Mark Fuller 10th May 2020
It doesn't matter how good a coach you're or how great your sessions are if nobody turns up you've got nothing. Do not underestimate the damage that the idea that squash and Racketball coaches should do it for the love of the sport and not to make money has done to the game.
One of my favourite quotes comes is from Elon Musk the founder of SpaceX and Tesla. “Not being motivated personally by money is not the same as saying that SpaceX shouldn’t make money. It’s very important that SpaceX makes money or we wont have the resources to fund future developments” Elon Musk
To build something sustainable that will last and something that can expand to benefit more people in the future make sure that whatever session you're running fits into the big picture of what you're building.
One of my favourite quotes comes is from Elon Musk the founder of SpaceX and Tesla. “Not being motivated personally by money is not the same as saying that SpaceX shouldn’t make money. It’s very important that SpaceX makes money or we wont have the resources to fund future developments” Elon Musk
To build something sustainable that will last and something that can expand to benefit more people in the future make sure that whatever session you're running fits into the big picture of what you're building.
social media
It is actually quite difficult to market Racketball or squash on social media to a mass market. The most effective way that I have found is to ask players that are attending your sessions to repost on their social media good offers to new members joining. This should hopefully hit a local network and direct recommendations are the most likely to promote good results.
Social media also has a very important roll when looking at building your local community.
WhatsApp: This can be a great way to stay in touch with all of the players that participate in a specific session or all of the Racketball players across your club. Regular updates as to when the sessions are running and what you will be working on can really help to build participation numbers.
Facebook/Instagram and Twitter: Make sure that all of your players feel comfortable with you taking pictures for social media and make sure that you have consent in writing. Social media can be a great tool to increase the sense of community within a group and help to inspire players to come to sessions.
Social media also has a very important roll when looking at building your local community.
WhatsApp: This can be a great way to stay in touch with all of the players that participate in a specific session or all of the Racketball players across your club. Regular updates as to when the sessions are running and what you will be working on can really help to build participation numbers.
Facebook/Instagram and Twitter: Make sure that all of your players feel comfortable with you taking pictures for social media and make sure that you have consent in writing. Social media can be a great tool to increase the sense of community within a group and help to inspire players to come to sessions.
bring a friend
This is one of the most direct and therefore effective methods of promoting your Racketball sessions. You already have players who are attending regularly, they must enjoy the sessions as otherwise they would almost certainly stop coming. Set up a deal that encourages them to spread the word to friends who they think might also enjoy the sessions. Below is a scheme that I ran while heading up a Squash Development project at Leicester Squash club. As a coach when you first read this you might think that it does require quite a bit of money and time. Think of this as a long term investment, if you bring a new player in and they stick with your sessions for years how much money do you earn? Will they intern bring new friends in the future?
Leicester Junior Squash Promotions
For three years I worked with Leicester Squash Club helping them to grow the junior program. We tried a number of different strategies to build the numbers and eventually settled on the two ideas below as the most effective.
Buddy Bags - if you bring a friend to squash then you receive a free buddy bag. These contained grips, balls, wristbands and a Leicester Squash Club water bottle. The bags themselves were branded up with the Leicester Squash Club Junior Academy logo.
First Session is Free and Free Racket after Five Sessions - the first session that you attend is free making the barrier to entry for the first session very low. If you attend five sessions then you receive a free racket. We felt that this would mean that players committed for a longer period of time to the program. Hopefully as well once they have their racket they're very much more likely to come back the next week!
Leicester Junior Squash Promotions
For three years I worked with Leicester Squash Club helping them to grow the junior program. We tried a number of different strategies to build the numbers and eventually settled on the two ideas below as the most effective.
Buddy Bags - if you bring a friend to squash then you receive a free buddy bag. These contained grips, balls, wristbands and a Leicester Squash Club water bottle. The bags themselves were branded up with the Leicester Squash Club Junior Academy logo.
First Session is Free and Free Racket after Five Sessions - the first session that you attend is free making the barrier to entry for the first session very low. If you attend five sessions then you receive a free racket. We felt that this would mean that players committed for a longer period of time to the program. Hopefully as well once they have their racket they're very much more likely to come back the next week!
open days
When you organise specific open days it is often possible to bring local councils and media on board to help you to spread the word. You will find that open days are a lot more effective when they are linked to new member introductory schemes as seen in the Leicester Squash Club section above. It is difficult to get people to try any new sport or activity for the first time but to keep them coming back for the initial period until they are hooked can in someways be even harder. It is important to not just think about how to attract new players but how to keep them.
https://www.englandsquash.com/about-us/clubs/world-squash-day/world-squash-day-toolkit
https://www.englandsquash.com/about-us/clubs/world-squash-day/world-squash-day-toolkit
