Some two million people in England volunteer an hour of their time each week to help run sporting activities. For sports clubs to truly capitalise on the strength of their volunteers, they need a reliable support system and ready access to management resources. This is reflected in the growing number of volunteer managers who find guidance at runningsports: a portfolio created and funded by Sport England which provides a number of free learning resources and tutored workshops.
Best practice and benchmarking
Neil Warne, Head Youth Coach and Club Director at London Mets Youth Baseball Club, initially found runningsports’s online resources as he searched for external assistance for issues within the club. He then became aware of the workshops offered by runningsports through communication from the local council. Neil explains how valuable the workshops are: “I have now attended three runningsports workshops: A Club for All, Funding for your Club and Developing Partnerships with Clubs and Schools. I think the most valuable aspect of the workshops is that they put best practice into context.
”The workshops are a great information-sharing opportunity; they enable me to listen to the experiences and recommendations of other clubs’ volunteers. I was able to check our club procedures and structure against other examples, which is invaluable. It’s a great way for individual clubs to network with others and share best practice.”
Changing the way clubs bid for funding
With 150 members (100 youth, 50 senior) ranging from complete beginners to British National Champions, the London Mets Youth Baseball Club is the most successful youth baseball club in the country. Funding has traditionally been a challenge for the club. Neil explains, “We have found the issue of funding very tough in the past. Baseball is an expensive sport and, due to the fact that our facilities straddle three of the poorest boroughs in London, it has always been important to us that club members were not put off by being unable to afford to participate.
“Attending the runningsports workshops has made a definite impact on how we tackle funding issues and we’ve seen direct benefits. We’ve improved the way we put in bids and proposals and we’ve learned how to put our house in order before we approach development partnerships. We were already doing all the correct things, but we didn’t know how to prove it.
“We now know how to present ourselves more professionally and, as a result, we’ve got a more extensive schools and events programme in place. We’ve even been able to add an additional team to our programme.”
London Mets Youth Baseball Club: aiming to be the best
The last three years have seen a dramatic increase in numbers at the London Mets Youth Baseball club, and the club now feels more secure in its ability to offer participants and volunteers the support they need. The club aims to have the best baseball facilities in the UK within the next three years along with an expanded number of teams and increased number of participants. With extra confidence to apply for funding, the club has enabled itself to reach out and develop the sport. Neil says, “We are the only youth baseball club in London at the moment. We hope to help other London clubs develop youth teams: although this might mean we lose members, it will mean that we have other teams to play nearby, and will be great for the sport in general.
“We are driving a local league development programme and are active in assisting clubs, such as Richmond and Croydon, in setting up youth teams.”
If you’re involved in managing a club and would like to learn more about making a greater success of your funding proposals, growing the grassroots of your sport or working up a club development plan, Neil Warne proves it really is possible to make some substantial changes fairly simply.
Support from runningsports for all volunteers
Whatever your role within the club, runningsports can help you, by providing you with skills and support as well as putting you in touch with other volunteers in your position, to share experiences and best practice. Neil Warne, Club Director and Head Youth Coach at London Mets Youth Baseball Club says, “It’s so important to make it clear to club volunteers that they are appreciated and to make them feel rewarded. In my experience, there are two crucial things that a club should do to support volunteers: maintain a big enough pool of volunteers that people’s commitment can be flexible, and seek out training opportunities for all volunteers.
“I would advise clubs to try and get as many of their volunteers as possible to do the runningsports workshops. This will enable the knowledge to be spread across the maximum amount of people within the club, making the most of the resources and ensuring that everybody benefits.”
