League Structure

There are many things to consider when structuring your league such as the type of league and competition, age groups, amount of games, staffing and board oversight. Most larger organizations may already have all this in place but if you are just starting out or a volunteer based organization ensuring your league is structured properly sets the tone for your entire program. Here are guidelines on how to set up and structure your league:

1. Type of League: There are generally three types of leagues. Our main focus is on community recreation leagues, but many of the principles can be applied to any type of league.

1. • Community Recreation League: Rec leagues are where you take individual registrations for each participant and form the teams based on how many players you have. These leagues will usually all play at one facility. Many of the players in these programs are just starting out or only have a few years of experience. They can be feeder programs to your higher level competitive leagues. These programs should be non-competitive and the goals of these programs should be playing time, skill development, and fun.
     
     
   • Competitive Recreation or Select Leagues: These leagues allow pre-formed teams to compete against each other and are generally more competitive. These leagues can be run out of one facility or in partnership with nearby towns or facilities within an area. Although these leagues are more competitive because coaches are forming their own teams, it should still be developmental in nature with mandatory play rules. Teams may be rec league players that just want to play on the same team or more competitive travel teams. These teams should never be in a league to play against your rec league teams.
     
     
   • Competitive Travel Teams: These are your most competitive form of youth sports. Teams generally will require tryouts to make these teams. Teams may be sanctioned through a nationally recognized organization to participate in their state, regional, and national tournaments. Playing time is going to be based on the players skill and will be determined by the coach. These leagues and tournaments will be the most competitive to prepare for high school sports or sometimes may even be an alternative at the older age groups. Many athletes in these leagues may be working to play in college.

2. Age Groups/Divisions: Your age groups can be determined by the participant’s age as of a certain cut-off date or their grade level. Age groups should never be more than three years apart in the same group. More skilled players should have the opportunity to play up in an age group, but only if they are the oldest age in the age group below the one they want to play. Players should never be allowed to play down an age group, regardless of skill level. Combining age groups or making age groups too wide will pose a liability issue for your program and result in less competitive game play and skill development, especially with the younger beginner players. If you do not have enough players to run a division the way you would like, get creative to make it work by playing smaller sided games or turning it into a developmental recreation program or clinic rather than a league. These are much better options that trying to combine age groups.

3. Amount of Games: All leagues should guarantee a certain amount of games for all teams. Advertise the minimum amount of games all teams get and be consistent when scheduling so all teams and all divisions in your league end up with the same amount in their regular season. If your leagues end with a playoff tournament make sure it is clear how many teams make it and what the structure is. It is recommended that all teams make the playoffs if you have a tournament, and avoid them in the youngest rec leagues. Larger leagues should split the tournament so your lower level teams can have more competitive games in a consolation tournament rather than getting blown out by the best teams.

4. Staffing: You as the League Administrator are running the show, but it truly is a team effort to run a high quality program. Staffing can be a mixed of paid staff and volunteers for larger organizations that run programs or a completely volunteer run organization. Here are some examples of different positions within a Youth Sports Program:
   
   
   • League Administrator: Mentioned above, this is the person in charge of planning, organizing and running the program. This person is the coordinator or facilitator of all the moving parts that are involved in a youth sports program.
     
     
   • Commissioners: Generally in a volunteer run organization, Commissioners can be appointed by the League Administrator to oversee a specific age group or division. If any issues arise the Commissioner will handle while reporting back to the League Administrator.
     
     
   • Site Supervisor: This is the person in charge of running game days alongside the League Administrator or when the League Admin cannot be there. Multi-site operations may have a League Admin at the main site and Site Supervisors at smaller auxiliary sites. The Commissioner above can also act as a Site Supervisor for volunteer run organizations.
     
     
   • Scorekeepers / Field Monitors / Aides: These are part time staff or volunteers in charge of monitoring a field or court on game days. They ensure the score is being kept properly and the rules are being followed. They should also be monitoring the coaches and referees to ensure expectations are being met. They report back to the Site Supervisor or directly to the League Admin.
     
     
   • Referees: Referees manage your games, enforce rules, and make calls. Leagues should strive to have qualified, certified, trained, paid referees to give you the best opportunity to manage your games properly. Referees can be in house staff or contracted through an association. Each league should have standards on how many referees are needed for each game and for each age group. The league should have processes in place to monitor and train referees to ensure the games are running as planned.
     
     
   • Volunteer Coaches: Your coaches are the face of your program to many participants and are in charge of managing their team. Coaches should be monitored by the league and processes should be in place to facilitate communication between coaches and the league. Coaches should be bound by your league policies and code of conduct.

5. Board Oversight: All youth sports programs should have some sort of collective group oversight at the top of the organization to oversee the program. In larger organizations it can be a group of staff members in the athletics department. For volunteer run organizations it should be your most active volunteers and advocates for your program. The board can have individual positions such as president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer or just be a collective group with one lead. The board will make decisions on planning dates and structure, rules and policies, large purchases and spending, help manage finances, and decisions on incidents and discipline. Volunteer board members can also bring a variety of skills to the table to help manage the program, be larger sponsors or donors, actively volunteer, and may even provide in kind services to the program. Boards provide accountability and decisions are much more well received when they are made as a collective group, rather than by one or two people.

Regardless of how you structure your league, it should come along with the rules, policies, and procedures to govern the program. Always have back up plans in case you fall short in participation numbers , staffing or volunteers. Your structure may evolve over time as your program grows, but if you are making sound decisions from a collective group that is governed by your policies and procedures, you will set your program up for long term success.