End of the season – 6 things to consider before hanging up your boots!

End of the Season – 6 things to consider before hanging up your boots

Being a manager or coach of a sports club for a non-professional team can be a very thankless task. Whether you look after a under 11s football team, an adult hockey team or a running club there are common challenges that face us all. After a stressful (but hopefully successful) time it’s often tempting to simply hang up your boots when the season finishes and take a well-earned rest until it all starts again. However, there are a few things to consider in preparation for the new season if you want to be ready and fully prepared.

1. Communication is Key

Before everyone heads off ensure that you are in communication with everyone on the team so that you can advise them on any summer tournaments, the new game schedule, ordering kit, transferring money or any other important information. With social media being popular it is often advantageous to create a WhatsApp group or a closed Facebook Page so that everyone can readily access the same consistent information without you having to send the same information to multiple people numerous times.

2. Time to Pay Up

Obtaining membership fees and weekly subs is one of the hardest tasks, made harder when members promise to pay you and then either forget or don’t have sufficient funds with them. Consider requesting the payment up front either as a complete payment or in instalments by Direct Debit. If there is no option but to take cash on the day, integrating an electronic process on a smartphone or tablet to monitor the cash taken can assist with the monitoring process.

3. Sponsorship

Most teams are sponsored by a local company and in return their logo is displayed on the team kit. A new season means new kit and maybe a new sponsor. Ideally a new sponsor needs to be sourced before the end of the old season which may involve contacting potential local businesses and communicating what benefits they will receive such as how many people will see their brand, will they appear in any press releases, will their logo go on signage and printed literature etc.

4. New Kit

Now is the time to start shopping around for new kit for the team if your old kit didn’t leave up to the requirements of the sport. Maybe it didn’t wash well, the colour faded, it shrunk, was uncomfortable to wear or was too expensive. Members often to pay for their own kit and the ordering process can be very complicated if you manage a running club with hundreds of members. The solution is to look for a supplier, such as ACE Embroidery, that offer an online webstore. Here all your approved kit can be available for individuals to order and to purchase saving you the time and bother.

5. Getting Personal

Gathering contact and medical information of team members is important and is not a task that should be overlooked. Before the new season starts request that the relevant information is either posted, emailed or even better completed online so that you have it in plenty of time. With the increased Data Protection Act regulations this information needs to be stored securely whether that is on a locked cabinet or online.

6. Finding new members

Team members tend to come and go due to people relocating, moving up a level or simply deciding the sport is not for them. Use this time to start promoting your club in order to attract new members ready for the new season. Utilise social media, advertise in community magazines, approach the local radio station and put up notices in local community areas. Simply spread the word and encourage other team members to do the same, after all the success of the club should not just fall onto your shoulders.

At ACE Embroidery we understand the challenges that club managers and coaches face and we believe that the purchasing and ordering of the team kit shouldn’t be one of them. Our friendly team are on hand to assist you, simply give us a call on 0121 559 1234 or email sales@ace-embroidery.co.uk.