Young people are central to many clubs as players, spectators and volunteers. These Top Tips will give you guidance on how to engage this specific group of people as volunteers.
Throughout this text, reference is made to sports 'clubs’. This term is used to include all sports organisations, such as leagues, county and area associations, and other community groups that provide sporting opportunities, whether in an organised setting or a more informal environment.
The National Framework for Youth Action and Engagement (the Report of the Russell Commission, 2005) states:
‘It should be natural for young people to volunteer and natural for organisations to either offer young people the opportunity to volunteer, or support them in doing so.’
Sport has a great deal to offer young people and they have a great deal to offer in return.
You can jump directly to the main topics on this page by clicking the links below:
> benefits of recruiting young volunteers
> recruiting young volunteers
> step into sport
> potential barriers to young volunteers
> retaining young volunteers
> national award programmes
> further information and useful contacts
> download PDF version
benefits of recruiting young volunteers
For the club
- Energy, inspiration and enthusiasm
- Have different skills to older volunteers (eg media assistance, IT and web designing skills)
- May bring new ideas
- Able to relate to other young people in the club and reflect their needs
- Provide a bridge between younger and older members of the club
- Ensure sustainability of the club
- May attract other young people into the club
- Have pride in the facilities – this may reduce vandalism
- Increased numbers of volunteers for the club
For the young people
- An opportunity to have fun outside the school environment
- A healthy opportunity (eg tackling obesity through sporting activities)
- Educational opportunities – learn through doing; a compliment to formal education
- Qualification opportunities
- Good for the CV
- Development of good citizenship skills
- Personal and social development:
– May help increase confidence
– An opportunity to become part of a varied team
– Enables them to meet new people from a variety of age groups
– A good place to meet new friends
- Gives them a stake in the community – an opportunity to become involved with community activities
- Gives them a sense of pride
- Gives some young people a safe place to go
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recruiting young volunteers
You may wish to consider the following if you are recruiting young people:
- Reflect the different motivations that young people will have to volunteer.
- If possible, include young people in designing your recruitment campaign. Concentrate on working with other local groups/organisations and peer-to-peer recruitment methods.
- Campaigns should concentrate on ‘taking action to deliver results’ – what will the outcomes be for a young volunteer?
- Use new media platforms to communicate messages (eg on the website or by using text and interactive methods).
- Work with Student Volunteering England to attract those still in education.
- Work closely with educational institutions and school sport partnerships – they have often already done the recruitment and are looking for placements for their young people!
Also view ‘Finding New Volunteers’ Top Tips for general advice on recruiting volunteers.
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step into sport
Step into Sport has been designed to establish a coordinated framework of high-quality leadership and volunteering opportunities at a local level. This unique programme recognises the key roles that local partners and national agencies can play in developing clear pathways of opportunities to train, support and deploy young people into appropriate, safe and rewarding sports leadership and volunteering activity.
Step into Sport focuses on young people aged 14–19 and aims to encourage them to undertake an involvement in sports leadership and volunteering that will continue in later life. Contact your county sports partnership for further details of the programme in your area.
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potential barriers to young volunteers
Potential barriers to young volunteers include:
‘volunteering is boring’
- Use high-profile events to highlight the range of opportunities available
- Provide a fun environment
- Celebrate and recognise the work of volunteers
- Recognise the need for personal/professional development by alternating roles to decrease boredom (don’t keep young people in one role for too long)
‘volunteering is badly organised’
- Put a well-thought-out management system in place to support young volunteers
- Don’t recruit them if there aren’t clear opportunities for them
- Provide a proper induction for them when they join
- Reflect the needs of individuals and match those to the needs of the club
‘volunteering isn’t for people like me’
- Ensure your club literature reflects all young volunteers, as well as others
- Liaise with other agencies working with young people to spread the message of the opportunities for all in volunteering
- Look at how your club is managed – you may need to make internal management changes to become more attractive to a wider range of the community, including young people
‘I haven’t got time!’
- Ensure you promote how volunteering can help young people meet some of their other targets (eg additional qualifications, work experience, good addition for the CV, meeting new friends, having fun)
‘they think I need babysitting and constant support’
- Child protection is important and should not be seen as ‘looking after time’ without any benefit in return, so ensure your child protection policy is up to date and being implemented correctly
- Work on educating your club members on the benefits of young volunteers
- Bring in a ‘buddying’ system with other young people who can act as mentors to new volunteers
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retaining young volunteers
First of all – don’t expect them all to stay forever! Many will go to university or you will lose them while they establish their career. However, if they have had a good experience, they are much more likely to stay or at least return to you (or sport) at a later date.
Retaining young volunteers is similar to retaining any volunteers, but they may be more motivated by qualifications, award schemes and having fun than older volunteers.
