Recruiting vs. Retention

As the game grows at all levels, many footy programs struggle to recruit and retain a consistent number of players.  The lack of athletes makes development difficult as there are never enough players at practice to work on certain aspects of the game.  At best it is an inconvenience, at worst it can lead to unsafe players taking the field.

Footy is a growing sport in the US, and as such, has barriers that must be overcome.  However, many problems that footy teams encounter are actually of their own accord.  Over the course of a season many footy teams have plenty of players come out to try the sport, but, for some reason, they do not commit to the game.

RETENTION is often the issue, and not recruitment.

Retention is absolutely within the club’s control. A coach should reflect on early season practices and make sure that a new player will have a great experience that will encourage them to return to the next practice.  So what is a brand new player looking for at practice?

Here is a suggested list, but everyone should develop their own:

• Organized – many athletes come to footy because they are looking for another sport to play. They may be familiar with varsity level practices. Early season practices need to be the best run of the year.
• Learning – Players want to feel like they have learned and improved during a practice. This is true for all players, but especially those that are new to the game.
• Context – Most of the athletes that attend their first practice have never seen an Australian football before.
• Using skill drills only fails to provide context. Try to come up with competitive games similar to footy match situations to help players understand why they need to learn certain skills.
• Active – All players want to feel like their practice was physically challenging. If you have a large group of new players, make sure you have multiple stations/grids to avoid inactivity.
• Successful – This is probably the most difficult achievement for new players because we tend to mix them in with experienced players which can be intimidating.  Early in the season it may be more important to focus on new players than those who already grasp an understanding of the game.
• Attention – Assistant coaches serve as the best retention tool any team can have. Players that are given focused attention by coaches will feel valued and will learn at an accelerated pace.
• If a coach has a team that struggles with numbers, the coach should reflect on what takes place at practice and ask if the objectives are aimed at retaining players to the next practice.

Other tips for retention include:

• Dues - Give players a grace period before club dues must be paid.  This can be a significant financial barrier.  However, all players are to have paid their dues in full before competing in any sanctioned USAFL game.
• Mentoring – pair up a new player with an experienced player.  The experienced player’s job is to make sure the recruit comes back and commits to the sport.
• Names – Learn player’s names.  It makes a huge difference to new players for everyone to call them by their name.
• Loan new players a used football to practice alone (keep track of balls loaned out!), give/loan DVD’s of footy, direct players to watch games on TV, online (ESPN3.com, etc.).

Also, make sure you get all of the players’ details and make regular contact with them, have them sign up on your club website, e-newsletter group, Facebook etc.

Recruiting

Your best recruiters are your current players.  They play footy for many reasons which should be shared with others in a positive and respectful manner.  One of the most difficult challenges we have is the lack of awareness that footy has within the general community.  It takes a lot of work for a footy program to create a positive image of the sport, but the payoff is immeasurable.  Often this image forms a brand identity, and creating a good footy brand is an important part of recruiting.

Have generic club/player cards printed up for these current players to hand out, USAFL have a template design, which includes a map of the country and locations of all teams.