Managing Recruiting Expectations

3 Ways to Meet the Increasing Demands of Families

Abstract

Participation in youth sports has increased exponentially in the past decade. This growth has contributed directly to the rise of new club teams and organizations, each hoping to carve out its own niche within the market. For many of these organizations, this includes providing a roadmap for families to get exposure to college coaches. With increasing competition in the space, a major issue for all clubs is to ensure it is retaining its current members while also being able to add new families whose options are more numerous than ever before. This paper will discuss proven methods to create club recruiting value for families as a way to ensure your organization is providing real, tangible assistance for its members.

Introduction

With competition for scholarship dollars and collegiate roster spots at the forefront of the consumer’s mind, one of the main influencers when they are choosing a club is the recruiting value the organization provides.

The youth sports scene has grown exponentially in recent years. What a decade ago was a niche enterprise has undergone sizable growth, quickly becoming big business. A recent CNBC report, citing a study by the Sports Facilities Advisory, indicated that youth sports – in travel alone – comprised a $7 billion industry.1

A main cause of this industry’s rapid growth is the rise in youth sport participation. Forbes notes that somewhere over 35 million children are playing youth sports.2 With so many student-athletes taking part, a large market opportunity was created for those offering these athletes an outlet.

The result has been a huge upswing in the amount of organizations and club teams offering these athletes a home. From events, to new teams, to facilities operations, to travel, there are new enterprises entering the space at every level. This, inevitably, has increased competition as families evaluate the options for their children.

Formerly, a successful club team often relied on its reputation and longevity in the space as a way to ensure a solid membership base. However, with such new and stark competition, athlete retention has morphed into a real business challenge.

With competition for scholarship dollars and collegiate roster spots at the forefront of the consumer’s mind, one of the main influencers when they are choosing a club is the recruiting value the organization provides. The ultimate goal for many is to have their son or daughter play their chosen sport in college, and the club is often seen as the vehicle that will navigate successfully to this destination.

Providing recruiting value, then, should be a major priority for club owners and directors interested in keeping their membership base robust. Ensuring athletes and families are being nurtured through their time with the organization is vital for not only the individual student-athletes, but for the health of the business as well. Not only does this allow for the retention of current clients, but also allows for word-of-mouth and referral based leads to foster future growth.

Three Ways to Create Recruiting Value

As a club owner or director, each interaction with an athlete or parent is an opportunity to build a bond between your organization and the customer. By increasing your “touches,” you are building a community that is more likely to stay with your club, refer friends and generate more revenue for your business.

Below is a look at three simple things that you can do to build relationships with your customer base.

1. Web Presence

Having a web and technology presence in 2015 may seem like a given, but to their detriment, many clubs simply do not spend enough time or resources on these aspects of their organization.

According to a study by the Pew Research Center, a vast majority of Americans believe their use of the internet helps them learn new things, stay better informed on topics that matter to them and increases their capacity to share ideas and creations with others.3 While this comes as no surprise, it’s helpful to note statistically just how much consumers rely on the Internet for research.

According to the study, Internet users say digital technology makes them better informed than five years ago. It further notes that 81% of respondents said that the Internet and cell phones help them to be better informed about the products and services they buy.4

We can reasonably conclude that a strong web presence is vital for the long-term success of a club. While there is ample space to research clubs already on the web – from message boards to sport-dedicated websites – there is no better place to have interested consumers researching than your own website.

Taking this one step further, a space on the website serving as a recruiting base is an absolute necessity. It is a clear indication to families that recruiting is something your club values, and that you wish to help your athletes get to the next level. The page should outline your recruiting value proposition to each family, clearly articulating your position on the process.

Create an introduction around why recruiting is important to your club. Speak specifically about how your club views the process and what values you feel are imperative. You should follow with bullets highlighting what you do as a club to assist families and athletes alike.

Having a web and technology presence in 2015 may seem like a given, but to their detriment, many clubs simply do not spend enough time or resources on these aspects of their organization.

2. Recruiting Education Night

While recruiting nights are primarily educational, they also assist in another important – and arguably just as vital an – area: building a community around your club.

There is an old anecdote that states, “the best consumer is an educated one.” With so many places to gather information on the recruiting landscape – some of it helpful, some of it likely misinformed – it is vital you are educating your club on the process as best you can.

The goal of a recruiting night is to educate families and athletes about the recruiting process. You want to invite all athletes and families to attend, regardless of age, to provide them the specifics they need to attack the process.

The best recruiting nights include a mix of college coaches as well as an opportunity for former club athletes to discuss their process and college experience. Typically, one of the club directors will moderate a Q&A with the moderators, and then open the discussion to questions from parents and student-athletes.

By bringing in college coaches, you are either building relationships with those that will hopefully recruit your athletes in the future or fostering the ones you have already forged. You do not want to overlook the importance of building these relationships!

By including former athletes, you are continuing a relationship that reaches into the local community and may feed your coaching pipeline in the years to come.

While recruiting nights are primarily educational, they also assist in another important – and arguably just as vital an – area: building a community around your club.

3. Recruiting Point Person

With the competition for scholarship dollars increasing each year, the perception that a club is responsible for a student-athlete’s recruitment has never been more prevalent.

One of the many reasons a family cites for joining a club program is the organization’s expertise in the field of recruiting. With the competition for scholarship dollars increasing each year, the perception that a club is responsible for a student-athlete’s recruitment has never been more prevalent.

With this process occurring earlier and earlier in many sports, the pressure on club teams has only intensified. Articles like those in the New York Times exploring this topic only amplify this notion.5

To be sure, this is one of the more difficult responsibilities for a club, especially as it grows larger. While club directors and coaches may have excellent college contacts, as their businesses scale, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage the process.

A big challenge in a growing organization is to ensure fairness to all student-athletes in the organization, and to provide each with the equal care. This can be very difficult to do without first appointing someone to “own” the process for the club.

Many successful clubs today use this strategy. Some hire a Recruiting Coordinator or Director. This person is very hands-on, and is in charge of the recruiting activities across the entire club. Their primary responsibilities are recruiting related – they are not focused on coaching.

Others have appointed team coaches as being directly responsible for the teams they are coaching when it comes to the recruitment of those athletes. Depending on the age and expertise of the coach, this has been a winning strategy as well.

The important point is to create a lead contact for recruiting activity. This person should be in-tune with the recruiting space and know the student-athletes. Most importantly, it should be communicated obviously to the families and athletes to avoid confusion.

Specific tasks of the recruiting point people should include:

  • Contact all of your athletes on a monthly basis about recruiting.
  • Individual family meetings to discuss schools of interest.
  • Reasonable input about the realistic possibilities at the next level.
  • Allow the student-athlete to “CC” the point person on all communications with college coaches.
  • Require athletes to get a copy of their unofficial transcript for your records.

Conclusion

As the youth and club sports scene continues to boom, competition for participants in the club space has grown sharply. While families consider which club to sign up for, or if they will renew with their current organization, one of the many things on their minds is the club’s expertise in the recruiting space.

As such, it is vital to ensure there are tangible ways clubs provide recruiting value to families for the health and success of their business model.

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