Growing Your Sports League

You’ve got your league established, open, and ready to accept new registrants – well, now what? Where do you go from here? And how do you gain awareness?

The following are a few steps you can take to continue growing as an organization.

How are you communicating?

Make sure you aren’t just focusing on gaining new registrants, but also giving attention to your existing ones. The best way to grow your league begins with the people that are already involved with it - including the volunteers or employees you have. Loyal members of the organization are very important to retain. Give them something to be passionate about - make them feel empowered by providing them with a sense of identity within the organization.

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How you behave with your loyal members will create a massive impact for your league as this is what initiates word of mouth. If your members love what you have created, they are more inclined to recommend to their circle of friends and family members.

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What do I mean by communicate with existing members? There are many ways you can achieve this. For example - having an anonymous box where existing members can leave suggestions on improvements, issues they have, or even compliments can go a long way. It will make individuals feel valued within your sports organization.

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Or, make the registration process more exciting that just simply filling out a form. Introduce new members to existing ones or the team itself, host a fun orientation, make them feel that they are now part of the family.

Alongside this, figure out the best method of communication to allure new registrants. Depending on your target age group, consider creating a social media page to get people involved.

You can even start small – put up registration information or flyers summarizing your league in your local community. Consider your local grocery stores, churches, school, or gyms. If you know anyone who can speak more languages – use this as an advantage! Translate some flyers or posts in multiple languages to tackle potential language barriers and target more registrants.

Post your league onto Javelin Sports mobile app to gain more awareness! You will be listed under the sport you offer and can organize your communication more effectively. Download Javelin Sports today: Android or iOS

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Push for good reviews!
Have you ever scrolled through multiple reviews and ratings before making a final purchase decision? If yes, then you are like the majority – many people rely on reviews to finalize their decisions. You don’t want to fall behind on this step.
If you hear people saying good things about your league, push for reviews! Ask existing or past members that had a pleasant time or experience with your league to write a review reflecting it.

Would any business be interested in sponsoring you?

Start small, look within your community first to see if there are any businesses that would be willing to sponsor or partner with you to gain awareness for themselves. A sponsorship will not only help with funding but also for awareness - because now you have two parties gaining attention.

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Highlight your star players, awards, any incentives!

There’s nothing people enjoy more than being rewarded for their achievements. If you show off your players, not only will it enhance their experience with your league, but it will create incentive for potential registrants. Who wouldn’t want to try winning an award or get posted on the league’s page.

You could also highlight any events that your league may host – or think about beginning to host events. This will help your league connect with individuals at a more personal level and it's just fun. Don’t think too beyond and too fancy, you can host a small pizza party as a celebratory for finishing the season. Everyone will love you for it and it will more likely grab attention for new registrants.

List your coaches! List your employees! Show pride in your team

You’ve worked hard to locate and hire the volunteers, coaches, and/or employees you have on your team, show them off! Not only will it empower your organizations team, but it will also prove to potential registrants that there is a high degree of relevance between the team values and the organization values.

By highlighting the skills your coaches possess, it will be easier for new registrants to determine if your league is an ideal fit for what they are hoping to gain. Make it personable – connect with people, don’t overdo it.

Figure out your touchpoints

Whatever sets your league apart from other leagues in the same sport, highlight it! Don’t keep it a secret, promote the hell out of your touch points. Are you different because of the rare and inimitable coaches you possess? Tell everyone!

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