Your Next Best Volunteers Are Already in Your Club: A Guide to Empowering Youth Athletes

Take a look at the teenagers in your club. The ones who show up early, who help the younger kids without being asked, who have a deep, authentic passion for the game. We see them as athletes. But what if we also saw them as our club's future?

In the frantic scramble to fill volunteer rosters, we often overlook the most obvious, passionate, and capable resource we have: our own youth athletes. They are eager to contribute, but often, they simply haven't been invited or shown a clear path.

This isn't just about plugging gaps in the tournament schedule. This is a powerful strategy for building your next generation of coaches, officials, and board members. It’s about shifting from a culture of consumption, where kids just play, to a culture of contribution, where everyone has a role in building the community. Here’s how to start.

One: Show Them a Path, Not Just a Position

For a teenager, the idea of "volunteering" can feel vague and intimidating. Your first job is to create clear, low-barrier entry points. Don't just post a generic call for help; promote specific, manageable opportunities.

• Embrace micro-volunteering: Think in short, high-impact bursts. Can they help sort equipment for two hours? Staff a water station at a tournament? Help with social media for a specific event? These small wins build confidence and a sense of belonging.
• Invest in their skills: Don't just ask them to help; offer to send them to a coaching, refereeing, or rules clinic. This investment pays a double dividend: you gain a more qualified volunteer, and they gain a deeper understanding of their sport, which in turn can make them a better athlete.

Two: Mentor Them, Don't Just Manage Them

Once an athlete raises their hand, your next responsibility is to ensure they have a positive, growth-oriented experience. This is the difference between retaining a volunteer for a season and creating one for life.

• Pair them up: Connect a youth volunteer with a more experienced adult mentor—someone they know and trust. This creates a safety net and a go-to person for questions.
• Be a coach: Check in with them regularly. Be honest about the challenges they might face. Help them problem-solve. Remember, you’re not just developing a volunteer; you’re developing a young person's life skills, confidence, and resume.

Three: Fiercely Protect Their Well-being

Handing a teenager a whistle and putting them on a field with adult spectators is a profound act of trust. Your club has a non-negotiable duty of care to make sure that trust is honoured.

Take a hard, honest look at the environments you're asking them to enter. Refereeing, in particular, can be a crucible of adult misconduct. Is it your club's culture to question every call, or do you actively promote respect for officials?

Your leadership team must have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of harassment or abuse directed at these young volunteers. This isn't about hoping people will be nice; it's about proactively enforcing a culture of safety and respect. Their well-being is more important than any game's outcome.

Four: Recognize Their Contribution, Not Just Their Time

Young people are motivated by purpose and appreciate genuine feedback. Acknowledging their effort is one of the most powerful retention tools you have.

• Be specific: Tell them what they are doing well and offer constructive advice for how they can improve. Honest feedback shows you are invested in their growth.
• Be sincere: A personal "thank you" goes a long way. But also consider small, meaningful tokens of appreciation: a gift card, a discount on their fees, a branded whistle or coaching notebook, or a public shout-out in the club newsletter.

When you publicly recognize youth volunteers, you do more than reward an individual; you send a powerful message to all your other athletes that youth leadership is valued and celebrated in your club.

This is how you build a thriving, sustainable community—not by constantly searching for outside help, but by systematically nurturing the talent and passion that's already right in front of you.

Ready to stop scrambling for volunteers and start building a pipeline of future leaders for your club?

If you need help developing a practical strategy to empower your youth athletes, let’s chat.