Notes from the Executive Director
The club directors are consistently telling us that too many of the community associations do a poor job of conducting their programs, provide poor instruction, and limit playing opportunities. And it’s a common recruiting tactic to suggest that playing club ball is the best way for kids to gain exposure for that elusive college scholarship.
Possible Solutions Guess what? In my opinion, both sides have legitimate points of view. However, let me be very clear in stating that YOU CAN’T PAINT EVERYONE WITH THE SAME BRUSH. Most community associations are doing a great job of conducting their local programs. Others, not so much. A good share of the clubs are providing a valuable and reasonably priced service to their members. Others, not so much.
Solution #1 - In my mind, the simplest solution to this problem is to encourage the clubs to restrict their operations to the associations’ off-season time periods. Let the parent volunteer community associations have their four-month season and the clubs can have the other eight months. Problem solved?
Solution #2 – I would encourage the community associations and the clubs to work together to provide the advanced training that may not be available or provided by the existing association resources. (Example: When I was coaching my kids on the baseball diamond, I had enough baseball knowledge and background to effectively teach kids how to play all of the positions on the field, except for pitching/catching. In my mind, it would have been worth it to pay someone to come in and work with my pitchers/catchers.) Problem solved?
coach and manage an association off-season program as long as they don’t have to recreate the website, database and all the communication tools that have already been created by the association. And if it gets done right, it would not create additional financial burden to the association. Association club teams should charge player fees to cover the cost of their participation. Problem solved? To coin an old adage, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. We all need to take off our blinders and find the method that suits us best. Good luck!
Solution #3 – If the community youth sport associations are tired of the clubs infringing upon their seasons and territory, why not expand your association services to include club ball during the off-season? There are several community associations that have already done just that and I am aware of several others looking at the option. Yes, I fully understand that most associations take the position that their volunteers are already “stressed to the max” but I do believe that there are enough concerned parents/coaches out there – in every association – who would step up and help
Check out more of Dan’s Badger Tracks from past newsletters on wisportsservices.org