July/August 2020 - 8

A.D.MINISTRATION athle tic dire ctor strate g ie s
eleven tips in
FINDING VOLUNTEERS &
SUPPORT PERSONNEL
By Dr. David Hoch, CMAA
For some athletic administrators, it may be difficult to
find volunteers or support personnel to run the concession
stand at contests, to man the chains at football games, to
operate the scoreboard, and a host of other tasks.
Most individuals who might help have their own full-time
jobs, some may have a student on a team and want to watch
games, or others may feel that they have done enough in
the past. All of these possible reasons may complicate your
efforts to fill these necessary support positions.
Before you try to get started finding additional helpers, it
is important to establish some basic facts and parameters.
In every community, there are only so many parents
or individuals who are 'available' to volunteer. This is
different from being 'willing' to help. Therefore, you don't
want to continually go to the same pool and overextend
this group. It means that you may have to be creative and
cultivate other additional possibilities.
Booster clubs can be extremely helpful in raising
funds for your program. If you have individual clubs for
your various sports instead of one overall organization,
however, this can be another complication for finding
volunteers. Parents may be repeatedly asked to help
if their child plays more than one sport or if there are
other siblings in the family who are a member of a team.
Beyond better oversight in terms of Title IX compliance,
one overall booster club provides a mechanism to better
utilize parent volunteers by fairly spreading out their
contributions. Therefore, you should strongly consider
having only one overall booster club.
It is possible that a few parents may volunteer to believe
that this will lead to preferential treatment for their child.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon an athletic administrator
to clearly define the limits and expectations for anyone
helping with support tasks. Parent volunteers are not
assistant coaches, for example, and they should not be
allowed on the sidelines or on the team bench. You should
spell this out and be as detailed and specific with regard to
what they can and cannot do. Leave nothing to chance.
With these basic parameters established, the following
are some considerations and suggestions which should
help you to find volunteers and support personnel.
1
Determine how many and for what tasks do you need
volunteers? Your analysis should include all sports
8 JULY/AUGUST 2020
and seasons. It
would also be a
good idea to include
in your number a
few extra so that you
have someone who
can fill in if there is
an illness or some
other unforeseen
circumstance.
You always want
to ensure that you
have enough help in
order for the game
to proceed smoothly
and without a hitch.
2
3
4
5
Investigate whether you can possibly pay ticket sellers
or other personnel even if it is perhaps $20 a game.
It may be that you need adults to fill these positions, they
may have to be board-approved and payment may have
to be made via a check in order to meet transparency
requirements. While you really need to follow district
protocols when dealing with money from selling tickets, a
token stipend at gate-producing events may be a practical
alternative.
Use parents whose children play on teams in other
seasons to run the concession stand. For example,
basketball, wrestling, and baseball parents could take on
the responsibilities for the football and soccer contests
in the fall. Of course, you would take the same approach
during the winter season and if you have any opportunities
in the spring.
Appeal to retirees in your community. First, they have
more flexible, unstructured time and you may be able
to appeal to their sense of 'giving back' to young people
and their school. How do you reach this segment of the
population? Put up a notice in a senior center, or actually
visit one and explain your needs. A number of people in
this age group are looking for meaningful ways to continue
to contribute to their community.
Reach out to former players and alumni of your
athletic program. A major advantage of taking
this approach is that these individuals already have a
July/August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2020
