Managing an amateur rugby league club with some 250 junior playing members may seem like a challenge. Factor in another 50 adult playing members and some 50 or 60 adult volunteers who help in the running of the club and it could seem more like an ordeal. But Chris Honey, coach and chairman of Thatto Heath Crusaders, is doing exactly that and loving every minute. This wasn’t always the case, however, and feeling the need for extra guidance, Chris turned to runningsports for support.
Chris felt that Thatto Heath’s volunteers lacked direction and recognized the need for a change of approach in the way his not insubstantial club was managed. He felt that the club needed a more structured approach in relation to their management, and so he and a colleague decided to attend a runningsports Volunteer Management workshop.
Since attending the workshop, the club has formed a sub committee with the sole responsibility to look after the recruitment, retention and welfare of the club’s volunteers. Trying to give volunteers a role they actually want to do and recognising contribution to the club through awards have become an important part of the approach.
The workload is now far more evenly shared round the volunteers and a new committee system has been introduced to delegate specific responsibilities to specific groups. As Chris notes, “it’s running very much like a business now”.
And the results haven’t just had an impact on the volunteers. The club has benefited financially too. Thatto Heath now has the confidence to apply for grants and funding, and their success here has greatly benefited the club and its members.
Chris sees this attention to volunteers as being absolutely key. As he puts it “the volunteers are just as important as the players, in fact without them the kids wouldn’t be able to play. I would suggest to any other club that they put as much effort into the needs and development of their volunteers as they do their players”.
Best Practise Tips from Thatto Heath Crusaders
- Form a sub committee specifically responsible for volunteers
- Find out the kind of thing volunteers want to do and then match them to the role
- Don’t assume the obvious (a professional accountant may not want to work on finances when away from their office)
- Share the workload evenly
- Make sure specific groups have specific responsibilities
- Focus as much attention on your volunteers as you do on your players
Thatto Heath Crusaders:
www.thattoheathcrusaders.org
