Five Ways to Boost Your Income with Youth Sport
Like most non-profits, sport organizations are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of paying for help. Gone are the days when youth sports were primarily offered at the local community centre with a volunteer parent running the program as the centre’s sport convenor. A difficult job that included the many responsibilities of securing permits for all teams to practice, confirming venues for games, finding referees if needed and the most thankless responsibility of all… recruiting parent-volunteers to coach. A formula requiring volunteers recruit more volunteers. Of course, this system has been a staple of youth sports in Canada for decades, however, it is falling out of favour and being replaced by the European-style club system.
The club model allows for an entrepreneurial approach to sport. Coaches can start a club like they can any enterprise. The stronger the coach, the better the opportunity to attract other strong coaches and herein lies the motivation to improve in the delivery of the program. The downside for parents is the increase in fees. Community sports were always an affordable entry point for parents of young athletes. The club system is not so affordable and with the higher cost comes higher expectations.
In today’s marketplace, an organization must deliver above-average service in every aspect of the consumer experience. That would include accessing information easily on the website, following team activities on social media, offering a variety of programs that are responsive to young athletes, not to mention general administration, bookkeeping and digital marketing activities.
Delivering superior programs requires a team of highly effective people and Volleyball Winnipeg is interested in meeting more people who would like to join the team. Financial compensation is always provided. Here are some opportunities available for the right person…
Camp/League Instructor
Volleyball Winnipeg utilizes instructors at all its camps and for youth league teams that request the support of instructors. Participating as an instructor usually allows for a set training schedule over an 8-9-week schedule; the duration of a season of play.
Volleyball Winnipeg also offers summer camps that include day camps, Sunday evening positional camps and other evening camps. Youth Leagues and other camps are offered seasonally in the fall, winter and spring. Therefore, someone interested in becoming an instructor can find many opportunities in which to get involved.
Finally, anyone with playing experience can become an excellent instructor. No past experience required. Volleyball Winnipeg offers a series of educational resources to prepare for the training session. Instructors are provided with practice plans and access to private coaching resources that include sample training videos and practice plans to help them prepare for the training sessions.
Club Coach
For the dedicated coach, club volleyball offers a unique opportunity to work with the serious young athlete. Try outs are held in early December with the season running from December until Nationals in May. Age classes range from U13-18 with boys’ and girls’ teams being available. Coaches are required to become certified in accordance with Volleyball Manitoba guidelines and honorariums are based on the age class. Coaches for older athletes generally receive a greater honorarium as these teams will commonly require more travel and increased level of training which may include 4-5 training sessions per week.
At VISION Elite Volleyball Club coaches are mentored by experienced coaches so they are provided the best opportunity to develop and grow as coaches.
Freelancer
To be found on Google most well-organized sport organizations will use the services of photographers, videographers, content writers, and social media coordinators.
If you are an experienced photographer, videographer, content writer or have a great understanding of social media platforms, you should consider reaching out to Volleyball Winnipeg to see if a contract may be available for you to help generate much-needed content to help promote its programs.
Programs that require the use of photographers include seasonal camps; tournaments; youth leagues; adult leagues; positional camps, conditioning camps and so on.
Barter can also be negotiated with your son/daughter attending camps at no cost in exchange for pre-determined services.
Special events requiring videographers include testimonial videos at the annual banquet, videotaping training videos and testimonial videos at summer day camps.
Referee
Volleyball Winnipeg utilizes referees for its youth league, adult league (tournament only) and club volleyball tournaments. The organization offers a competitive remuneration formula and does not require formal certification.
There is a mentoring program for referees in which a new referee is assigned to an experienced referee for two matches. While the new referee is on the stand the mentoring referee assists as the “down ref.” After an initial probation period a referee who does not meet the league’s minimum requirements will not be invited back.
Program Director/Executive Committee
For the “A Personality” sport enthusiast there is the “once in a lifetime” opportunity to get involved and provide leadership and direction to the organization. The first opportunity involves being a Program Director. A Program Director is responsible for the delivery of a given program, such as the Youth League or Adult League. They are responsible for responding to general queries, ensuring venues are reserved, referees are assigned, site convenors are confirmed, equipment and merchandise are ordered and managing the program budget.
Executive Committee members are “big-picture” thinkers who want to help direct the organization into the stratosphere. Experience managing programs is helpful and an understanding how to manage the launch of new programs is beneficial. The organization meets monthly with an agenda that outlines short-term objectives and long-term priorities.