Published on January 31st, 2020 | by Sunit Nandi

The Best Practices You Should Follow for a Successful Sports Club Operation

Sports clubs are undoubtedly big business nowadays, with more youth participants and parents wanting their children to develop their potential in various sports, be it football, rugby, baseball, gymnastics, figure skating, and a lot more. If you are running your own sports club and are keen on helping it grow, you can begin by seeing it in a different light – not just as an enterprise run by season but as a small business thriving year-round. You should remain competitive in the light of so many other sports clubs trying to be a success, and one way you can do this is by following best practices in sports club operation and organisation. So what are these best practices, and how can you best incorporate them into your sports club? Let’s find out.

Define expectations

We all know that the best businesses are those which are able to meet their customers’ expectations. So if you have a sports club and would like to run it as a good business, you need to define what kinds of expectations your club is aiming to meet. The first step is to determine what it is your customers expect. This would mean doing the proper research and discussing whatever expectations members have. When you have a clearer idea of what members expect, you can then articulate these expectations and specify how you can meet them.

Set clear communication lines

More often than not, not having clear lines of communication can drastically affect the success of your club. Setting clear communication lines should be one of your foremost tasks, but it is a task which most sports club managers and owners overlook. Today, with better technology, however, you have the opportunity to step up your communication lines. Define how you will communicate with players and members. Is email a good and effective way? How often are you planning to send out updates? Do you need to create lists for members’ perusal? You can do this more effectively by relying on membership softwares which allow you to send mass updates to parents and contacts, send requests for payment online, keep detailed records of your athletes and their profiles, and so much more.

Be transparent

Being as transparent as possible is another way you can harness and encourage trust among everyone involved in your sports club. With better transparency, you can improve everyone’s productivity, from the coaches to the members and players and their families. You need to be transparent as well when it comes to the various roles of your staff, as this can also establish trust with the parents and members and ensure that everyone is on the same page every time.

Focus on the people

At its core, a small business should care about the people. This is even truer for a sports club because your interaction with your members and their families serve as your club’s crux. You should make it a point to make a good investment in your coaches and administrators, and you should also ensure that your employees follow a good roadmap for interacting with members and families. Members and their families, in particular, are looking for a great experience, and they will take their attention – and capabilities – elsewhere if they feel that they are not getting what they expect from the club.

Tags: best practices, follow, operation, sports club, successful

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.