I am very pleased to have Jim Harshaw as a guest blogger this month. Jim is the founder of Riot Sports Marketing (RSM), a web-based communication and fundraising platform for grassroots sports teams. Jim, a former Division I All American in wrestling at the University of Virginia, has a background is in collegiate coaching, small business management, and non-profit leadership. He developed RSM with the goal to help coaches save time while increasing awareness, improving attendance, and raising more money. Through RSM, Harshaw has consulted with over 60 organizations including national sports organizations and non-profits, helping them grow their online presence, increase efficiency and raise more money.
In this blog, Jim will address the need for coaches to market their programs.
You and I got into coaching for the same reasons. We had a coach who influenced our lives through athletics and we now want to impact the lives of others. Or maybe it was that you wish you had an impactful coach and want to fulfill that role for your athletes. Regardless, we love to teach. We love figuring out ways to make our athletes better, to improve our team’s win-loss record and to make our athletes better people.
Unfortunately, this is just a small part of the overall job that we call coaching. I remember when I became the youngest Division I head wrestling coach in the
country. I was just 26 years old and thought I knew everything. I was going to turn the team around and create champions in just a few seasons. Little did I know that being a coach, especially a head coach, is just 10% coaching. The other 90% involves fundraising, budgeting, ordering equipment, dealing with parents, handling student-athlete academic responsibilities, managing your staff, scheduling, travel planning and various other leadership and administrative tasks. Ugh!
While many of the most successful coaches in the country understand the value of their fans, a majority of coaches ignore their role as head of marketing. Why marketing? Ask yourself this: What do I need to be successful? I have asked this same question during talks at dozens of national and state coaching conventions across the country and I get the same responses every time.
- Better facilities
- Higher participation rate
- Stronger support from our administration
- Improved parental support
- Increased alumni and community support
- Stronger fundraising
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