 80/20 rule where 20% of the people are doing 80% of the work seems to have slid to the 90/10 rule today.  It seems that people running these organization are doing more today than ever before.  The result is many good people get burned out faster, step down from their positions sooner, and the club has a revolving door of volunteers wearing multiple hats.

We hear it all the time “you just cannot find volunteers anymore” or “people are too busy to volunteer”.  While those statements have some validity, your club may need to make a few changes to attract more volunteers.  What if you could create an atmosphere where volunteering for your soccer club is enjoyable & rewarding even if I can only give a few hours a week.  As an administrator can you change the perception that you must spend hours and hours in order to be a part of your organization?  Here are a few suggestions:

The Almighty Board of Directors

• Sometimes referred to as the “club” or the “untouchables”.  Times have changed and so should your board.  Out with the old ways and in with the new ideas from the new people.  Do you have a clear entry and exit policy in place for your potential and current board members, or is the guy/gal saying “whenever the next sucker comes along I will step down”.   There maybe people that want to get involved but they have no idea how to break into the “club”.  Change that perception and become a friendly inviting group with clear policies.  Include detailed descriptions of the available positions and the expected time commitment. (Be realistic with this in order to attract good people).

Various Duties

• Fields, uniforms, creating teams, website updating and the list goes on.  Take a look at your club and you probably have people covering multiple duties.  Many of these things can be handled by competent volunteers who don’t have to be on the board.  List some of the lower level things (maybe once a season jobs) with complete descriptions and estimated time involved.  Send an email to your membership that conveys the message of community support, whether one can spend an hour a week or 5 hours a week, you are looking for all types.  You will be amazed at the response. 

Last but not least- The Coach

• This is your front line which sometimes can look like a beaten and battered group that is being held together with duck tape.  This group really demonstrates how well you are doing at the top (the board).  You will not attract volunteers without a clear, easy to understand, plan in place to guide these coaches.  It all starts with the first year they jump on board to coach (many for the first time) the youngest age group.  Why is there such a decline in volunteers after the first year of coaching? I think the main reason is that they are frustrated by the lack of information, training and/or support that they receive.   Common sense would tell you that if coaches are provided with a well supported curriculum that is easy to follow and translates into fun effective practices from the start they may be more inclined to volunteer again next year!  If your coaches are not returning to coach next year, they probably did not have that type of experience. 

I don’t suggest getting each recreation a team a full time trainer which can be very costly.  Start with recommending to them the US Youth Soccer website along with your State Association for information.  There are also a number of affordable on-line tools available, although most are concerned with the high level travel programs; there are a few good ones for recreation coaches.  Make sure you get references before you purchase any program.

Attracting volunteers is not easy but it can be done.  With some good planning and delegating many of the lower level (once per season) duties, it can relieve some of the pressure that is currently put on existing board members who work extremely hard.   Take the initiative and come to your next board meeting and call it project “Spring Cleaning”, and take the load off your 10 percenters!

Guest Author: Tyler Isaacson is a club president, travel coach, recreation coach, youth player, college player and dad. He has 30 years of playing and coaching experience and is founder of youthsoccer101 a coaching development tool used by over 10,000 coaches.

 

The Designer's Dime: Homepage Content

Hey guys, Magie Brennan here, BSB's graphic designer.  Going to give you a "dime" of my time to talk to y'all about keeping your websites up-to-date, navigable, and looking the best it can be.

The homepage on your website is the first thing every person that visits sees.  It has to be warm, welcoming, and attractive. Website homepages are like billboards or magazine ads: the viewer takes less than three seconds to glance at it and pass by it.  If it's intriguing enough, they'll look at it longer. The biggest issue administrators or webmasters face is wanting to pack all the information and everything you could possibly imagine about your club/organization all on the homepage.

This is where I come in running and screaming in slow-motion "NOOOOO!!!"

The homepage is the foundation, let your other navigation links do the rest of the work.  It should have the core basics about your club, with the interior pages having all the details.

Here is a an example of a clean homepage http://www.ussoccer.com/ (although I'm not fond of the second menu on the bottom, we can overlook that for now).  Why is this a good clean homepage, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

• It's not busy, it's not packed with information
• It's quick and straight to the point.
• You can learn more (if you're inclined) by clicking the links in the menu, rather than having to scroll down forever and ever on the homepage.

Here's what I think the homepage needs for BSB customers:

• Opening/welcoming statement or a short "About Us"
• The programs you provide, short description that links to another page
• Twitter feed/news update headlines/blog headlines
• A feature of some sort (feature story, tournament recap, player/team spotlight for example). Don't make it too long, link the rest of the story to another page.
• Your contact info in the footer at all times, and whatever social media you're connected to.

Things to consider:

• Keep the welcoming statement or the "About Us" introduction on the homepage simple, and link it at the end to a more detailed description on another page.
• If you have a blog or news updates, keep that on another page and have the headlines of the blog/updates only on the homepage... and either over to the side or on the bottom.
• Make sure to break things up so it doesn't look like a big block of text.
• Try not to clutter with too many images.
• If you're thinking "does this need to be here?", you've already answered your question.  Put it on another page.

That's it for now, check back in next time!

Next Designer's Dime Topic: Menu Navigation, How Many Is Too Many?

