Managing anything isn’t easy – whether you’re managing a business, managing people or even just managing your own household. But if you are managing – or trying to manage – a sports club, you are essentially doing all of the above. You are managing and running a business, you are managing people (from players to staff to parents and spectators), and you are also managing a ‘family’. Sports clubs and organisations have proliferated our lives in many ways, and if you are passionate about your sport and are dedicated to your club and organisation, then you will definitely want to do things right.

But it’s one thing to want to manage your sports club effectively, and it’s another to actually do so. It pays to have the proper knowledge as well as support and tools at your disposal so you can run your sports club with the best results. If you want to effectively run and manage your sports organisation or club, here are the essential aspects you should remember.

•    Your budget

Of course, your budget can set the tone for how you can effectively operate your sports organisation. The setting of your budget should be one of your main priorities, but you also have to ensure that you stick to this budget and not go beyond it. You have to track the fees of your players as well as send out payment requests, but more than this, you have to keep track of your schedules for payment as well. Additionally, you have to manage the payroll of your hired staff, think about the cost of renting a field or sports facility and buying equipment, and you also have to think about other expenses (such as travel expenses) which can quickly add up.

Make sure to keep and update your budget information and expenses, and in order to keep transparency, make sure it can be easily shared with anyone who needs to check and see it. You can do this with the help of membership softwares – all-in-one platforms where you can manage your club and its schedule, update member and player information and even send out as well as receive payments without having to transfer from one kind of software to another.  

•    Proper communication

Any business owner or leader knows how essential proper communication can be within their organisation, and the same is true for your sports club. It is a business organisation, after all. With this, make sure to communicate as effectively as you can with everyone who is involved in your sports club, whether it's the parents and guardians or the staff and coaches, the players, the board of directors, and everyone else. With the right communication, you can establish and encourage transparency, and you can also enhance trust within the club and its players and parents. Proper communication also helps you keep your staff and coaches up-to-date with whatever is going on – from league schedules and announcements to events and other important occasions. As a manager or owner, you should be able to establish how you should communicate with everyone and decide on which format you should use.

Here’s another thing: it’s also important to establish a chain of communication so parents, players, and your staff will know who to turn to as contacts for different issues and questions. Good luck, and have fun!