When your child joins their first sports club, you’re likely to feel a mixture of emotions. You’ll be proud that they’re finally getting out and doing something active. You’ll be pleased that they’re going to improve their social and team working skills. But you might be a little sad that you won’t get to spend as much time with them on a Saturday afternoon now! But playing sport and interacting with other kids is important for your child’s development.

However, you need to realise that a lot of sports clubs don’t operate at the level they should be because they’re underfunded. They might be low on members or people to help out, and this is detrimental to the organisation. You need to come up with ways in which you can help out the club and benefit your kids in the long-run. These are some of the best things you can do to help with this.

Fundraising

One of the main advantages to any club or organisation is money, and the best way to get this is through fundraising. Now, the good news is there are plenty of things you can do for fundraising. There are opportunities in the local community where you can raise cash for the club. Try to get the parents of other kids involved as well; they’re bound to be happy to help. You can write to the local council and ask for a grant or financing. Sports clubs provide a valuable service as they keep kids out of trouble and help them develop important skills. You can point to their value as a reason for requesting financial support. If you can’t secure funding this way, there’s plenty you can do yourself. Things like bake sales and other charity initiatives are always a good bet. Try to make the emphasis on it being a community thing. Then you’re more likely to get help from local people.

bake-sale

Hand Out Awards

A good way to help the local sports club is to help it grow and thrive. It needs to develop in terms of facilities and coaching. And you want the club to become a success. The best way to do this is to attract more members. And to give the kids further drive and impetus to give their all when they play. One of the best ways to do this is to hand out award and trophies. So, football awards given out at the end of the season are likely to have a positive effect. Maybe consider getting medals to give out as well. This way every kid gets something, and then the trophies can be for selective awards.

benchwarmers

Volunteer

A lot of clubs face issues with lack of help and support. They don’t have a lot of people who want to interact with, coach or manage the kids. Because of this it becomes difficult to get the best out of the children. Well, you could get around this by volunteering your services on a weekly or monthly basis. The club will need help with the coaching aspects. But it may need support with other areas such as finances, catering, etc. Find out where your abilities are best used and offer to help. Surely you can spare a few hours on a Saturday for the benefit of your kids?!

Remember that this might well be your child’s first experience of a sports club. So you want to make sure they have the best possible experience they can. This means ensuring the club operates at the best level. But also, it means making sure that everybody involved in the club enjoys themselves and has fun.

 

About The Author

Mum

The driving force behind the family and sleep deprived mother of two (or three if you include the tech obsessed Daddy Geek Ian).

Leave a Reply