Have a volunteer coordinator who has a particular responsibility to look after the young people (perhaps acting as a mentor), who keeps the young people motivated and busy within the club. Don’t be worried about giving young people responsibility if they want it.
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national award programmes
There are a range of awards and opportunities available for young people. The following table gives you brief details of some of these.
Award/Programme: TOP Link programme
Details: Aimed at 14–16-year-olds going into primary schools to organise tournaments and festivals.
Contact:
Youth Sport Trust
Sir John Beckwith Centre for Sport
Loughborough University
Loughborough
Leicestershire LE11 3TU
Tel: 01509-226 600
Fax: 01509-210 851
Email: info@youthsporttrust.org
www.youthsporttrust.org
Award/Programme: Sports leadership awards
Details: Several awards, including:
- Young Leader Award (9-13 year-olds)
- Level 1 Award in Sports Leadership (14+)
- Level 1 Award in Community Sports Leadership
- Level 2 Award in Basic Expedition Leadership
- Level 3 Award in Higher Sports Leadership
Contact:
Sports Leaders UK
Clyde House
10 Milburn Ave
Oldbrook
Milton Keynes MK6 2WA
Tel: 01908-689 180
Fax: 01908-393 744
Email: info@sportsleaders.org
www.bst.org.uk
Award/Programme: National governing body awards
Details: Currently offered by many national governing bodies (NGBs) of sport including: badminton, basketball, cricket, football , gymnastics, hockey, netball, rowing, rugby union, squash, swimming, table tennis, tennis.
Contact: Contact the national governing bodies of sport for details. Find
out more information at www.sportengland.org/index/get_resources/Resource_ul.htm
Award/Programme: The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
Details:
- Aimed at young people aged between 14-25.
- Three levels – Gold, Silver and Bronze.
- Young people involved in this programme are often looking for volunteering opportunities.
Contact:
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
Gulliver House
Madeira Walk
Windsor
Berkshire SL4 1EU
Tel: 01753-727 400
Email: info@theaward.org
www.dofe.org
Award/Programme: Millennium Volunteers
Details:
- Aimed at 16–24-year-olds.
- Young people commit to a minimum of 100 hours of voluntary service, with a target of 200 hours to achieve a national award
Contact:
Millennium Volunteers
Department for Education and Skills
Room E4c
Moorfoot
Sheffield S1 4PQ
No telephone number – website will direct you to your local office
Email: millennium.volunteers@dfes.gsi.gov.uk
www.millenniumvolunteers.gov.uk
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further information and useful contacts
Russell Commission
The Russell Commission was established in May 2004 to develop a youth volunteering programme through a new national framework. The framework establishes opportunities for young people for them to benefit themselves, the community and the whole nation. The Russell Commission Report provides, or will support, training and funds for young people to bring their ideas to life. It also provides grant funding to allow organisations to develop volunteering strategies to involve young volunteers within their organisations.
For further information, please contact:
Tracey Herald
Volunteering and Charitable Giving Unit
Home Office Active Communities Directorate
First Floor
Peel Building
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
Tel: 0207-035 5328
Email: info@russellcommission.gsi.gov.uk
Youth Active
Youth Active was launched in December 2005 and is the coordinated voice for sport and physical activity for the youth sector. It aims to promote the value of physical activity and sport in the personal and social development of young people.
Youth Active is led by the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, in partnership with
4Children, YMCA England, Clubs for Young People and UK Youth, and is funded by Sport England. Youth Active will seek to deliver sport and physical activity across the youth sector, avoiding duplication and building sports development capacity in those that work with young people.
We acknowledge the benefits of placing young people at the heart of Youth Active. We intend to reflect their needs and accredit the learning they have gained through participation. By supporting and challenging youth organisations to offer more, Youth Active will be able to ensure that more young people can access more opportunities more often.
For further information, please contact:
Janine Beacher
Youth Active – Head of Unit
Ground Floor
371 Kennington Lane
Vauxhall
London SE11 5QY
Tel: 0207-793 0787 Ext: 221
Mob: 07775 620407
Email: Janine@youthactive.org
School Sport Partnerships
For contact details of your school sport partnership, please email: ssco@aeat.co.uk
For contact details of your NGB:
Visit www.sportengland.org then click on ‘get resources’, ‘useful links’, then ‘governing bodies of sport’.
Student Volunteering England can be contacted at:
Student Volunteering England
Oxford House
Derbyshire Street
London E2 6HG
Tel: 0800-0182 146
Email: info@studentvolunteering.org.uk
www.studentvolunteering.org.uk
For information on citizenship, contact:
Department for Education and Skills
Tel: 0870-000 2288
Email: info@dfes.gsi.gov.uk
www.dfes.gov.uk
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