Boost or Boast?

Depending on your viewpoint. Booster clubs are, or can be, a significant part of your program. In this economic era, it is virtually impossible to run a quality basketball program on a school financed budget. Most of my coaching career I was incredibly fortunate to have been part of booster clubs that dedicated themselves to supporting our program in the best sense of the word. Yes, I have heard all the stories of how some booster clubs have been involved in undermining the coach and discrediting the program. That is not only sad. Its inexcusable. As I have previously stated, I never saw the negative side. But don't be surprised if there are members of the club who do not have the same vision as you have. Politics exist in every

area .... including booster clubs. It is sometimes difficult to determine the

true goal(s) of the club. Depending on who the leaders (shakers & movers)

are are what their agenda(s) may be, your booster club can be very effective in supporting the program or it can be an instrument used by some to control how the program is run. This may sound dictatorial and to

a certain degree it is meant to be. If you are the lead (head) coach, then you

better be in charge or you will more than likely regret it!

Forgive me for being slightly paranoid about this, but booster clubs can and

usually are, very important to the program. But also let's be real. They have

the potential to be a distraction and even worse for the coaching staff if they become political. If you are an involved coach, their are things you can

do to help advise and direct the booster club.

"Setting him up for the killer crossover move!"

Things which I found helpful when working with a booster club ......

A) Give them a itemized list of things the program needs and when. For example, if you have a need for junior size basketballs for your elementary program. Provide the number you need, the cost, and when you need them. Personally, I seldom wanted the booster club to fund items I felt the school budget should pay for. So I did not ask for uniforms, game balls, scorebooks, etc. but might ask for those items for the elementary program.

B) Provide fund raising ideas and when possible show up at those events and work. We often had parents work concessions stands at junior high tournaments. Sometimes this meant parents might miss watching their child play. If I was available, I would volunteer to take their place so they could watch. (Its good PR and parents appreciate you being willing to help!). We did not do a lot of door to door type fund raising. We tried to do 3 or 4

larger events rather than many small ones.

C) Don't be offended if they ask you to defend what you want and the cost(s) involved. Be flexible enough to reduce what you want and be willing to wait if necessary.

D) Get the players to invest in the work of the boosters since they are benefitting from the work. We had players sign up to work at some events or we assigned them to work and told them if they could not work to find a replacement for them.

E) Attend their meetings and thank them for their support. I NEVER ATTENDED A MEETING AND HAD A BOOSTER QUESTION WHAT WE WERE DOING. When appropriate provide your input. If you don't show up, how do they

know you really care about them and what they are doing?

F) Their should be booster club rules. Who will vote on your requests? We had a policy of allowing only members of the executive board to vote. The executive board consisted of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and the Head Coach. How often are you going to have elections? I did try to influence who was on the executive board. You can have to many people at meetings which will hurt the efficiency of the meetings, in my opinion.

G) Find a way(s) to recognize the efforts of the booster club. For example: List in your game program the things they have done for the program. Mention at your year end banquet how they have benefitted the program.