What’s the point of competition in high school sports? What are the teachable moments, and what are the costs? Subjective as the possible answers may be, I've been thinking about the purpose of competition. My interest was sparked by this funny scene in Billy Crystal’s 2012 comedy hit, Parental Guidance. (Click on the image to launch the video). (In the video, Billy Crystal’s grandson is pitching at a little league game. The grandson strikes out the batter, but he’s not “out.” Upon … [Read more...]
posted on August 6, 2013 by
Mission to Metrics 5: Band Boosters’ Moral & Financial Support
Pulaski’s neat rows of musical performers make me think of the massive logistical effort needed to get them to the Rose Bowl. Seasons of training. Coordination of plane flights. Sacrifices from teachers and volunteers. But that’s just what we see on the surface. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3pKYo5CNeE Behind the successful marching band and their strong booster club stands a solid structure: a meaningful mission and guiding bylaws. Pulaski’s bylaws emphasize cultivating “enthusiastic … [Read more...]
posted on August 5, 2013 by
Mission to Metrics 4: Promote Interest in Academics
Academic booster clubs seek to inspire more than high grades. The booster club I’m profiling in this post is more concerned with promoting interest among their participants than a perfect GPA. Grades aren't even mentioned in their mission statement. As with the other posts in the Mission to Metrics series, I show how booster club officers can develop appropriate metrics to measure the goals outlined in their mission statements. (See the intro post to metrics, and links to the other posts in … [Read more...]
posted on August 1, 2013 by
Mission to Metrics 3: Beyond GPA & Winning (Sports)
Athletic booster clubs value winning on the field and in the classroom. How can they show it? I sometimes question why extracurriculars, particularly athletic programs, feel the need to justify their existence based on participants’ grades. After all, sports teach us how to work with teammates, make friends, adjust strategy on the fly, lose gracefully, and win gracefully. Perhaps that’s why some schools are actually lowering GPA standards for athletes, so as not to alienate struggling … [Read more...]
posted on July 30, 2013 by
Mission to Metrics 2: Cooperation, Theater, and Auditing
A closer look at metrics, for a theater booster club that values cooperation. (The introduction to this series is called “Why Booster Clubs Need Metrics”.) Most booster clubs have non-financial goals such as creating cooperation or community involvement. Since non-financial goals require an accounting alien to the standard budget report, relevant metrics may not be intuitive. In this post, I take the mission statement of a theater club and show how to translate it into core objectives like … [Read more...]
posted on July 29, 2013 by
Why Booster Clubs Need Metrics
Compensating for budget cuts, but struggling to fundraise? Check your metrics. (This is the introduction to a series on metrics. Subsequent posts will be listed at the bottom of this page.) Schools are struggling. They've cut programs. They've cut staff. And what do schools cut first? Every booster club officer I talk to tells me that schools are cutting extracurricular programs. Less coaches. Less band instructors. Even activities like student government are being removed by schools who've … [Read more...]
posted on July 25, 2013 by
Live Audio Broadcasting
Smith, number 10, fakes. Breaks. He’s closing in on the end zone. Touchdown! Broadcasting high school sports games is a great idea. I've been in touch with booster clubs that are planning live audio broadcasts of their football games this fall. It’s fun to set up and do the actual commenting. Then family members can listen to the game anywhere, whether from a university on the other side of the country or a military outpost on the other side of the world. Other booster clubs might find audio … [Read more...]
posted on July 23, 2013 by
4.5 Types of Booster Clubs
When it comes to booster clubs, size matters. I don’t mean the amount of people it serves, or volunteers it has, but rather the size and type of “turf” that it covers. Is the booster club responsible for an entire district? An entire school? The answer tells me right away many of its strengths and challenges. That's because booster clubs usually find themselves covering one of the following 4.5 scopes of turf. (Yes, there is one that’s only half different than the other 4.) And there are a few … [Read more...]
posted on July 22, 2013 by
6 Tips for Recruiting Booster Volunteers
In late spring and summer, recruitment dominates booster club agendas. Extracurriculars rely on booster club support, which in turn rely on a rich pool of volunteers. Both general and board member volunteer recruitment is a challenge, leaving booster clubs vulnerable. Booster club meetings I’ve attended at election time often include brainstorms about which person to ask to do what job. Frantic texts get sent to potential volunteers in the middle of meetings, and candidate lists are compiled … [Read more...]
posted on July 16, 2013 by
How to Start a Booster Club
This is my step-by-step guide to starting a booster club. It’s intended to be a checklist, not an exhaustive manual. You can click links for more detailed advice on how to accomplish each step. I also put them in what I believe to be the correct order of tasks for starting a booster club. For example, you don’t want to register with the IRS with one mission statement, and then realize that the school doesn’t approve of its governance structure, or waste time trying to get a business bank account … [Read more...]
