The friendly, welcoming and social culture of the sport should not be taken for granted and needs to be worked on so that it is reflected in all aspects of club life. It is fundamental for making new members feel welcome and for keeping existing members actively involved and happy.
Great friendly, welcoming and social clubs actively:
- Engage positively with members, asking for feedback and looking to find and implement improvements across the club
- Make it simple for current and potential members to find out about your club, what you offer and when and to then communicate easily with you
- Create and implement a more structured marketing strategy to help raise awareness and engagement
- Attract new players and members through word of mouth, remember your reputation precedes you!
- Offer a broad range of social activities and events which cater for different groups of people within the club and aim to engage a wide audience, including young people and their families
- Search for new ways to engage members virtually through social media or other online channels, especially if access to physical club facilities is a challenge
Club Development: A Long-Term Vision
Building a successful and sustainable club requires more than just focusing on the current season. It's about creating a strong foundation for the future.
Read on, challenge yourself by answering our handy questions, and then access a range of resources to help you make your club more friendly, welcoming and social.
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- What social activities do you currently offer? Do these activities engage the whole club?
- What experience are you trying to create for the different types of club members (e.g. existing adult and junior members may want something different to more casual members such as Back to Hockey players)?
- How would someone become aware of your club? What would this initial contact look like? Do you create a good first impression?
- Is it easy to communicate with your club if I were interested in joining?
- What is the experience for new people? Do you offer a buddy system, to make new members feel welcome? Do you ask for feedback on their experience with you so far?
- Do you know how many new members you retain after a season?
- How do you use social media? What method is used for internal communication and how do you present yourself externally? Does your communication method engage with all members?
- Is your club website up to date?
- How do you stay in contact with past players, particularly players that leave to go to university?
- Does your club offer a social, informal membership category?
- Do you effectively use your biggest sales force, your members, to help promote the club by word of mouth?
- How do you understand the needs of all of your members, including young people?
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Click on the links below to access our toolkit of resources and support to help your club.
Access hockey specific support from England Hockey:
Sport England’s Buddle has a range of specific help and support for to make your club more friendly and welcoming:
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Our club support programme is designed to help you achieve your goals. It includes resources for all clubs, specialist advice for specific projects, targeted support for clubs with high potential in junior growth and increasing diversity and inclusion, and tailored services for bespoke needs. Find out more.
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Click on the links below for the current opportunities available:
Your Free Learning Opportunities Are HereReady to upskill for free? Our new learning for coaches, officials, and club leaders are now available. Learn more about the opportunities on our membership page and book or access your course directly on Hockey Hub today.
National Forums
Safeguarding Forum: Creating Safer Environments
Date: Tuesday 7 October
Time: 19:00 - 20:00pm
The England Hockey Safeguarding Team invites you to discuss your essential role in creating safe environments for everyone in hockey.
The core purpose is to raise awareness that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We will clearly outline minimum safeguarding standards for clubs and detail the practical support and resources available from England Hockey to help you achieve them. Our goal is to ensure all young people can have fun and feel safe.Workshops
Sport England’s Buddle is a fantastic free resource, that provides access to a host of workshops, webinars and supporting information to help the running and development of your club.The following workshops are available to support the Being Friendly, Welcoming and Social strand. Please click on the links below to find out more information and book your place.
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An opportunity to meet your Club Development Manager and other clubs in your area and discuss common issues, development opportunities and share ideas and best practice. Dates can be found on our monthly calendar on the Club Support page and invites will be sent directly from England Hockey Clubs team.
