Youth sports are a major benefit to communities, with a significant impact on the younger generation both in the present and in the future. As such, it is vital for youth sports leagues and their leadership to make it a priority to retain player involvement from year to year.
Below are five ways that youth sports leagues can improve their player retention rates.
1. Foster a Positive and Fulfilling Team Environment
When dealing with children and young adults, perhaps the most important thing a league can do to ensure the involved players have a desire to return for the next season is to make playing in the league a positive experience.
Simply put, if players don’t have fun and/or see another real benefit to their time playing on a particular team, then they will not have much desire to play for that team or in that league again. Finding fulfillment is paramount in anyone’s involvement in non-essential activities, including young people’s decisions to play sports.
Leaders can explain the benefits of joining a youth sports league to prospective players and remind the potential returners of the same thing, but it is much more effective to show them. If players (and their parents) know from experience just how helpful it is to be a part of a particular team or league without having to be told, they will want to come back.
As it pertains to actual game competition, youth sports leagues must ensure that rules, playing surfaces (and field/court sizes), and other logistical factors are appropriate for those playing. An overall positive experience in all areas will yield higher retention numbers.
2. Ensure Coaches and Other Adults Help the League Function Well
To make youth sports leagues work, coaches and other leaders have to do a good job. Recruiting and retaining quality people (whether paid individuals or volunteers) is an essential starting place in this pursuit.
However, youth sports leagues must make sure that those coaches, officials, and other adults involved receive adequate training and support.
Coaches and officials must have a firm grasp of the league’s (and, more importantly, the sport’s) rules. They also must be provided with the equipment, supplies, and facilities necessary to succeed. A football coach cannot lead a good football team without footballs, helmets, and pads or a place to practice. A basketball coach cannot lead a good basketball team without balls, a court, and baskets.
When other needs arise, youth sports leagues must be prepared to support coaches and others in leadership. If an issue with players or parents comes up, leagues should have specific protocols in place for how things should be handled. If factors such as weather or time affect scheduled games or practices, contingency plans should be readily available and well-known.
A healthy league has a strong system of support for its leadership.
3. Focus on Age-Appropriate Development over the Years
Almost nothing turns off a kid more than being asked to do things that aren’t appropriate for their age group or skill level.
In a youth sports league or team designed for younger children or beginners, asking too much of players is setting them up for failure. Children are easily discouraged when they don’t find early success. On the flip side of that coin, though, setting manageable and attainable, yet still challenging, goals invigorates young players and encourages their drive for improvement.
For older or more advanced players, elementary-level tasks are off-putting or even boring. Coaches must have a plan in place that will help grow and challenge them, both on the field and in regard to their mental toughness.
Helping players succeed and then return for additional seasons is how development happens. It also fosters a greater love for sports and being part of a team.
An underrated part of this is providing other sports for kids to play. If a youth sports organization provides football in the fall, adding basketball in the winter and baseball or soccer in the spring could help boost retention numbers and help keep players in shape.
Development helps players improve on the field or court and away from sports. It also creates a desire for more growth, something that can only help a youth sports league in its retention efforts.
4. Create an Inviting and Welcoming Culture with Universal Pathways to Fun
While on-field results, physical betterment, and winning are factors in any sports league, with youth, there are other important elements to consider. Perhaps chief among them is creating a youth sports league that is fun for everyone.
Utilizing in-season techniques like “everyone plays” rules, other non-game competitions (like 3-point shootouts in basketball or home run derbies in baseball), and player-selected activities/uniforms promote league-wide involvement. Smaller touches like gameday announcers, music, and stat-keeping also add to the authenticity of the league and make it more appealing for players.
For many children, sports are a means of finding a place to belong. For those kids, the sport they are playing isn’t what matters. Instead, it is being in a safe, structured environment with adults they can trust and other kids with whom they can become friends. It is crucial to recognize when (and with which players) to lean into that aspect of youth sports rather than everything that happens on the field.
Players from all walks of life should be made to feel welcome. This begins with the adults but becomes impactful when other players buy into establishing this type of inviting culture.
5. Recognize and Incentivize
Playing sports is hard work, even at the youth level. Young players deserve to be recognized for their efforts. End-of-year banquets, All-Star teams, league-wide awards, and team parties are good ways to ensure players know they are appreciated. (Throwing in similar elements for coaches and other volunteers doesn’t hurt, either.)
During the season, recognizing and rewarding good play, leadership, and character can go a long way in ensuring that players feel valued and respected. Coaches can nominate team captains for each game, publicly acknowledge the positive efforts of a team and individuals on the team, or incentivize the team with small rewards.
In some contexts, getting local media involved can be an effective way of achieving this goal. Leagues can invite local newspapers (whether print or online), social media pages, and other outlets to cover events or do profiles on players and coaches. Almost all youth sports participants and their parents would love to be a part of a league that promotes this type of recognition.
While the best version of “how” may vary, recognizing and incentivizing players in a youth sports league undoubtedly will help with year-to-year retention.
