[tennisbiz] Finding Volunteers

<x-charset iso-8859-1>Hi Bob-

I am on the tennis committee for the New Hampshire High School Athletic
Association (NHIAA). Each year we run the state singles and doubles
tournament along with the team tournaments for three divisions. Finding
volunteers is crucial for us to be able to run these events.

I have had great luck asking players that I coach if they would be
interested in volunteering. There is a small payment but it basically is
volunteering. The best volunteers, at least from what I have found, are not
necessarily the best players but the most enthusiastic. Most of these
players are in the 3.5 range but they are very competent people. One of the
first things they say is, "I am willing to do it as long as you will tell me
what I need to do".

By spending a little time with these people, and making sure that they feel
comfortable with what they are going to do, I have found all of them to be
willing volunteers in future events also. If you are not a teaching pro, I
would start by asking some of the teaching pros that you know in your area
who they think might be interested. I think most instructors know the
players that just love the game and just feel great about being around it.
You could ask the pro to ask all his students in a general way or you could
ask him to ask the specific people that he/she feels would be a good
volunteer. You could also just get their names and numbers from the pro and
call them yourself using the pros name as a reference.

The most important aspect, from what I have found, is making sure that the
volunteer feels you are there for them. That you will guarantee that by the
time the event occurs they will feel totally ready and prepared. Once they
do the event and gain the confidence from doing it, you got a great
volunteer!

I hope this helps!

Alan Chandronnait

PS What I have also found is that if you look at what type of an event it
is and the people that participate or are involved in some way------there is
the answer! For example,we have a doctor who has volunteered his time to
be on the tennis committee because his daughter is playing high school
tennis. Not only is he on the committee but he is also is running one of
the biggest events. He got involved because I described to him how we are
striving to make high school tennis more and more organized and fun for the
juniors. He got excited and wanted to volunteer.


 
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Received on Tue May 14 2002 - 16:16:52 CDT