If you have any questions or topics you would like me to cover for future blogs, shoot me an email at magie.brennan@bluesombrero.com

 

Support a Fellow Sombrero

Steve Warriner is long-time maintenance supervisor at Rancho Capistrano and dear friend of the Southern California Blues soccer club. This year has been especially tough for Steve and his family as last May, 2010 Steve lost his job. However, recently Ranch Soccer Partnership hired Steve to assist the Southern California Blues in maintaining the fields. There is believe that without Steve’s love of the game, there would be no soccer played at Rancho Capistrano today.

Unfortunately Steve recently experienced a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital for heart bypass surgery. The early reports on the surgery were positive and Steve is now recovering from the invasive procedure. 

Today, because Steve has not had a steady income for over one year and he is dependent on his wife’s modest income that she gets from running a small day-care program for children, the Southern California Blues are asking for any and all support for the Steve Warriner Fund, in order to assist Steve with the financial burden that he and Gerri Warriner will be facing with medical treatment and loss of income as he rehabilitates.

Steve is a strong and proud person but he needs our help today. We are using SombreroPAY™ to collect donations to help Steve with the expenses that go along with his recovery. It's easy, fast and secure! Thank you for any financial support that you can provide.

We’re raising money for Steve Warriner Recovery Fund   Steve Warriner, long-time maintenance supervisor at Rancho Capistrano and dear friend of the Southern California Blues soccer club, www.scblues.com, recently experienced a heart attack and was rushed ...   Read More

Are you Creating a Culture of Creativity?

The United States is often criticized for not generating creative soccer players in our ranks. When we look far and wide, we find no Zidanes, no Rivaldos or Ronaldos and no certainly no Messis. For America to make it to the next level on the world stage, we will need to develop players that have both the technical skills and the tactical awareness to exploit holes in defenses. And, this has to start at the youth levels. But, can creativity be taught? Can a player like Messi be developed or is he a gift from heaven?

2011 Admin of the Year Winner Announced

It’s finally here... Soccer Administrator’s Day!

Today is the day we get to recognize, celebrate, and reward the people who work hard behind the scenes to make their clubs run smoothly and keep their kids out on the fields playing a sport we all love.

We had so many worthy nominees this year and as always, our staff has a tough time deciding on just one. So after narrowing it down to the 20 Finalists, we have determined a winner.

The Family Guide is Bigger, Better, and Available in More Ways!

We’ve got some exciting news! But first, the authors of The Family Guide for the College Soccer and Scholarship Journey want to thank The Administrator for supporting our college soccer guidebook and seminars over the years. You guys are tops! 

Our exciting news is that we have completed an extensive revision to our book. The 33 articles are even easier to read and are now available in three different ways at three different price points. The guidebook is available as a hard copy, as a PDF download, and on Amazon for Kindle devices (most economical). 

All 3 versions can be ordered on our site, www.mycollegesoccerjourney.com. The Kindle eBook version can also be ordered, as expected, through Amazon’s site then clicking on the Kindle Store. Simply type our book title into the search box and you’ll find us! For $9 you Kindle carriers are getting a great deal! 

Voting is Open for Soccer Admin of the Year!

It’s that time of the year again! As we approach the 5th Annual Soccer Administrator’s Day, May 20th, we here at Blue Sombrero like to take the time to recognize, celebrate, and reward the people who work behind the scenes to keep their clubs running smoothly and the kids out on the fields playing.

They are the club admins working past midnight every night making sure each player has been placed on the correct team. They are the treasurers working hard behind the scenes finalizing budgets and pulling reports up for the next day’s board meeting. They are the registrars printing player passes and answering phone calls long past closing time. 

They are the unsung heroes of the soccer community.

Find Your Job in Soccer with MySoccerJob.com

We all know how tough finding a job in the soccer industry can be, especially given how few quality online resources there are that speak directly to soccer people. That’s why David Knapp, et al., created MySoccerJob.com – to connect soccer employers with individuals who have a passion for the game and a desire to make it a career.

MySoccerJob.com is quickly becoming the nation’s top resource for soccer coaching jobs and soccer employment.  Having only started in January 2011, we made our major marketing launch at the NSCAA Convention where we had an overwhelming response.  The number of people who are in need of a job platform in this unique industry became glaringly obvious.  We instantly knew that we started a service that will help soccer people and the soccer industry.

High School Soccer Coaches Win Double-Goal Coach® Award

Two high school soccer coaches – Tom Bower (Latin School of Chicago) and Rocio Ramirez (Balboa High School, San Francisco) are among the 20 national winners of Positive Coaching Alliance’s Double-Goal Coach^® Award Presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance for their positive impact on youth athletes.

The Double-Goal^® Coach Award – named for coaches whose first goal is winning, and whose second, more important goal is teaching life lessons through sports – carries a $250 prize, a trophy and mention within the websites and newsletters of Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) and the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program.

The Bill of Rights for Young Athletes

Have you ever been to a sports game where all you hear is negativity and screaming from the parents sitting in the stands? Do you notice some parents yelling at their child(ren) after games, telling them they needed to play better? We all get excited when watching sports, and parents have a keen interest in making sure their children do well – no one likes riding home with a disappointed child.

The parent-child relationship plays a vital role in the development of a young athlete, and there is a fine line between being a supportive parent and pushing your child too far.  The support of the parent, or lack thereof, can often dictate the child’s perception of athletics.  The National Association for Sport and Physical Education’s task force has developed a Bill of Rights for Young Athletes.