Volunteer Management

Your volunteers are going to be the face of the league to most the kids and parents; your program cannot happen without them. Recruiting and retaining great volunteers will make your league better and your job as the administrator much easier. Larger programs can have 100’s of volunteers to manage so it is important you stay organized and structured while putting in the extra effort in to retain them. All leagues have volunteer coaches which will usually account for the majority of your volunteer group, but some will also have volunteer referees and scorekeepers as well. Here are ten guidelines to manage your volunteers and keep them coming back!

1. Background Screen: This is a must for any youth program and paramount for the safety of your participants. Make sure to follow your states guidelines on volunteer screening. If your state statutes do not clearly define volunteer screening requirements, you should be screening all your volunteers at least once annually.
   
   
2. Volunteer Policies: Have written policies for your volunteers to set expectation such as background screen requirements, volunteer job description, waivers, and code of conduct. Have forms available for detailed contact information and require them to sign off on your policies on an annual basis.
   
   
3. Say Thank You….A LOT: One unfortunate thing that gets over looked with managing volunteers is the simple gesture of telling them thank you for their service. They are doing the job for free, but it is an essential part of any program. Tell them how much they mean to your program any chance you get.
   
   
4. Train and Educate: Put the necessary effort into training and educating your volunteers before they ever step foot on site in your program. Review your program goals and expectations as well as sport specific rules and policies. Provide everything you can within the time constraints of your face to face meetings as well as provide them a list of resources they can use on their own throughout the season. Teaching them how to work with kids, manage practices, and run games will go a long way in developing your volunteers.
   
   
5. Be Flexible: Try to be as flexible as possible with your volunteers when it comes to scheduling. Make sure they get their desired practice times. If they have a known conflict prior to the season look into it and see if it can be avoided as best as you can. If they coach multiple teams make sure you schedule those teams in different time slots so they are able to do both. Don’t try to rearrange schedules mid-season due to a request, it should all be considered only before the season starts and make sure they understand that it cannot always be guaranteed.
   
   
6. Empower: Give your volunteers the tools they need to succeed and get out of their way! Don’t micromanage your volunteers, let them do their own thing and have fun with it. You don’t need to tell them how to do their jobs just provide them tools and help them along the way.
   
   
7. Hold Volunteers Accountable: Have a process in place to monitor your volunteers and hold them accountable if they do not follow your policies. Make sure you set clear and concise expectations for your volunteers and if they fall short, take action as soon as possible to prevent a larger incident from occurring down the road.
   
   
8. Communicate: It is extremely important to communicate with your volunteers throughout the entire season from when they sign up to the last day. Volunteers will be frustrated if they cannot find the information they need or feel like they are out of the loop on league activities. Send weekly updates, make sure to listen if they have questions or concerns, and be responsive.
   
   
9. Give them a Keepsake: One last thing to do at the end of the season is to give them something in appreciation for their service. Examples can include giving all coaches a free team picture, giving them a plaque or certificate of appreciation, or have a volunteer appreciation event at the end of the season such as a luncheon or barbecue. Anything you can do to leave that lasting impression will end the season on a high note and keep your program in their mind when it is time for the next season.
   
   
10. Be Fair: Make sure to treat all volunteers equally and apply the rules the same to all. It’s frustrating for a new volunteer when it is clear there are favorites within the program. If volunteers who have been there for a while are getting all the best players, or not playing by the same rules, it will turn your new volunteers away and could be detrimental to your program.
    
    

Knowing how to manage your volunteers is an essential part of any youth sports program. Falling short in this area may cause the program to go away for good. Have a plan going into each season on how to manage your volunteers and use all the resources at your disposal to welcome your volunteers to your program and keep them there for the long haul. The better and more well equipped your volunteer base is the stronger your program will be so be creative in managing your volunteers to take your program to the next level.