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Post by nopopups on Aug 6, 2019 19:41:48 GMT -5
You can review Softball Canada's 2019 - 2022 Strategic plan at www.softball.ca On Home page click on ABOUT and then on the drop down bar click on ABOUT (again).
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Post by blueman on Aug 7, 2019 4:04:29 GMT -5
It looks good, but I question the lack of quantitative goals.
In my work, we have goals like grow revenue 20%, or reduce turnover to less than 5% per year. The goals in this plan use phrases like build relationship, develop metrics, create strategies. Would it be asking too much to say "grow minor registration 20% across Canada", or something along those lines? Something that you can look at in 3 years and say we succeeded in this goal or not, or to some degree. Build relationships, and create strategies are essential to growing the sport, but if you build 100 relationships, and create 20 strategies, and registration goes down, was it a success?
Softball Canada and Softball Ontario are paying staffs to promote softball, and I think that there should be accountability. Our association, some years ago, spent several thousand dollars in advertising between newspapers, and direct mailers, and we got about 20 new kids signed up for houseleague. Now some say that's 20 kids that weren't playing before, but we never knew if these players came through the advertising, or through word of mouth, and quickly frankly, no one on the executive cared. We blew (and I mean blew) an emergency fund over $10,000 in less than 3 years trying to chase players, and run on a shoestring budget.
There are lots of great local associations in Ontario that have been growing in both houseleague and rep registration, and I think Softball Ontario would be wise to look these associations to see how they operate, and use that information in other markets.
The one thing I am sick and tired of hearing is keeping the cost down. Things cost what they cost. There is a reason the bats at Canadian Tire cost $20. Obviously you don't need to waste money, but if you're going to spend $40 on a uniform you hate, spend $10 more and get something everyone likes. (It's been a few years since I bought uniforms, but you get my point.). Parents want value for their money, and if you show them value, you'll get more registration.
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Post by inthestands on Aug 7, 2019 8:17:14 GMT -5
It looks good, but I question the lack of quantitative goals. In my work, we have goals like grow revenue 20%, or reduce turnover to less than 5% per year. The goals in this plan use phrases like build relationship, develop metrics, create strategies. Would it be asking too much to say "grow minor registration 20% across Canada", or something along those lines? Something that you can look at in 3 years and say we succeeded in this goal or not, or to some degree. Build relationships, and create strategies are essential to growing the sport, but if you build 100 relationships, and create 20 strategies, and registration goes down, was it a success? Softball Canada and Softball Ontario are paying staffs to promote softball, and I think that there should be accountability. Our association, some years ago, spent several thousand dollars in advertising between newspapers, and direct mailers, and we got about 20 new kids signed up for houseleague. Now some say that's 20 kids that weren't playing before, but we never knew if these players came through the advertising, or through word of mouth, and quickly frankly, no one on the executive cared. We blew (and I mean blew) an emergency fund over $10,000 in less than 3 years trying to chase players, and run on a shoestring budget. There are lots of great local associations in Ontario that have been growing in both houseleague and rep registration, and I think Softball Ontario would be wise to look these associations to see how they operate, and use that information in other markets. The one thing I am sick and tired of hearing is keeping the cost down. Things cost what they cost. There is a reason the bats at Canadian Tire cost $20. Obviously you don't need to waste money, but if you're going to spend $40 on a uniform you hate, spend $10 more and get something everyone likes. (It's been a few years since I bought uniforms, but you get my point.). Parents want value for their money, and if you show them value, you'll get more registration. Blueman...you have hit on some very good and valuable points.
Your first paragraph is certainly one that will resonate with the many parents in softball that either own or work for companies that by their very nature have to be performance driven. It seems to me that whoever writes this stuff for Softball Canada has just freshly graduated from a "how to write a corporate performance guide" but has no clue how to implement one. By way of example USSSA stated its goal in the late part of the 1990's to grow its youth softball registration nation wide. It relentlessly targeted that growth and the number of teams and participants exploded. In 1992 it had a membership of 120,000 and by 2003 it had grown to 3.5 million...90% of which played Fastpitch, Slo-pitch, Baseball or Basketball. It saw value in building its own premier facility and own a successful NPF team which clearly displays its name. In all but 3 of the last 10 years they have grown softball membership by 10% year over year. They also achieved the stated goal of a seat and full recognition on the WBSC. That represents performance driven metrics and although our numbers in Canada can never match those due to population, the model itself is a success we could certainly emulate.
Your second paragraph speaks of staff and with that budgets for them. How many times have we seen a report from SBC or SO on some aspect of the game only to be shelved to collect dust. Could that money be used in a far more constructive way? Sometimes it seems like the purpose is to ferret out some obscure government grant write a report to satisfy it and call that progress. In terms of shoestring budgets, we need to look no further than the state of Provincial and National Championships that are woefully under supported by the very associations that would benefit most from their unabashed success.
That brings us the 3rd paragraph which is value for money. You are correct a $20 bat will give you about the performance its worth. Like tires for your car or new fridge to replace the old beater, people look for value and are not afraid to spend if they see the value in doing so. Its no different in sports. I give great kudos to the organization that runs this forum as an example, promotes Softball year round, hosts multiple tournaments and events and has them extremely well supported. Its relentless pursuit of the growth of the sport and creating value for its parents and players could well be a lesson for those governing bodies that seem to forget who ends up paying the bills.
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