New sport, new team, new challenges

Are you a coach who would like to integrate a new sport or sports team into the activities of your school or municipality? Wonderful! To do so, however, you’ll need a great deal of patience, plenty of time to manage everything and, above all, passion, since sports team management can bring its share of pitfalls and unforeseen delays. Setting up a sports team is no easy task, and amateur sport is far from glamorous.

One of the most common mistakes is to improvise yourself as a specialist in a sport with which you are not necessarily familiar. Rushing headlong into thinking that amateur sport is profitable is also a misconception that can be detrimental to the project. The financial aspect should not be emphasized when applying for municipal or government subsidies. The costs of infrastructure (gym or pool rental, materials and equipment) and maintenance are often very high.

So what should you invest in? Although amateur sport is not a good way to make money, the social spin-offs are not to be outdone: job creation, local pride, the fight against dropping out of school… These are positive aspects that can pay off in the long term.

It’s important, therefore, to be well informed about the reality of the sport in question, to know what it’s like from a profitability point of view, and to keep your feet on the ground.

The NPO (non-profit organization) option is often the best way to obtain grants. By law, an NPO must have a board of directors elected by the members at the annual general meeting. While such a group can facilitate the management of a sports team, it’s important to remain vigilant. Some parents or players eager to get involved in their own or their child’s sporting career may want to take over the entire board and create turf wars. Many head coaches and managers have already lost their positions for these reasons. That’s why it’s essential to surround yourself with the right people if you choose to set up a non-profit organization.

One resource that could be very useful to you is the sports federation that regulates the discipline you’re interested in. Federations are generally very keen to support new projects. You’ll have access to advice, documentation and specialists in your sport to help you realize your project. From soccer to ultimate frisbee, your federation is there to encourage positive people who want to get involved in sports team management and get the next generation moving.

Does the management side of things scare you? There are a few tools available to make your life easier, so you can concentrate on the success of your sports team. One of them is the MonClubSportif management software, which lets you gather player contact details, availability and training and competition schedules in one place.

So, would you like to get started?

MonClubSportif is a Web application that enables players and coaches of sports teams to manage all their organization’s information in a single place. Wherever they are on the planet, they can access the schedule of their upcoming games, confirm their presence at matches, share photos with members – without even having to make a single call. With MonClubSportif, sports fans can finally concentrate on what they love to do most in the world: play. Gone are the headaches of team management, and welcome the time savings! Register now to find out more.