Written by Bob Schindler, Executive Director of CEDE Partners – an Initiative of CEDE Sports
Recruiting coaches is one of those tasks that never seem to go away!!!
When I talk to sports ministers, there is often a palpable sigh of relief after the start of the season and all the coaches are in place. Yet, very quickly that season comes to a close and the recruiting cycle begins – AGAIN!
Here are some thoughts from a seasoned sports minister who has been on staff and knows something of the challenge of recruiting volunteers.
“Every season we would look at the registrations and determine how many coaches we would need. And we were always short. In fact, drastically short.
At this point, we are essentially faced with two options:
Either we have to turn kids away, or start plugging holes with anyone!
For the sports ministry world, option #2 is chosen about 99.9% of the time. I totally understand why that option is chosen but keep in mind, that may not always be the best solution. When you plug holes, you often sacrifice your standards on who can coach. This is not a good thing typically. And it always comes with a price. Sometimes it works out (by the grace of God) and other times, it comes back to bite you. In my recent experience, the negative has far outweighed the positive.
If you are faced with one of the above two choices in the future, here are some things to consider:
- Do you have a coaching job description? What are your standards in regards to coaches? What is non-negotiable and what is preferable?
- What’s your philosophy on co-coaching? Could this be a good option in exploring a coaching shortage?
- How do you feel about non-believers coaching? Assistant coaching? This question could lead to a future blog post. I definitely have opinions on this one.
- Have you exhausted your relational networks? Have you asked other staff/friends at the church for their recommendations for coaches? Your relational network expands once you start asking for referrals.
- What’s your stance on people from other churches coaching?
- Have you explored youth and/or seniors at your church for coaching?
- Finally, if you are going to just plug a hole and plop someone into coaching who is questionable, at least invest in them. Build a relationship with them, give them specialized equipping, spend one-on-one time with them, etc.”
Great questions to consider as you think about the coming season and the daunting task of recruiting coaches.
*To access other FREE resources like the Coaching Job Description linked in this blog post sign up for the FREE Church Directory, click here to begin that process. You will find many different categories of FREE resources that will help you in your ministry!
